The town of Asbestos in Quebec, Canada has long been dreaming of a new identity. Its current name was appropriate as the town was home to what was once the world's largest asbestos mine. But ever since asbestos was deemed a deadly carcinogen, the name has bummed out many of its citizens. Four new town names were floated this week but a negative public reaction has sent officials back to the drawing board, delaying a vote that is open to all residents 14-years-old and up. From UPI:
The names that were originally slated to be voted on Oct. 14-18 were Phenix, the French version of the mythical fire bird Phoenix; Apalone, a species of turtle; Trois-Lacs, which means "Three Lakes" in English; and Jeffrey, the name of the man who operated the town's first asbestos mine.
"We're all here today to tell the population that we're listening, we're not in an ivory tower," Grimard told local radio station CJAN-FM. "The changing of a town's name is a major one, we recognize that — we're writing history."
image: Pierre-Paul Drouin (public domain)
