And the winner is...

The town of Hot Springs in New Mexico had a perfectly good name until it was persuaded to plug a television quiz. David Orkin pays a visit to Truth or Consequences

Half a century ago, the most famous quizmaster in the world was (a) Chris Tarrant; (b) Magnus Magnusson; (c) Anne Robinson; (d) Ralph Edwards (ahem).

Since you got that one right, let's continue. Mr Edwards' radio show was called (a) Mastermind; (b) The Weakest Link; (c) Who Wants To Be A Convicted Criminal; (d) Truth Or Consequences (splutter).

And the town that, astonishingly, agreed to change its name to match the name of the quiz show, was (a) New Malden, Surrey; (b) New Milton, Hants; (c) Newmarket, Cambs; (d) Hot Springs, New Mexico (cough).

Congratulations. Ralph Edwards is the American radio superstar who devised and presented the show Truth Or Consequences, and triggered a municipal poll that redrew the map of New Mexico.

Mr Edwards will turn 90 in June. He is still celebrated for the way that he turned an innocuous corner of south-west New Mexico into a tourist attraction – you try driving past a signpost pointing to Truth or Consequences.

The idea for the programme originated with a game Edwards' mother had taught him as he grew up in the next state north, Colorado. Broadcasts began in 1940, and listeners soon became accustomed to the pattern of the show. Each contestant was asked a trick question, and almost invariably failed to answer correctly. At this point "Beulah the Buzzer" was activated to signify that the competitor had failed to tell the truth and would have to pay the consequences. Some of the forfeits were amusing, but more often they were plain embarrassing, even by the low standards of today's reality television.

Truth Or Consequences proved extremely popular with the public. As the 10th anniversary approached, plans were revealed for the programme to make the transition to television. Mr Edwards wanted to mark the show's first decade with something memorable. It took several think-tanks before Al Simon, one of the backroom team, came up with the idea: put out an appeal for one of America's thousands of small towns to change its name to the name of the show. In return, the "new" town of Truth or Consequences would be plugged on the show, and would be the venue for a huge annual celebration to be attended by the programme's presenters and their famous friends.

It was a marketing dream – yet history does not relate whether any town other than Hot Springs, New Mexico, was sufficiently bold to apply. Hot Springs, in the harsh south-west of New Mexico, had few claims to fame besides proximity to New Mexico's largest body of water, Elephant Butte Lake – a draw for boaters, water-skiers and fishermen. The town had in fact originally been named "Palomas Hot Springs", but because it was a mouthful, with time the "Palomas" was forgotten.

What is beyond dispute is that the town's Chamber of Commerce realised that this would be a great opportunity to advertise the delights of their town to the nation, and bring in a flood of tourist dollars. After all, there were 30 towns in California alone called Hot Springs, and the Arkansas town of that name – birthplace of Bill Clinton – was far more successful in attracting "health tourists" to the waters. But first, Hot Springs in New Mexico had to seek the approval of the residents.

A referendum took place in March 1950. The result was 1,294 in favour of the name change, with only 295 against. The people of Hot Springs voted to become Truth or Consequences by a majority of more than five to one.

T or C, as it is habitually referred to, now has a population of 8,000. The bathhouses are located in the older (and more characterful) part of town. There's the excellent "Hot Springs Bakery" and a small but interesting museum (with half its space devoted to Ralph Edwards) across the road from the rather grand post office. You can picnic on the banks of the Rio Grande at Ralph Edwards Park.

Mr Edwards and his team decided in favour of Hot Springs because "like the show, this town has a real friendliness for people and a desire to help mankind". The production rolled into town for the live show on 1 April 1950. The venue was the school theatre of the freshly renamed town. The highlight of the show was the appearance in the auditorium of an elephant: in one of the show's more cerebral stunts, the creature had been hidden at nearby Elephant Butte Lake with a prize on offer from Mr Edwards and his team for the finder.

Surprisingly, the TV version of Truth Or Consequences was pulled after a year (no doubt it may soon reappear). Undeterred, Mr Edwards continued to present the show on radio until 1954.

What of the town of T or C today? After a relaxing hot soak in the Artesian Baths, I spoke to Ellie Martin, for 20 years the baths' owner and manageress. "The hot springs are still here and flowing: once there were more than a dozen different bathhouses but these days there's only six still open. It's not just bathhouses – lots of businesses come and go but I reckon they're closing faster than they're opening."

"What do you think of the town's name?" I asked.

"Does its job," she replied. "There's lots of towns called Hot Springs but only one T or C. That still brings people in. I mean, what made you stop here?"

West of T or C it's an easy drive to several interesting "ghost towns", some of which are beginning to come back to life as a trickle of new settlers move in. The weather is another attraction; many "snowbirds" drive huge motorhomes down from the frozen northern states to pass the winter in T or C's sunshine.

The annual "Truth Or Consequences Celebration Day" (these days called the "Ralph Edwards Fiesta") is still going: Edwards himself attended every year until 1999. Since then his ill-health and frailty has prevented his appearance.

Having thought that naming a town after a game show was unique, I did a double-take a few days after leaving T or C when driving in southern Arizona. Ahead on the road was a signpost for a place called "Why". Coming to a road junction I parked outside "Steve and Sandy's General Store".

I went in, and addressed the lady behind the counter: "I'm afraid I'm going to ask you the question that everyone who stops here must ask. Why 'Why'?"

"Say that again?"

"Why 'Why'? Why is this town called 'Why'?"

"Oh," she said, and was pensive for a while. "I think it's because the roads make a "Y" here and they couldn't have a place with just one letter for the name so they called it 'Why'."

"Are you sure?" I asked, disappointed. "I mean, is it possible that it's named after a quiz show?"

She looked at me with undisguised suspicion. "A quiz show?" she asked, "Why would anyone name a town after a quiz show?"

Traveller's guide

Getting there: there are no direct flights from the UK to New Mexico. The usual approach is to fly to the state capital, Albuquerque, on airlines such as American via Dallas, Continental via Houston or Newark, or Delta via Atlanta. In May, the lowest fares through discount agents are in the £350-£400 range.

More information: New Mexico Department of Tourism, 001 800 733 6396; or visit its useful website, www.newmexico.org