Earlier today, a story in the Wall Street Journal reported that environmental scientists had discovered (yes, we're surprised there were geographical features left to discover in America as well) a lake, stream, and road in a remote part of upstate New York that were named after the n-word. Environmental conservation laws in state law books spell out the full names: Nigger Lake, Nigger Stream, and Nigger Road.
Apparently no one realized that law books and maps still contained these offensive names. The state government is currently in the process of changing the names to something different. "Unnamed lake" is the temporary placeholder.
The WSJ reports that, "the precise origin of the names is a mystery to even the most rooted locals." Oh, really? The yokels aren't sure about the origin of "Nigger Lake"? We're shocked.
[via WSJ]
