Everyone, it’s time to leave the poor town of Wauconda, Illinois alone. No matter how much you ask, they aren’t going to give you any vibranium.
In a bit of homophonic silliness we came across at The Hollywood Reporter, the American town of Wauconda, pronounced the same as the fictional African country of Wakanda from Black Panther, has been receiving excited—and absurd—emails and calls from fans of the film asking if it is really a secret advanced society using technology to hide its true identity and hoard a master supply of vibranium.
But it’s not. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, Black Panther is not a documentary.
“Someone called and asked how we pronounced the village name and when I told him, he began yelling, ‘Wakanda forever!’ which I am guessing is from the film,” said town official Alise Homola, who has been dealing with all of this sudden interest in her town despite not having seen Black Panther herself. (Given the film’s box office numbers, it seems that she’s the only one who hasn’t.) Wauconda also won’t be changing its high school mascot from a bulldog to a black panther. (Sorry to burst your bubble, but even those aren’t real.)
As for the real Wauconda, which has a population of under 14,000 and sits on the shores of Bangs Lake a little over an hour away from Chicago, the town’s official website says that its suddenly very popular name means “Spirit Water” in the Indian Tongue.
Alas, Wauconda is not a secret hotbed for vibranium, nor is it home to the Dora Milaje. So let’s keep searching!
What fictional movie city or country do you most wish were real? Move in to our comments below and let us know.
Images: Marvel
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