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15 Years Ago, This British Town Changed Its Name Because of Ali G

Officials voted to rename Staines as Staines-upon-Thames after years of jokes linking the suburban town to Sacha Baron Cohen’s character.

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Fans of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show and its 2002 film adaptation Ali G Indahouse will surely recall that the titular wannabe gangster portrayed by Cohen hailed from the supposedly mean streets of Staines, a small market town in northwest Surrey, England. The delusional Ali G is also the leader of a so-called gang known as Da West Staines Massiv, made up of his friends from the area. The joke, of course, for anyone in the know, is that Staines is nothing like the inner-city ghetto the group makes it out........

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