#2-Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

There is a lake right near the place where three states (Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island) touch. This lake may not look very big on a map, but I’m pretty sure it is the longest lake in the world.

Longest in terms of its name, I mean.

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is sort of on the way from my house to Gumpy & Meemo’s house in New Haven. Every time we drove by it, I tried to read the sign and memorize the name. But it’s funny how your brain works. When I saw the sign coming up, I would tell myself to start in the middle (because I already had the first part memorized), but no matter how hard I tried, my eyes would always go to the start of the name.

I finally did get the whole thing memorized, but then I found out the name on the sign is actually MISSPELLED! In two places! Can you spot the errors?

The name is Native American and comes from the Nipmuc language. People think it means something like “fishing place at the boundaries — neutral meeting grounds.” But other people say it means “You fish on your side. I fish on my side. Nobody fishes in the middle.” (Granpa says that’s a bunch of hooey!)

If you want to hear how the name is pronounced, here’s Granpa saying it.

If you memorize the name, please comment below. And if you know any other weird geographical names (only real ones!), please tell me.