The word “bogus” had a murky history. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it may have dated back as far as 1827, used in Ohio as a slang term for a counterfeiter’s apparatus. Somehow it became the name of a machine used to manufacture fake coins. Then bogus became counterfeit or fake in a more general sense, and alternately disappointing or unfair:
“Some trace this to tantrabobus, also tantrabogus, a late 18c. colloquial Vermont word for any odd-looking object, in later 19c. use; ‘the devil,’ which might be connected to tantarabobs, recorded as a Devonshire name for the devil.”
Supposing that, it might share a common origin with bogey. Some may recognize this as the root of bogeyman. However, a bogus bogeyman would be a strange contradiction, indeed.
In Popular Culture
Yes, I suppose it will reveal both my relative age and my level of maturity (or lack thereof) if I mention that bogus appeared prominently in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). As in,
“Evil Duke: Put them in the iron maiden.
Ted: Iron Maiden?
Bill, Ted: Excellent!
[air guitar]
Evil Duke: Execute them.
Bill, Ted: Bogus!”
Apparently a sequel called Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) also existed although I never watched that one. Not every sequel can be like The Godfather Part II. And the original Bill & Ted’s certainly wasn’t The Godfather. Keanu Reeves (Ted) of course went on to bigger and better roles. Alex Winter (Bill), well, hopefully he invested wisely and is leading a nice happy life somewhere.
That was quite a roundabout tangent even for 12MC. Hopefully it provided the necessary context to appreciate the absurdity of places named Bogus.
Bogus Basin, Idaho
Bogus spots existed almost entirely within the United States. But that doesn’t surprise me given the word origin. I first came across such a Bogus place when I traveled to Boise, Idaho a number of years and noticed references to the Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area. It began as a nonprofit organization “established by the Boise community in 1942”. There, local interests operate a ski resort with 53 runs and a vertical rise of 1800 feet (550 metres).
Bogus Basin (map) came by the name honestly. It actually referred to fakery. The hills gleamed with gold, or more accurately gold-colored pyrite or “fools gold”. Tales of people who believed they’d found gold abounded, only to be disappointed after investing in mines. Plus there were other stories of nefarious swindlers and dirty tricks designed to defraud people. The Boise City Department of Arts and History [link no longer works] mentioned,
“Bogus Basin got its name from a group of con-artists in the late 1800s who created fake gold dust in the same area as the Bogus Basin recreation area. These con-artists would melt silver, sand and a small amount of gold and sell it for $14 an ounce.”
Thus, Bogus Basin was a strange name for a ski resort although one with genuine historical roots.
Bogus Brook Township, Minnesota
Bogus Brook Township in Mille Lacs (thousand lakes) County in Minnesota sounded promising. Indeed, a stream named Bogus Brook (map) ran directly through the township. It seemed strange that the township selected Bogus Brook for its name when the Rum River, a much larger body of water also ran through it. Maybe residents didn’t want to live in a place named for demon rum.
Actually the Rum River became rather controversial in recent years, leading to an organized name-change movement. The Lakota named the river Wahkon, the Great Spirit River, and they considered it a sacred body of water. Then settlers of European descent thought it might be clever to create a pun by using spirit in the sense of alcohol and renamed it Rum River. Obviously the Native inhabitants considered that usage insulting and profane.
Bogus Brook was probably a better choice for the township.
Bogus Elementary School, Montague, California
Now imagine attending Bogus Elementary School in California (map). It seemed like the name might be a liability although the school sounded pretty interesting:
“Is your child lost in a large class size? Bogus Elementary School has one classroom, one teacher, and 12 students… All children get to participate in our winter ski/snow board program for free.”
There were a number of Bogus features nearby including Bogus Mountain, Bogus Creek and Bogus Burn. Any one of those could have inspired the Bogus name for a school. I also noticed it was located near one of those checkerboard patterns, which wasn’t particularly germane to this article, just an interesting fact I noticed along the way.
I found only three Bogus places outside of the United States, all in Canada: Lac Bogus in Québec (map); Bogus Lake in Ontario (map); and Bogus Hole in Nova Scotia (map). Information was scarce. The most prominent mention of a Bogus lake in Ontario led to “Lake Ontario Shark Video Is Just As Fake As It Looks.” It reminded me of I Call Bull Shark.
I think it’s time to revive the word tantrabogus.
Leave a Reply