CLASSIC: What does "Idaho" actually mean?

Summary

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Ridiculous History: "CLASSIC: What does ‘Idaho’ actually mean?"

Podcast: Ridiculous History (iHeartPodcasts)
Episode Date: November 14, 2025
Hosts: Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown
Super Producer: Casey Pegram

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Episode Overview

In this classic Ridiculous History episode, Ben and Noel dive deeply into the strange and convoluted history of Idaho’s name. Beneath what might seem like a straightforward etymological mystery, they uncover a mix of fraud, myth-making, and bureaucratic accidents—a saga involving suspicious lobbyists, mining booms, Indigenous language misconceptions, and lawmakers too distracted by the Civil War to care much about naming conventions.

The central question: "What does 'Idaho' mean, and where did it come from?" The answer is surprising, hilarious, and more than a little ridiculous.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. State Name Oddities and the Normalization of "Idaho"

• The hosts open by riffing on US state names in general and how arbitrary or illogical many of them are (06:08).
• Ben reflects: “We’ve all accepted the word ‘Idaho’ as a normalized thing. And there are–”
• Noel jokes: “Surely it’s referring to some sort of native tradition, right?” (01:18)

2. The Geography and Perception of Idaho

• The team discusses where Idaho is located and their (lack of) personal experience visiting it (09:03).
• “...Idaho just fits in, right? In this weird motley crew of various 50 various names that came about for various reasons.” — Ben (09:04)

3. The Mystery of the Name: Is "Idaho" Native?

• Initial belief was that "Idaho" originated from a Native American term, meaning “gem of the mountains.”
• Noel: “The biggest, most lasting theory revolves around a kooky mining lobbyist by the name of George M. Willing” (11:54).
• Willing claimed it was a Native term for “gem of the mountains”—even though this wasn’t true.

4. George M. Willing: The Unlikely, Untrustworthy Originator

• Willing, known as "Doc," was a disgraced physician and failed politician who remade himself as a mining lobbyist.
• Ben: “He got in trouble… because he was discovered performing abortions. In the early 1850s he moves to California to escape potential legal complications...” (12:27).
• Willing lobbied for the US government to name a new territory “Idaho,” fabricating a backstory that it was an Indigenous word (14:15).

5. Congressional Debates & The Accidental Spread

• In 1860, “Idaho” was proposed as the name for what would become Colorado.
• A senator from Oregon challenged the name, insisting it was not a Native term (21:40).
  • Sen. James Green: “Idaho is a very good name in the Indian language. You know, it means gem of the mountains.”
  • Oregon Senator: "No, no, no, no, no, no. I do not believe it is an Indian word. ...It is a corruption. No Indian tribe in this nation has that word. In my opinion, it is a corruption, certainly a counterfeit, and ought not to be adopted." (21:46)
• As a result, “Colorado” was chosen for that territory. But “Idaho” was already in popular use out west, and the word ‘escaped’ into regular parlance (25:44).

6. The "Haagen-Dazs" of State Names

• Ben: “Haagen-Dazs is a made-up word ... Idaho is kind of like this. People are swearing... that it is a word from a language of native people who have lived in this area” (25:44).

7. The Power of Repetition & Popularity

• Despite its fraudulent roots, “Idaho” was so widely adopted—by miners, companies, and popular culture—that it was used for new counties and eventually the state itself (26:05–27:03).
  • Writer Joaquin Miller claimed "Idaho" meant “the light or diadem on the line of the mountain”—another fanciful (and incorrect) assertion.

8. Willing's Dubious Legacy & Alternative Theories

• Willing’s reputation as a con artist was cemented——he was involved in multiple fraud schemes, including the infamous Arizona Peralta land grant fraud (27:15).
• Other theories:
  • The name "Idaho" might derive from "Ida" (after a girl).
  • Or from Kiowa Apache "Aidahi" (meaning "enemy"), but this seems unlikely as states don’t usually name themselves "enemy."

9. Bureaucratic Distraction Lets “Idaho” Slide In

• By 1863, during the Civil War, lawmakers had bigger issues than state names, so “Idaho” stuck through bureaucratic inertia (34:48–36:02).
  • Noel: “At this point... lawmakers were a little more preoccupied with the Civil War than quarreling about state names and made up Indian words.” (34:48)
  • Ben: "It just slid in under the radar... more and more people began using it... It's 2019 and Idaho is the state's name. It's not gonna change anytime soon." (35:07–36:02)

10. Idaho in Context: All Words Are Made Up

• The hosts reflect philosophically on language: “...most—actually all—words are made up. At some point, we all agreed... that this word means this thing... and Idaho is one of the 50 states of the United States of America.” — Ben (37:33)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Surely it’s referring to some sort of native tradition, right?” — Noel (01:18)
• “...it’s a little more hilarious and complicated than just naming it after, like, a native tribe, like I think we’re often used to.” — Ben (01:29)
• “We know each other pretty well at this point. Have any of us been to Idaho?” — Ben (01:13)
• “So Haagen-Dazs is a made up word? ... Idaho is kind of like this.” — Ben (25:44–25:47)
• “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I do not believe it is an Indian word. ...It is a corruption, certainly a counterfeit, and ought not to be adopted.” — Senator from Oregon, quoted by Ben (21:59)
• “Idaho, just like kind of a Haagen Dazs, stuck around, sounded close enough to the thing that it was purporting to be that more and more people began using it.” — Ben (35:07–35:24)
• “Most—actually all—words are made up.” — Ben (37:33)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Summary | Timestamp | |---------|---------|-----------| | Introduction & Personal Experiences | Hosts discuss US state names, geography quirks, and whether they've visited Idaho | 00:00–09:03 | | State name logic (or lack thereof) | Origins and weirdness of other state names | 06:08–09:04 | | Theories on “Idaho” | Discussion of what people think "Idaho" means | 09:29–11:54 | | George M. Willing’s story | Bio, lobbyist schemes, and his role in inventing "Idaho" | 12:27–14:15 | | Congressional debates | Push to use “Idaho” for Colorado and resulting objections in Congress | 20:57–24:14 | | Idaho vs. Colorado | How the name Colorado ended up being chosen instead | 24:14–25:44 | | The “Haagen-Dazs” connection | The idea of made-up words being normalized | 25:44–26:05 | | Proliferation and entrenchment | "Idaho" spreads into counties, then becomes the state’s name | 26:05–27:03 | | Willing’s frauds, alternative origins | More on Willing and other false etymologies | 27:15–28:23 | | Civil War distraction | Why “Idaho” stuck through inattention | 34:48–36:02 | | All words are made-up | Hosts reflect on language and naming | 37:33–38:03 |

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Tone and Style

The hosts maintain their classic, lighthearted, and irreverent tone, frequently cracking jokes and riffing on each other’s remarks. Despite the topic’s apparent dryness, their conversation is animated, full of banter, and packed with surprising side-notes.

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Takeaways

• “Idaho” is, in all likelihood, a made-up word, fabricated by a mining lobbyist in the 19th century.
• The supposed meaning (“gem of the mountains”) was also invented to give the name credibility.
• Through repetition, usage, and a distracted Congress, the name took root—demonstrating the quirky and often accidental origins of American place names.
• The story is less about Idaho itself, and more about how history is littered with frauds, marketing spin, and traditions born of happy accident.

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For more episodes, check Ridiculous History on the iHeartRadio app or your favorite podcast platform.

Transcript

[A]

Fellow ridiculous historians, we are returning to you with a classic episode. This one goes out to all our friends in Idaho.

[B]

Yeah, in an Idaho state of mind, or just in the state. The 43rd state.

[A]

Yes, yes. In fact, it is the 43rd state. And I gotta. I gotta check, guys. We know each other pretty well at this point. Have any of us been to Idaho?

[B]

Not that I can recall.

[C]

I have driven through it and I was. I was going from Seattle to Denver when I did that trip years ago, which involved. I went through my Montana and stuff. And I will tell you right now, I had zero expectations I was leaving Spokane. Spokane's gorgeous place. I had no expectations of Idaho whatsoever. At least the northern part. I didn't go through the heart of it. Beautiful. Absolutely.

[B]

Idaho is more west. Right?

[A]

It's.

[B]

It's like, it's.

[C]

Yeah, it's right. So the smokestack is right between Washington and Montana.

[A]

So go. Go west. Go west and then go north for a while.

[B]

Go west, young man. Indeed.

[C]

It's on top of Nevada.

[A]

Uh huh.

[B]

Okay. There you go. Clearly, I'm excellent at geography.

[A]

Yeah. And one of the things we found back in 2019 when we originally recorded this episode, is that we've all accepted the word Idaho as a normalized thing. And there are.

[B]

Surely it's referring to some sort of native tradition. Right?

[A]

Right. Or as my paterfamilias used to say, uh, no, Idaho udaho.

[B]

Of course, I think we all had a dad or two that dropped that one on us. But it turns out that it's a little more hilarious and complicated than just naming it after, like, a native tribe, like I think we're often used to.

[A]

Yes. Well said. Let's roll the tape.

[D]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[E]

I'm Eva Longoria.

[F]

And I'm Maithe Gomez Rejuan. And this week on our podcast, Hungry for History, we talk oysters. Plus the Miambi chief stops.

[A]

If you are not an oyster lover.

[B]

Don'T even talk to me.

[F]

Ancient Athenians used to scratch names onto oyster shells to vote politicians into exile. So our word ostracize is related to the word oyster.

[E]

No way.

[F]

Bring back the ostracon.

[E]

Listen to Hungry for history on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[D]

You know, the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon D is here dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you all the laughs Drama and reality news you can handle. And you know, we don't hold back. So come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[G]

Jenna World, Jenna Jameson, Vivid Video and the Valley is a new podcast about the history of the adult film industry. I'm Molly Lambert and I'll be your tour guide on a wild trip through adult films. We get paid more than the men. We call the shots. In what way is that degrading? That's us taking hold of our Life. Listen to GentleWorld on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[H]

Join me, Danny Trejo in Tales from the Shadows, an anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[C]

Thanksgiving isn't just about food. It's a day for us to show up for one another.

[B]

It's okay not to be okay sometimes.

[A]

And be able to build strength and love within each other.

[C]

I'm Elliot Khani, host of the podcast Family Therapy, a series where real families come together to heal and find hope.

[I]

I've always wanted us to have therapy, so this is such a beautiful opportunity.

[C]

Listen to season two of Family Therapy every Wednesday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio.

[E]

Foreign.

[A]

Welcome to the show Ridiculous Historians. Longtime listeners amongst us may remember that some time ago, my co host, our super producer, Casey Pegram and I decided that we were going to hell or high water. Do one episode for every state in the US and we're sticking to our guns or attempting to. We're not going to Sufjan Stevens this, right?

[B]

No, you say that every time, Ben.

[A]

Right. I know. I just want him to make the other, what, 48 albums?

[B]

Yeah, well, you know, I don't think he ever intended to do any of that. And plus, you know, to be fair, doing a 30 minute podcast on a stage is a lot different than doing like a, you know, an album. So let's give Sufian a break.

[A]

You're right, Nolan. Perhaps it depends on how much work goes into an album.

[B]

His records are quite baroque.

[A]

Yes, he's going for baroque every time. So today's episode is a little bit of a weird one. We are talking about an origin story, but not so much an origin story of a state as an origin story of a state's name.

[B]

Yeah, it's the old what's in a name? Turns out quite a lot and a lot of disagreement and a lot of fraudulent claims and all kinds of stuff. This is, you know, on the surface, seems like could be a dry episode. Not the case, my friend. Not the case.

[A]

Quite juicy. Yeah. And there's a bit of a mystery here as well. And I guess one of the best ways for us to start off today's episode is just by acknowledging something that is an unspoken truth here in the US State names are weird. They feel relatively arbitrary at times and there's not a ton of cohesive, coherent logic or uniformity involved.

[B]

Right, that's true.

[A]

You've got like New York. Right. That makes sense. There was another York somewhere, and this is the new one. Right.

[B]

Clearly the better York.

[A]

It's clearly. It's definitely the latest model. There's no new New York. But then there are states like Mississippi. There are states like Hawaii. There are states like. I don't know. I don't know. How do you feel about this? The states that are named in relation to other states. North Dakota, South Dakota.

[B]

Seems like a cop out to me.

[A]

There's no. Just Dakota.

[B]

No, yeah, exactly.

[A]

North Carolina. South Carolina.

[B]

Yeah. Carolina, I believe, was named after a monarch.

[A]

Yeah. And then oddly enough, Virginia and West Virginia. There's no East Virginia.

[B]

Also true.

[A]

That's weird. They could. It's a weird thing.

[B]

Well, because as it turns out, most of these state names were done by committee. So as. As typically happens, when or done by committee, you end up with something convoluted that no one really likes that much, but people kind of settle on.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Like in the 1996 Olympics here in Atlanta, Georgia.

[B]

Talking about the creepy mascot.

[A]

Mascot? Yeah. What was that guy's name? What's it.

[B]

Izzy. Izzy.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

So, yeah, he sort of looks like a weird little like a.

[A]

He's like a blue drop.

[B]

He's a blue like exactly like a blue droplet of water with like Saturn rings around him and big tennis shoes.

[A]

They're the Olympic rings now.

[B]

I'm sorry, Excuse me. Of course they are. How could I be so foolish? But that's the point. It was so random looking, you know, they didn't even read that way to me.

[A]

Yeah. It was just. It was guided by committee. Probably some overpriced market agency. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So someone's like, he's got to have shoes. He's got to have the ring somewhere. And he's got to be a weird little water droplet alien guy because people.

[A]

Wear shoes, they get thirsty and we're.

[B]

At the Olympics and they love aliens.

[A]

They love aliens. Izzy. That was his name. Huh, I forgot that completely.

[B]

Turns out it's short for Israel.

[A]

Is it?

[B]

No, Izzy It. But that is our wonderful it guy. How stuff works. Goes by Izzy, which is short for Israel.

[A]

Yes, that is true. I call the name I use with is. Depends upon the severity or immediacy of the request.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So it's. It's Iz if we're just hanging out. It's Izzy if we're hanging out outside of work and it's Israel if it's like in an email, other people reading. He and I gotta escalate it. Yeah, he and I both have to be grownups. So the name Idaho, that fits in, right? In this weird motley crew of various 50 various names that came about for various reasons.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Often, as you said, by committee. But unlike many other states, it's difficult for us to figure out exactly what the name means. We're telling you the truth, folks, here in 2019, one of the most intriguing mysteries of Idaho history is the origin and meaning of the name. The name of the state in which you might be listening to this episode right now. So, Noel, have you ever been to Idaho?

[B]

No, I haven't been. And you know what this is. I'm going to put it out there right now in my mind. I sometimes confuse it with Ohio because of the name. And I know they are geographically couldn't be less related. I am not good at geography though, my friends, I am here to tell you that right now. So Ben, give us the scoop on the geography of Idaho.

[A]

Sure. So Idaho is bordered to the west by Washington and Oregon to the east, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada and Utah to the south. And then at the very small attenuated top of the state, boom, it runs straight into Canada.

[B]

I've heard of that.

[A]

Yes, yes. Casey. Casey Pegram. Super producer Casey Pegram. Have you ever been to Idaho?

[B]

No, my only.

[A]

I was just thinking about this.

[B]

My only association with Idaho in general.

[A]

Is a early built a spill song called Twin Falls, Idaho. Oh, wow.

[B]

And then there's also my own Private Idaho.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, the Gus Van Stant movie.

[B]

Well, but I think it was actually a B52 song first.

[A]

Oh, okay, okay.

[B]

You're living in your own private Idaho.

[A]

And yeah, the builds spills like Christmas.

[B]

Twin Falls, Idaho.

[A]

It's a pretty sad song actually.

[B]

Casey on the case.

[A]

Yeah. That was a great deep cut too. I am a built to spill fan myself. Yeah, I have not as of yet traveled to Idaho that I can recall. I know it sounds sketchy, but. Yeah, yeah, I'm 70% sure. I haven't been there, but the past is a watercolor in the rain. You know, things blur. Which brings us back around to the speculation about Idaho's name. Even though it seems like it would fit in, you know, it sounds similar to many other states. Right. It turns out that we have relatively little idea of where the name Idaho came from. We have some theories.

[B]

We have some theories. And the biggest, most lasting theory revolves around a kooky mining lobbyist by the name of George M. Willing. It is put forth in the record that he suggested the name Idaho and said that it was a Native American word that meant the gem of the mountains. And this was actually surrounding the naming of what is now Colorado. So this is a whole saga that kind of gets this name. Gets sort of kicked around a little bit, doesn't it?

[A]

Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about the background of George Maurice Willing Jr. Known as Doc to his friends. He was born sometime around 1829 to a very well off family in Philadelphia. He was educated as a physician, but he got in trouble, he got disgraced because he was discovered performing abortions.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That is true.

[B]

This I did not know.

[A]

And so in the early 1850s he moves to California to escape potential legal complications. And by the late 1850s he's resettled to St. Louis, Missouri. He becomes part of the Pike's Peak gold rush in 1859. He was described as a man of many interests, a good geologist, a polished gentleman. He became a candidate for the Jefferson Territory delegation in October of 1859. He lost the election, but he still. Despite losing the election, check this out. He just goes to DC anyway and becomes a lobbyist. And then while he's working as a delegate, at least according to the story, he's the one associated most strongly with the name Idaho.

[B]

Yeah, this would have been in the earliest days of lobbying, wouldn't it have been?

[A]

It was nothing like it is today. It was nowhere near as closely regulated, you know what I mean? So it's suggested by Willing and some other people early in 1860 as an alternative name for the territory that finally became known as Colorado. And as you said, Noel, it was represented as being a term meaning gem of the mountains, which some people loved.

[B]

That'S true, but it didn't fly at that particular time. And a little time went by. And Idaho was not forgotten because it just had a certain, I don't know, a certain mouth feel to it. Right, Ben?

[A]

Yeah. And let's also consider that willing. Again, we can't overemphasize. This isn't really supposed to be there. The minors aren't even supposed to have a delegate. But people are becoming increasing fans of this phrase or this buzzword or this term in the halls of dc.

[B]

All I know is what I've been told and that to have truth is a whole lie.

[I]

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[B]

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[I]

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[B]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky.

[A]

Housewife helped give justice to Jessica Kerr.

[I]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[A]

I did not know her and I.

[C]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[A]

Burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[D]

They literally made me say that I.

[I]

Took a match and struck and threw it on her.

[A]

They made me say that I poured gas on her.

[I]

From Lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[B]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[I]

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[H]

Welcome fellow seekers of the dark. I'm Danny Trejo. Won't you join me in Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows, an anthology of Mars modern day horror stories inspired by the legends and lore of Latin America. Take a trip from ghastly encounters with evil spirits to bone chilling brushes with supernatural creatures and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. You should probably keep your lights on for now. Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows as part of my Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[G]

Jenna World, Jenna Jameson, Vivid Video and the Valley is a new podcast about the history of the adult film industry. Molly Fly I'm Molly Lambert Host of Heidi the Heidi Fly Story. And I'll be your tour guide on a wild ride through adult films. We get paid more than the men. We call the shots. In what way is that degrading? That's us taking hold of our Life. In the 1990s, actress Jenna Jameson crossed over into mainstream culture, redefined stardom, then left it all behind. I'm a powerful woman. I think that's intimidating to a man. With a cast of hundreds of actors and comedians playing key figures, we'll take a look at how adult films became legal in the 70s, hugely profitable in the 80s and 90s, and fell off a financial cliff in the 2000s. Listen to Gentle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Can we get a Thanksgiving first? I'm hungry.

[G]

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[A]

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[E]

I'm Eva Longoria.

[F]

And I'm Maite Gomez Rajon.

[E]

And on our podcast Hungry for History, we mix two of our favorite things. Food and history.

[F]

Ancient Athenians used to scratch names onto oyster shells and they called these ostrakon to vote politicians into exile. So our word ostracize is related to the word oyster.

[E]

No way.

[D]

Bring back the ostracon.

[E]

And because we've got a very mi casa es su casa kind of vibe on our show, friends always stop by.

[A]

Pretty much every entry into this side of the planet was through the El.

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Golf of Mexico.

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Forever and ever.

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It blows me away how progressive Mexico was in this moment. They had land reform, they had labor rights, they had education rights.

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Mustard seeds were so valuable to the ancient Egyptians that they used to place them in their tombs for the afterlife.

[E]

Listen to Hungry for History as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

There's a guy named Williams who has interactions with both political groups in these different mining camps. And he's really digging the name Idaho. And something important is happening at this point. So the 1860 election's out of the way, Lincoln is president, and there's this blockade that has existed against creating new territories, right? And this blockade begins to clear. So while the Southern states are ramping up towards secession, there's an Idaho bill for the Pikes Peak mines that was printed by the house on December 18, 1860. And this is where it gets a little complicated. This Williams guy pushes, lobbies Congress to alter a Colorado territorial bill that they've been sitting on for months and to the name of that territory from Colorado to Idaho. And then when this happened, when this came up and this new name was proposed in the Senate, a senator from Oregon objected. And then another guy says, james Green, Senator James Green says Idaho is a very good name in the Indian language. You know, it means gem of the mountains. And this guy from Oregon says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I do not believe it is an Indian word. It is a corruption. No Indian tribe in this nation has that word. In my opinion, it is a corruption, certainly a counterfeit, and ought not to be adopted.

[B]

And let's remember too, that the states, I don't know, hopefully, hopefully I'm not overly simplifying this, something I have a tendency to do sometimes. But the states would begin their lives as territories when enough miners would come in and they realized there were enough natural resources there to justify a colony of miners. And then as more and more people came and more and more infrastructure was created, the population would boom enough to justify calling it a state. Or there would be a whole nother series of discussions would form around, okay, now it's going to transfer from being a colony, a territory, to actually being a proper state and having a name.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And we know. We know that. Especially in this period of history, or at least more so than in the modern day, groups of people would get together and pitch ideas for states, like in our previous episode, about U.S. states that never actually happened. There are so many conversations throughout the U.S. historical record about people trying to make the name of a state or create their own state when someone else is claiming the same land. The thing that happens, though, is that the Senate, at first, they approve this change. They say, okay, we'll change it from Colorado to Idaho, because Williams really wants it that way. But Williams gets suspicious. He's like this. Senator Lane is from Oregon, right? He's on the West Coast. He is probably fairly well acquainted with the languages of indigenous people at the time. And he seems very certain this is not a real word. So he looks into the matter, and that's when he finds out that Idaho is not a word or it's not an existing word in an existing language.

[B]

But Williams was largely ignored in the first place, too, because he was like the vice presidential candidate of the pro slavery wing of the Democratic Party, which was not a good look. So he was kind of, you know, just, hey, get this guy out of here, you know?

[A]

So they may have been just making fun of him right in the beginning. So this is when he learns that George M. Willing or one of his supporters had just invented the word along with the notion of its definition about a year before. And so Williams hunts up another senator, an eastern senator, a guy named Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, and he says, will you please change the name back to Colorado? And on February 4, 1861, the Senate says, okay, we'll change it to Colorado. And before the House did anything about its Idaho bill, the Colorado bill passed in the Senate, and then the representatives passed the Colorado bill. And so the House bill never was acted on. And the name Idaho received no further consideration for Colorado, which became a territory on February 28, 1861. But the thing was sort of in a Pandora's box kind of situation, people like the word people in what will become Idaho or in that territory are digging it. It's already a popular phrase in the Rockies and in the Pacific Northwest. And it's kind of like, I don't know if you ever heard this. Are you familiar with the ice cream franchise, Haagen Dazs?

[B]

Of course.

[A]

So Haagen Dazs is a made up word?

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yes. They just wanted something that sounded like vaguely Scandinavian so it would be a little more classy. And Idaho is kind of like this. People are swearing to one another up and down that it is a word from a language of native people who have lived in this area of the world.

[B]

So like you said, Ben, to that point, this word Idaho was already out of the box. It was floating around. It was in the zeitgeist, and people thought it sounded nice, you know, Cause of the mouthfeel. And it's just Indian sounding ness. So In December of 1861, there was a territorial legislature of Washington and it created Idaho county. And that, you know, as we mentioned the geography of Idaho, it borders Washington state. It originally was part of Washington state, but then it became its own state. And there's another player in kind of keeping this Idaho word alive. A guy by the name of Joaquin Miller who wrote the Poet of the Sierras, where he spelled it Idaho. And he claimed that it meant the light or diadem on the line of the mountain, which is a little bit more of a highfalutin way of saying what was the original one, Ben? The gem of the mountain.

[A]

And keep in mind these are mining concerns.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Putting out this.

[B]

That's true. So I think at this point the original kerfuffle with Willing had been largely forgotten. But the word, the name, kind of lived on, Right?

[A]

Yeah. And at this point we do want to profile a little bit. There's some background, some context to Willing's character that come into play here. Willings was involved in a number of frauds. One of the most notorious being something called the Arizona Peralta land grant fraud in which he played a despicable part. He also was an associate of forgers. He was a guy similar to so many other con artists that we have talked about in past episodes. And. And you'll hear different alternating theories that he met a young girl named Ida and that inspired the name, or that it actually is a corruption of indigenous people's language. The Kiowa Apache term Aidahi, which meant enemy. That doesn't really measure up in my opinion. That last one. I could see a state being named after a person. That's happened before, but I can't see a state being named enemy. You want something a little more positive, right?

[B]

You do, you do. All I know is what I've been told and that to have truth is a whole lie.

[I]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[A]

I'm telling you.

[B]

We know Quincy killed her. We know.

[I]

A story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[B]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky.

[A]

Housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[I]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy. To find.

[A]

I did not know her and I.

[C]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[A]

Burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[D]

They literally made me say that I.

[I]

Took a match and struck and threw it on her.

[A]

They made me say that I poured gas on her.

[I]

From Lava for Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go go in order to find someone to blame.

[B]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[I]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcast.

[A]

May 24, 1990. A pipe bomb explodes in the front seat of environmental activist Judy Berry's car.

[D]

I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it rip through me with just a force more powerful and terrible than anything that I could describe.

[A]

In season two of Rip Current, we ask who tried to kill Judy Berry and why? She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing. The men and women who were hurt.

[B]

Had planned to lead a summer of.

[A]

Militant protest against logging practices in Northern California. They were climbing trees and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods. The timber industry, I mean, it was the number one industry in the area, but more that it was the culture, it was the way of life.

[B]

I think that this is a deliberate.

[C]

Attempt to sabotage our movement.

[A]

Episodes of rip current season two are available now. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and on the new season of Heavyweight, I help a centenarian mend a broken heart.

[A]

How can a 101-year-old woman fall in love again?

[B]

And I help a man atone for an armed robbery he committed at 14 years old. And so I pointed the gun at him and said, this isn't a joke. And he got down. And I remember feeling kind of a.

[D]

Surge of like, okay, this is power.

[B]

Plus, my old friend Gregor and his brother tried to solve my problems through hypnotism. We could give you a whole brand new thing where you're like, super charming all the time, being more able to look people in the eye, not always hide behind a microphone. Listen to heavyweight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[D]

You know, the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robin Dixon is here dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you all the laughs, drama, and reality news you can handle. And you know, we don't hold back. So come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday, I was going through a walk in my neighborhood. Out of the blue, I see this huge sign next to somebody's house. Okay. The sign says, my neighbor is a Karen.

[A]

No way.

[D]

I died laughing. I'm like, I have to know. You are lying. Humongous, y'.

[C]

All.

[D]

They had some time on their hands. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[E]

I'm Eva Longoria.

[F]

And I'm Maite Gomez Rejun.

[E]

And on our podcast Hungry for History, we mix two of our favorite things, food and history.

[F]

Ancient Athenians used to scratch names onto oyster shells and they called these ostrakon to vote politicians into exile. So our word ostracize is related to the word oyster.

[E]

No way.

[F]

Bring back the ostracon.

[E]

And because we've got a very mi casa es su casa kind of vibe on our show, friends always stop by.

[A]

Pretty much every entry into this side of the planet was through the El Golf of America.

[F]

No, the America.

[A]

Forever and ever.

[E]

It blows me away how progressive Mexico was in this moment. They had land reform, they had labor rights, they had education rights.

[F]

Mustard seeds were so valuable to the ancient Egyptians that they used to place them in their tombs for the afterlife.

[E]

Listen to Hungry for History as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

So now we know this battle that happened ultimately was a battle fought in the public sphere in terms of public opinion and public use of the phrase. And that's why the term Idaho was first used to refer to Idaho as a state instead of Idaho Springs or some other area in 1863. Williams went on to do some more shenanigans.

[B]

Yeah, he sure did. And let's not forget, too, that at this point, a lot of lawmakers that had maybe had their breaches in bunches about this in the first place were a little more preoccupied with the Civil War than quarreling about state names and made up Indian words. Right, right.

[A]

And so that's kind of how it slid in under the radar, because people were so worried about this burgeoning war between the states that they didn't really have time nor the inclination to worry about what they saw as a relatively benign concept, like the name Idahome. And so Idaho, just like kind of a Haagen Dazs stuck around, sounded close enough to the thing that it was purporting to be that more and more people began using it. And some of the same senators who remembered that last naming incident when they figured out that it was a made up name were the same senators who were like, hey, we have to figure out the Civil War thing, so just let it ride. Maybe we can fix it later. Maybe we can kick the can down the road and can kick the can. They did. Because it is 2019 and Idaho is the state's name. It's not gonna change anytime soon.

[B]

No, it's true. And this is not even the most egregious example of a naming fraud. Have you ever heard of Montpelier, Illinois?

[A]

Ooh, I have heard the name. What's the skinny on that?

[B]

Yeah, it turns out that the name, and as Casey off mic just pointed out, it would be more properly pronounced Montpellier was something of a practical joke. Father Jacques Marquette in 1673 encountered some members of the Peoria Indian tribe, and that was near the mouth of what would today be called the Des Moines River. And he asked them to give him the name of another tribe of rivals that lived further down the river. And the Peoria leadership told him that they were called the Muinguana, and that became the roots for McCoyn. But Michael McCafferty of Indiana University discovered that in the Miami, Illinois language, which is now no longer it's a dead language, this actually would have been translated to faces. And apparently nobody in Illinois government in the city of Des Moines has acknowledged that this is the case. But the research stands. Interesting stuff. So I guess having a made up name is maybe a little less embarrassing than having a name that translates to something so derogatory.

[A]

That's a great point. And as I'm sure many of us are thinking as we're listening to this episode right now, most actually all words are made up. At some point, we all agreed, or various factions of us throughout the human species agreed that this word means this thing. You know what I mean? Like hand means that thing at the end of your arm. Shoe means that thing that goes over your foot. And Idaho is One of the 50 states of the United States of America.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

And that is our episode for today. How many states? How many states have we done now?

[B]

I don't know. Are there any intrepid, ridiculous historians that want to do the Tally and shoot us an [e-mail] that Be cool.

[A]

We love to hear from you. Because otherwise. Now, I'll be completely honest with you here, folks. Otherwise we'll get halfway through an episode and then realize that we have in fact already covered that state.

[B]

It's okay. Whatever it takes to get the show.

[A]

Out, as long as it's a good story too. So thank you in advance for sending us that note. We want to hear the interesting stories of place names in your neck of the global woods. We'd also, of course, like to thank super producer Casey Pegram. And maybe, you know, maybe we could go for a road trip to Idaho one day.

[B]

Let's do it. We'd also like to thank Alex Williams, who composed our theme. Gabe, our research associate, who hipped us to this topic. You can check me out on Instagram. Brionicinsider.

[A]

You can find our show on Instagram as well on Twitter and Facebook. You can find your fellow listeners on our Facebook community page. That's ridiculous. Historians. And if you if you want to hang out with me, see some pictures of weird adventures and my oversized cats, you can find me at Ben Bullen on Instagram.

[B]

We'll see you next time, folks. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[A]

Dude, this new Bacon, Egg and chicken biscuit from AM pm Total winner. Winner, chicken breakfast. Chicken breakfast. Come on. I think you mean chicken dinner, bro. Nah, brother.

[B]

Crispy bacon, fluffy eggs, juicy chicken and a buttery biscuit.

[A]

That's the perfect breakfast.

[C]

All right, let me try it.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah, totally. Winner, winner, chicken breakfast. I'm gonna have to keep this right here.

[H]

Make sure every breakfast is a winner.

[A]

With the delicious new break. Bacon, Egg and chicken biscuit from AM pm AM pm Too much good stuff.

[E]

I'm Eva Longoria.

[F]

And I'm Maite Gomez Rejoan. And this week on our podcast, Hungry for History, we talk oysters. Plus, the Miami chief stops by.

[A]

If you are not an oyster lover.

[B]

Don'T even talk to me.

[F]

Ancient Athenians used to scratch names onto oyster shells to vote politicians into exile. So our word ostracize is related to the word oyster.

[E]

No way.

[A]

Bring back the ostrichon.

[E]

Listen to Hungry for history on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[H]

Join me, Danny Trejo in Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows, an anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[C]

Thanksgiving isn't just about food. It's a day for us to show up for one another.

[B]

It's okay not to be okay sometimes.

[A]

And be able to build strength and love within each other.

[C]

I'm Eliakhani, host of the podcast Family Therapy, a series where real families come together to heal and find hope.

[I]

I've always wanted us to have therapy, so this is such a beautiful opportunity.

[C]

Listen to season two of Family Therapy every Wednesday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[D]

I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it rip through me.

[A]

In season two of Rip Current, we asked who tried to kill Judy Berry and why. They were climbing trees and they were.

[B]

Sabotaging logging equipment in the woods.

[A]

She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing.

[B]

I think that this is a deliberate.

[C]

Attempt to sabotage our movement.

[A]

Episodes of Rip Current Season 2 are available now. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[D]

This is an iHeart podcast.