Earthquake Shakes Up Missouri’s Most LOL Town Name

There is now reason to believe that the New Madrid Fault has a sense of humor as it just shook the Missouri town that is often credited with having one of the funniest names in the state.

This might also prove that my sense of humor has not matured much since age 12. Looking at the USGS shake map this morning, I noticed there was a New Madrid Fault quake in the Missouri boot heel which is not unusual at all. However, it's when you look at the town the quake was centered in that you understand why some might chuckle. This is the farm field near where the Missouri quake was centered.

You can see what town the USGS attributed this mild 2.1 tremor to in their earthquake review confirmation.

Congratulations to little Cooter, Missouri - a town that is commonly included among the most ROFL names in the state. According to Wikipedia, there 343 good-natured Missourians that call this tiny town home. History says Cooter wasn't supposed to have such a redneck name, but that its history is based in the French name Coutre (coo-trah). Leave it to me and my fellow Missouri brothers and sisters to completely lose the French meaning and turn it into an infamous label.

As far as that earthquake that happened around 7:42pm Wednesday night, no worries. The New Madrid Fault is capable of much more than a measly 2.1 magnitude shaker. Let's hope you and I don't see that bigger quake in our lifetime, though.