© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

If 'War And Peace' Was Less Than Exciting, Try A Union Between Dull And Boring

Don't expect fireworks for this union: The city of Boring, Oregon and Dull, Scotland will become sister cities.

City leaders hope the union of two dim names will result in a blockbuster tourism campaign.

The Oregonian reports that the idea of becoming twin cities came after Elizabeth Leighton stumbled upon Boring and couldn't "wait to tell all her Dull friends."

The paper adds:

"'Obviously, this is an opportunity for a twinning with Dull and Boring,' wrote Leighton, who lives in a neighboring village called Grandtully. Her friend Emma Burtles took the 'twinning' idea to a meeting of the Dull women's book club, and the idea became more than just a clever joke."

All Things Considered's Robert Siegel spoke to Tom Pringle, the secretary of the community council for Dull and Stephen Bates, chair of the Community Planning Organization in Boring.

Bates said his city had come up with an exciting new tagline for the partnership: "Boring and Dull: A Pair For The Ages."

Robert suggested that maybe the cities should add one more less than spectacular name to the partnership: Bland, Va.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Related Content
  • The town of Boring, Oregon, is twinning with the village of Dull, Scotland. The idea came after a Scottish cyclist passed through Boring. She thought Dull would make a great sister community. Scotland's tourism agency says the partnership could attract visitors to Dull.
  • John Brennan of Portland, Ore., was going through airport security when he was pulled aside for a closer look. So he removed all of his clothes, saying it was an act of protest. Facing charges, Brennan argues he was "nude but not lewd."
  • Matt Groening tells Smithsonian magazine that the show's location is based on Springfield, Ore. He credits the idea of naming it Springfield to the hit TV show Father Knows Best.