Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

Dear People at Lelanite:
I drove behind one of your trucks for a good stretch of Route 84 in eastern Connecticut earlier today. Painted around much of the truck is a  crazy long name of a lake. I tried to write down some of it as I stared down the back of the truck, but only got a few scrawled syllables. Please tell me, what's with the lake's loooooooooong name?
I await your response with great eagerness and curiosity.
paula chu, Farmington CT


Paula: It's an old Indian word and is actually the longest place name in the world. "They" say that it means "I fish on my side, you fish on your side, no one fishes in the middle." It's a point of pride for nerdy middle school kids to be able to spell it, but it's pretty universally known as Webster Lake.
Tom Morris
Lelanite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chaubunagungamaug

PS - Thanks for the most interesting question I'll be asked today! :)

Dear Tom: Fabulous! Thank you. You'll be pleased to know that everyone in our household has the song stuck in our heads now.

I'll do my best to spread the word about the lake, perhaps even to have others get the song stuck. 

I want to say, though, that learning to spell its name would be more impressive if accomplished by those of us with shrinking, rather than growing, brains.
No disrespect whatsoever to nerdy middle schoolers and their clever brains. 

paula

P.S. Thank you for letting me fish in the middle, Tom.