"London, England" Syndrome: Difference between revisions

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A slightly different form is sometimes used: Americans from small towns will usually specify their state simply to give a general idea of what region they're from. If someone says he is from Miamisburg, Ohio, it isn't because there's another Miamisburg out there (there isn't, as far as we know), but because people from other states have no idea where in the world Miamisburg is. The foreign equivalent might be for someone from a small town to give the name of the nearest major city.

Gets used in the [[Title In]] a lot. An example of [[Creator Provincialism]]. Often mocked, although it's still a popular trope. Named by Bill Bryson. [~~http~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_most_common_U~~.S.~~_place_names~~ The Other Wiki] has a list of the most commonly used city names.

Gets used in the [[Title In]] a lot. An example of [[Creator Provincialism]]. Often mocked, although it's still a popular trope. Named by Bill Bryson. [[wikipedia:List of the most common U.S. place names|The Other Wiki]] has a list of the most commonly used city names.

In case you were wondering, there are twelve U.S. states that have a "London." (And one "New London").

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** A similar, but more extreme, parody occurs in the Canadian radio series [[As It Happens]] - something of a mixture of [[Sixty Minutes]] and [[The Daily Show]], with a small bit of [[A Prairie Home Companion]] thrown in - which, regardless of the context, when discussing locations in the British Isles will always give the name of the location, and its exact distance from Reading.

* Subverted in the movie ''[[Paris Texas|Paris, Texas]].'' A man is going around with a photograph telling people it is of Paris, even though it is clear that the photo shows a desert landscape.

** Incidentally, the real Paris, Texas looks nothing like what is shown in the photo. ''Paris, Texas'' the movie is shot in the deserts of West Texas, which is all rugged desert, while [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Paris,~~_Texas~~ Paris, Texas] the city is in East Texas, which is mostly grass plains and forest.

** Incidentally, the real Paris, Texas looks nothing like what is shown in the photo. ''Paris, Texas'' the movie is shot in the deserts of West Texas, which is all rugged desert, while [[wikipedia:Paris, Texas|Paris, Texas]] the city is in East Texas, which is mostly grass plains and forest.

* Country-based example from ''[[Transformers (Film)|Transformers]]'': "Qatar, The Middle East".

** That may be more of an assumption that [[Viewers are Morons]] than any other issue.

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* Until late 2007, [[The Other Wiki]] was headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. There have apparently been cases of stuff intended for them ending up in St. Petersburg, Russia.

* Not only can London, England be confused with London, Ontario, but Ontario, Canada can often be confused with Ontario, California -- perhaps less surprisingly, given that Ontario, California is a small, relatively insignificant city which happens to have LA/Ontario International, a large, significant airport.

** There is also an [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Ontario,~~_Oregon~~ Ontario, Oregon].

** There is also an [[wikipedia:Ontario, Oregon|Ontario, Oregon]].

* There is ''a lot'' of cities named Warsaw, mostly in the US, but also in Canada, all named after the capital of Poland. Being mostly settled by Polish immigrants might have had something to do with it.

* Ontario (the province) has, in addition to London, communities named Cambridge, Windsor, Southampton, Ayr, Paris, Elmira, Athens, Delhi (though they pronounce that one "DELL-high"), and probably many more. They used to have a Berlin, but that was changed to Kitchener in 1916 [[World War I|for some reason]].

* There's a [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Washington,~~_Virginia~~ Washington, Virginia] not far west from the more well known D.C., and signs that lead there say "Washington, Va." The denizens there call it "Little Washington."

* There's a [[wikipedia:Washington, Virginia|Washington, Virginia]] not far west from the more well known D.C., and signs that lead there say "Washington, Va." The denizens there call it "Little Washington."

** Justified as according to [[That Other Wiki]], G.W. himself surveyed the area, and the town was incorporated before his death. Also, it's the oldest town of Washington in the U.S.A.

*** Likewise there is the town of Washington, North Carolina. It is also referred to as Little Washington.

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* Speaking of New Zealand, it is host to the towns of both Palmerston and Palmerston North, which is much more widely known and much bigger (Palmerston North has a population of roughly 81,000, Palmerston has a population of about 2,000)

* When [[Burma Shave (Advertising)|Burma Shave]] put up joke signs promising "[http://www.snopes.com/business/market/mars.asp Free! Free! A trip to Mars / For 900 / Empty jars!]", they weren't actually expecting someone to take them up on it. When store owner Arliss French shipped in 900 jars he'd gotten customers to donate, the company gave him and his wife a vacation in Moers (pronounced "Mars"), Germany.

* In Russia and the former [[Soviet Union]], there are several cities that have nearly identical names. A few of these have changed since [[The Great Politics Mess Up]] due to [[Insert New City Name Here]].

* In Russia and the former [[Soviet Union]], there are several cities that have nearly identical names. A few of these have changed since [[The Great Politics Mess-Up]] due to [[Insert New City Name Here]].

** Novgorod (sometimes called "Velikiy (Great)" Novgorod) and Nizhny Novgorod.

** Rostov Velikiy and Rostov-na-Donu.

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[[Category:Meta Concepts]]

[[Category:London England Syndrome]]

[[Category:Trope]]