"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...
[...]
And pity the person who has to deal with both
Des Moines, Iowa and
Des Plaines, Illinois

Or Des Moines, Washington for that matter.

Buena Vista, Virginia is another that always bugged me.

My guess is that the "mis-pronounced" and "differently pronounced" place
names in the US number in the thousands, possibly the tens of thousands.

Pete