That's the question for two Utah Boy Scout leaders who decided that a hoodoo—that's the name for a rock formation that looks like a column with a mushroom cap—needed to lose its top.

Where did the name hoodoo come from?

The word hoodoo probably derives from voodoo, a West African-based religion in which magical powers can be associated with natural features. Hoodoos conjure up images of strange events. Use of the term appears to be largely restricted to western North America.

Why are they called hoodoos in Bryce Canyon?

Bulging spires and narrow rock fins fan out from the edge of the plateau. These rock spires and fins are commonly known as Hoodoos. The chaotic destructive force of water, not wind, is responsible for the fantastic shapes in Bryce Canyon.