this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2024
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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.

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[–] oo1@lemmings.world 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

iThe City of London might be one, it has a very small resident population, but I dont know how many people know that it is a separate city from London. It's famos for being chock full of c*nts most of the day.

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[–] A1kmm@lemmy.amxl.com 14 points 5 days ago (5 children)

By population, and not land area, certain more remote geographic places are well known but have quite a low population. 'Everyone' is a high bar, but most adults in Australia would know the following places (ordered from smaller population but slightly less known to higher population):

  • Wittenoom, WA - population 0 - well known in Australia for being heavily contaminated with dangerous blue asbestos (which used to be mined there until the 60s), and having been de-gazetted and removed from maps to discourage tourism to it.
  • Coober Pedy, SA - population 1437 - well known in Australia for its underground homes and opal production.
  • Alice Springs, NT - population 25,912 - well known for being near the centre of Australia in the rangelands (outback) - most larger population centres in Australia are coastal.
[–] gnu@lemmy.zip 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I reckon Port Arthur is a solid contender with its low population of 251 (known for being the site of a mass shooting that led to significant changes in Australian gun laws). It is fading in name recognition as time goes on though, after all that was approaching 30 years ago and lots of people have been born since then.

My top pick however would be Bega with its population of 5013 and the name recognition the cheese factory has brought. It's hard to go past a name that's printed on cheese (and assorted other products now) in the vast majority of supermarkets across Australia, and they even export overseas to get a bit of international cachet.

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[–] wewbull 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

In the UK and a city? Probably Liverpool and because of The Beatles.

A Town? Well it certainly used to be Lockerbie where Pan-Am flight 103 crashed after a terrorist bombing just before Christmas 1988. It was on it's way from London to New York.

Probably not known by the younger generations though.

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[–] dunidane@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 5 days ago (6 children)

It might not count as a city but Nome Alaska has the Iditarod with only, 3700 people. Or maybe some famous battlefield, Gettysburg has 7100 people. A ski resort like Aspen could count with 7000. We all had to memorize state capitals so maybe somewhere like Montpelier, Vermont has more recognition but has 7800 people.

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[–] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 15 points 5 days ago (9 children)

If you mean people from my country.... All of them.

New Zealand only has like 10 actual cities. It is not some great feat of memory to know them all.

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[–] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago

Wales has St. Davids - population c.1,750

[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 12 points 5 days ago (6 children)

Not my country, but maybe Tipperary? It only has a population of 5k.

[–] davidgro@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago (1 children)

All I know about it is that it's a long way there.

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[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Darwin, Australia.

Famous for being bombed by the Japanese repeatedly during World War 2

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I guess the one that pretty much everyone knows in Germany is Buxtehude. It is being used as the poster child for a backwards town, far away from cities. Which is funny because neither is it backwards, remote or even very small. With a population of 40k it’s relatively large, compared to many other places in Germany, even just right next to Buxtehude. It is not far from Hamburg and its historic core is worth a visit. I think the name itself is the reason why it is being made fun of so much. Though there are so many other, much quirkier named towns in Germany but it somehow became Buxtehude.

[–] dosse91@lemmy.trippy.pizza 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Corleone, Sicily, for obvious reasons. Population around 10k.

[–] DavidDoesLemmy@aussie.zone 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Byron bay. Bundaberg. Coon.

[–] Gbagginsthe3rd@aussie.zone 2 points 3 days ago

Snowtown, Port Arthur

[–] joelthelion@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

Gruyères, Switzerland. 2000 inhabitants. Famous for the famous Swiss cheese of the same name.

[–] balsoft@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

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.

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[–] Jon_Servo@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Reno.

For uhhh... Reno.

[–] superkret@feddit.org 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Chicken, Alaska. Population: 12
I'd argue that everyone recognises "Chicken".

Fun fact: The settlers wanted to name their town "Ptarmigan" after the birds that were abundant in the area.
But none of them knew the correct spelling, and they didn't want to embarass themselves.

[–] oozynozh@lemm.ee 5 points 4 days ago

Congratulations, you played yourself.

[–] Mubelotix@jlai.lu 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Gergovie. The place where we defeated romans 2000 years ago. Doesn't even exist anymore

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[–] ving_thor@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

The village "Wacken" is well known in Germany because they hold one of the worlds largest anual Heavy-Metal festivals. They have a population of around 2000, the festival regularly attracts around 80,000 people.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (4 children)

Not a city as much as part of a city, but Coney Island is pretty well known. I was recently speaking to someone in Colombia and even they knew of it!

(I'm part of the sideshow cast there ☺️)

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