Kenneth Glad
The Great Lakes mnemonic HOMES unexpectedly became part of a cable-news debate. Several social media users later rearranged the initials into a pointed joke.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 27 directing the federal government to use “Lake America” instead of Lake Ontario in official federal references.
The directive gives the Interior secretary 30 days to coordinate with the Board on Geographic Names and update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the change. Federal agencies are also required to adopt the new terminology across maps, contracts, documents and official communications.
Reuters said Trump signed the order as tensions with Canada were already rising over trade. The new name applies only to U.S. federal agencies, meaning Canada and other organizations can continue calling it Lake Ontario.
The mnemonic changes shape
Lake Ontario straddles the U.S.-Canada border, with New York along its southern and eastern shores and the Canadian province of Ontario stretching across the north and west.
During the Aug. 27 edition of the Fox News program The Five, former South Carolina congressman Trey Gowdy turned to what the rename could mean for HOMES, the familiar classroom mnemonic representing Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.
Replacing Ontario with America changes the sequence to HAMES. Gowdy said the new version sounded uncomfortably close to Hamas and suggested that could create confusion for children learning the names of the Great Lakes. “It will confuse a lot of kids. That’s why I haven’t made up my mind on it yet,” he said.
Co-host Jessica Tarlov quickly dismissed that concern and pushed back on Gowdy’s argument. “No kids know what Hamas is.”
X users soon came up with their own version of the initials: SHAME, turning the lake rename into a political joke.
- Bardjangles wrote, “Now kids can use the acronym SHAME to describe the Great Lakes which seems a little too on the nose”.
- DCC posted, “Actually, it would be SHAME, which fits this administration.”
Sources: Aug. 27 Fox News episode of The Five, Reuters
