The controversial 'Moonraker' nickname for people from Middleton may soon be consigned to history, if people from the town get their way.
But if that is to happen they may need to tear down the public art that's been present in the town centre precinct since 2001 - a triangular shape made of three giant rakes with a moon at the pinnacle and a fountain at its base.
People the Manchester Evening News spoke to said they found the nickname and the Moonraker Monument which is reminder of it as 'degrading'.
The origin of exactly how Middletonians came to be so named is not entirely clear.
According to folklore, the legend has several different interpretations. One version is that a traveller came upon a drunken yokel trying to rake a reflection of the moon in a village pond, convinced it was cheese.
This version conveys the notion that the men were drunk and acting foolishly.
However, an alternative narrative - and perceived to be the most reliable version - tells a different story and dates back to the time when smuggling was a significant industry in rural England.
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It says that some local people had hidden contraband barrels of French brandy from customs officers in a village pond. While trying to retrieve them at night, they were caught by excise men.
They explained themselves by pointing to the moon's reflection and saying they were trying to rake in a round of cheese.
The excise men laughed at them and went on their way. In this scenario it was the 'Moonrakers' who had the last laugh.
But that doesn't cut any ice with Bernard Wynne, the owner of the Updated Coffee Bar and an expert on Middleton's history.
The 53-year-old wouldn't shed a tear if the triangular monument in Middleton Gardens was to be replaced with a more significant symbol of the town's past.
It has been targeted by youths who have squirted detergent into the fountain to make it overflow with foam while others think it's just irrelevant and should be removed.
"You could argue that it's a good thing, I suppose, because it's controversial," said Bernard. "Public art should be controversial because it gets people talking about it. There's a dialogue to be had.
"But there's so much more to Middleton's history than the Moonraker. Why did they spend all that money on a fairytale?
"There were 3,000 Lancaster bombers built in Middleton during World War Two, a magnificent contribution to the effort to beat Hitler.
"Archers from Middleton fought for the English at the Battle of Culloden, the last land battle on British soil [in April 1746, the Jaboite army of Charles Edward Stuart was by a British government force under the Duke of Cumberland]."
Workers from Middleton were part of the Luddite uprisings against mechanisation of the cotton mills - in which local people died during the Industrial Revolution and activists from the town marched to Peterloo in Manchester - in the fight for democracy - before the famous massacre in 1819, he said.
Bernard also said the current monument had been 'neglected'.
"The bulbs inside the moon which light it up at night haven't worked for five years," he said.
And he added that this also showed at Middleton is a 'neglected town' at the hands of Rochdale council.
Ros Liddle, of Middleton, said: "There are many things they could've put there instead of that monument which are a lot less demeaning to people here.
Her friend Jan Eaton-Dykes said: "The monument is a waste of space and it's based on a myth, based around the perception that we're not very bright. Why not put something there that commemorates a positive contribution we have made to history?"
Dorothy Kirsh, who has lived the town all her life said: "The only things that benefit from it are the pigeons that perch on the top of it and drop bombs on the fountain below. They should tear it down. They could easily put something much more meaningful there."
Elaine Hurwitch, whose husband runs the furniture shop Adam's Beds, said: "The people in Middleton are lovely and friendly. We deserved better representation than that."
Sue Smith, who was visiting the town from Heywood, said: "If I lived in Middleton, I'd want it replaced. At Christmas time they put a tree in the middle of it and it looks pathetic. They should make more effort."
Andrew Johnson, of Middleton, said: "The whole Moonraker myth and the monument that goes with it is degrading and we should ditch it once and for all."
