Hamilton, Ohio

One more thing that's great about Ohio: Hamilton, the only US town to add a "!" to their name, as they did in 1986.

Wow... Hamilton! is such a good town name. It's not just a great city, it's a complete sentence!

Hamilton!

I imagine the late 80s must have been halcion days for the people of Hamilton! Can you imagine how stoked you'd be all day long if you lived in a city with a friggin "!" in the name? It'd be like smoking crack while being repeated punched in the nuts! What a concept!

The name did have some haters though. The US Board of Geographic Names didn't take too kindly to the name change and rejected it. Don't hate the player, US Board of Geographic Names, hate the game.

Unfortunately, the "!" was like a party, and parties weren't meant to last. City council removed the "!" in 1991, claiming it didn't look right on Hamilton's bicentennial seal, which the mayor designed. Too bad mister fancy pants mayor could embrace his own city's identity. Goddamn Benedict Arnold.

So now, 15 years later, we look back and remember fondly, Hamilton!

Special thanks to the lovely Vicky Carr for bringing this to my attention.