Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Postcard from Dildo community in Canada

Dildo is a community on the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located on the southeastern Dildo Arm of Trinity Bay about 60 kilometres west of St. John's. South Dildo is a neighboring community of 250 residents. The place name "Dildo" is attested in this area since at least 1711, though how this came to be is unknown. The name, then written as "Dildoe", was first applied to Dildo Island, located offshore from the present-day community of Dildo. This use was recorded in 1711 and 1775, and the name was thereafter applied to the Dildo Arm of Trinity Bay and other local physical features. Social scientist William Baillie Hamilton notes that Captain James Cook and his assistant Michael Lane, who mapped Newfoundland in the 1760s, often displayed a sense of humour in the place names they chose, and were not above selecting names that might offend over-sensitive readers. Regardless of the origin, the name has brought the town of Dildo a measure of notoriety.

 Very nice and clear postmark from Dildo post office on stamp from set From Far And Wide, issued on 14.1.2019.


Thank you very much, Trevor!


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