The New York Times recently featured an article, “Proud to Live in a Town Called Dildo” about a Newfoundland fishing village with an odd name. The name was first applied to nearby Dildo Island and apparently dates to at least 1711, when it was spelled “Dildoe.”  No one knows the origin of the name, but odds are that the island was not named after a sex toy. One common theory is that “dildoe” was a variation on somewhat phallic shaped “thole-pin” or “dole-pin,” single or double pegs in the gunnel of a dinghy or skiff, used as oarlocks when rowing. In addition to the town and the island, there is also the Dildo Arm of Trinity Bay and a point named Dildo Head.

The town locals, called Dildoians, have an annual waterfront festival, Dildo Days. This year it will be on July 27-31. According to the reporting in the NY Times, “a flotilla of boats circles the bay, led by a wooden statue of a certain Capt. Dildo in a rain slicker painted bright yellow. Souvenir-hunting visitors can purchase commemorative apparel, but be forewarned: The “I Survived Dildo Days” T-shirts sell out fast.”  Fortunately, the wooden carving of Captain Dildo is of a fisherman with a white beard, smoking a pipe, bears no resemblance to a sex toy.

Newfoundland has its share of unusual names, at least some of which may be attributable to Captain James Cook. Before he sailed off on his epic voyages to the Pacific, he spent five seasons surveying the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts in the 1760s aboard HMS Grenville. On August 25, 1766, he came across two islands on the northern coast between Point Ferolle and the Bay of Islands. Whimsically, he named the islands “Our Ladies Bubies.”  The name also reflected his imagination as the two islands do not appear particularly mammarian.  Sadly, when the islands were engraved on the official chart they were designated as “The Twins.”