Name That Town

By Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Daniel Levy, Andrew Purvis, Julie Rawe, Sachiko Sakamaki, Alex Taylor, Owen Thomas, Josh Tyrangiel

THE TOWN FORMERLY KNOWN AS... Halfway, Ore. (pop. 360), last week became the first place in the world to rename itself after a website Half.com which paid for the privilege). It's not the first to spruce up its moniker:

WHAT WAS Hot Springs, N.M. (pop. 4,000), in 1950

IS NOW Truth or Consequences, N.M. (pop. 6,000)

WHY? Radio show offered a live broadcast to any town that would rename itself

WHAT THEY GOT Visits from big stars like Jayne Mansfield and Wayne Newton

DRAWBACKS 600 residents hated the name so much they formed a separate town, Williamsburg

[WHAT WAS] North Tarrytown, N.Y. (pop. 8,000), in 1996

[IS NOW] Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. (pop. 8,000)

[WHY?] Buildings in Washington Irving's story are here

[WHAT THEY GOT] 8,000 tourists turned up for Halloween last year

[DRAWBACKS] Cost tens of thousands to repaint road signs, fire trucks

[WHAT WAS] Ismay, Mont. (pop. 28), in 1993

[IS NOW] Joe, Mont. (pop. 20)

[WHY?] A Kansas City radio station asked it to

[WHAT THEY GOT] The whole town was flown to Missouri to meet Joe

[DRAWBACKS] They had to return