In the United States, I’d probably name Oregon City, the famous end of the Oregon Trail and the first city founded west of the Rocky Mountains during the pioneer era. Its population is only 37,000.
Tilt Cove in Newfoundland. 5 whole people.
Roswell, NM comes to mind. Tiny and yet most people will think of UFOs when they hear the name.
I can’t think of a smaller city in the US that fits “so many have heard of it”
Tombstone comes to mind as well
Dodge City, maybe
Waco, TX for anyone around in the 90s
I was gonna say Albuquerque, because of the name itself, the weird Al song and Breaking Bad, but Roswell is way tinier.
don’t forget being famous for wrong turns
In the US it must be Springfield because there’s so fucking many of them that they
namedmade a TV show after it.Stupid sexy autocorrect.
named a TV show after it
The Springfields?
Okay, I spilled my coffee. I’ll be giggling all day.
As someone in the US - I have absolutely zero recognition of the town of Oregon City. All I know about the Oregon trail is a bunch of people died from starvation and dysentery
Don’t forget being lost in River crossings.
In the UK it’s got to be the City of London. Famous for being an ancient city established by the Romans and awash with history, now one of the world’s biggest financial centers with a modern skyline of famously distinctive skyscrapers. It’s home to some world-famous landmarks like Saint Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge, and has a population of about 10,000.
The City of London is not to be confused with London, London, London or London.
we have a town called “Fucking” with only a few hundred people living there. the town sign gets stolen once a month
Fucking, Austria. Population of around 100 People. They renamed it to Fugging a few years ago
World recognition or in-country?
If world I’d guess Huskvarna (pop 24 000) for Sweden.
Known for having a company making chainsaws (among other things) named after it (Husqvarna). It is one of the two main brands of professional chainsaws (the other being Stihl).
I definitely recognized “Huskvarna” for some reason, but didn’t know its location or why I would have recognized it before reading your comment. I haven’t lived in Sweden or a place that would have been very easy for me to get to Sweden from.
How about Jokkmokk?
Strong contender! Definitely less populated, but I think also less well known?
Ok good point, maybe the kids today never heard Jokkmokks-Jocke?
Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada: 803 people as of 2021.
Someone here mentioned Vulcan, Alberta - however given the qualifiers of country and size, its 1769 people disqualifies it.
Also, though I am a Trekkie myself and know that Vulcan is well known in those circles, it’s virtually unheard of outside them.
Meanwhile, Dildo:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/odd-stories-of-2019-1.5389442
Dawson City is also a contender, at least domestically.
Hell, Michigan in the US definitely has a shot.
Wales has St. Davids - population c.1,750
Back when I was in Russia I’d say it’d be Suzdal, famous for the density of churches and other traditional architecture; or Tarusa, known for that one song that everyone seems to know a couple of lines from, Gorodok (here is a random rendition I found just now), both with just under 10k pop according to the wiki. And, as a bit of a stretch since it’s not a town and most people would call it Solovki, Solovetsky settlement, famous for being a prison, with about 800 people. Also Oymyakon with under 600 people, the coldest settlement on earth if you’re into that sort of thing.
Now in Georgia, I’d say Borjomi with just over 10k pop famous for its water, and Bakuriani (just over 1800 people) for its water and the ski resort. Again a bit of a stretch, but I guess everyone in Georgia at least also knows the ski resort of Gudauri at just under 100 people, as well as mountain resorts of Gomismta and Bakhmaro, both with no permanent residents due to the rough winters. Geography nerds will also be familiar with Ushguli, (arguably) the highest inhabited settlement in Europe, population 220.
I’ve actually heard of Oymyakon, just as a Canadian who knows geography facts. Ushguli is new information, though. (There’s definitely higher on other continents)
Recently learning more about Georgia given the current political situation. Beautiful and fascinating place that would be great to visit one day. How are the ski resorts? I’m from BC in Canada and spoiled for choice, but snowboarding in Georgia would be quite the trip!
If I’m honest it’s breathtakingly beautiful. I’ve been around most of Europe and some of Asia, and the only comparable places are Swiss Alps and the Himalayas; however, Georgia is much cheaper than the former and more developed/safe than the latter. It’s also quite tiny but heterogeneous: within a day’s drive you can go from (slightly underwhelming) Black Sea through amazing forests into wild mountains, back down to vineyards and sunflower fields, through a volcanic plateau with otherworldly landscapes and then bathe in hot springs under the starry sky. There’s an insane density of buildings and ruins from dozens of different cultures and epochs, all the way from bronze age to medieval Georgian to Russian colonial style to Soviet-era constructivism. I don’t drink wine but I’ve heard that it’s quite amazing too. My only gripes is that the country might be backsliding into authoritarian rule, and the locals are welcoming but “conservative” (bigoted) to the extent that it’s straight up dangerous for LGBT people to visit.
Probably Regina. And it’s famous for rhyming white schmamima.
Byron bay. Bundaberg. Coon.
Snowtown, Port Arthur
Gruyères, Switzerland. 2000 inhabitants. Famous for the famous Swiss cheese of the same name.