Boring and Dull

“ . . . Boring is not a condition, it’s a name.”

Bob Boring, Grandson of homesteader William Boring

Photo by Basti Hirsch (Creative Commons)

It’s Monday morning. What a perfect time to talk about a couple of towns that are boring and dull, and proud of it: Boring, Oregon (population 7,720) and Dull, Scotland (population 84).

But we’re not boring, insists Jim Hart, resident of Boring, Oregon. It’s just that the town was named after an 1850s homesteader, William Boring. Explains Bob Boring, grandson of the town’s namesake: it’s a name, not a condition.

Folks in Dull, Scotland agree with Mr. Boring’s sentiment, but they can’t agree on how their tiny village got its name. Some say it came from the Gaelic word “dull,” which means meadow, and others hearken back to an ancient story about a funeral procession and the “dull” straps used to carry the coffin.

Either way, it’s not surprising that the two towns with the misunderstood monikers are reaching out to one another. Thanks to a women’s book club in Dull, they’re working on becoming “sister communities.” They plan to exchange goodwill and a good chuckle but maybe not visits just yet.

Dull book clubber Emma Burtles says she has no immediate plans to travel to Boring. She’s content with her Dull life in Scotland and doesn’t feel the need to go globetrotting to find a Boring time in Oregon.

Read more:

■  Nicole, Dungca, Dull woman pushes for Boring partnership: Oregon town teams up with Scottish village, The Oregonian, April 25, 2012.

■  Dull, Boring set to become sister cities, PRI.org, April 27, 2012.