Fudging the Data

Two summers ago, I happened across a Wikipedia article about an alleged ghost town in Kentucky what go by name of Fudge.

I don't remember exactly what I was doing that afternoon, but I was probably tussling with stuff relating to my multiple pastimes of theatre, painting, music, writing, eating, and drinking, and hastily whipped up a quickie UnK post basically relaying the info that this Wikipedia page about this ghost town existed. And then wandered off in search of adventure.

Now, two years later, it has come to my attention that - shockeroo - Wikipedia just might be a load of baloney. I know for a fact they're consistently wrong about a number of subjects (including myself!) and I've heard some rumblings on the web that this Fudge article is a fabrication from start to finish.

Unfortunately, these rumblings come from places like the dreaded Topix, which is one of those typical internet message boards where angry people bicker with one another endlessly about nothing. Still, if the people in the Hickman area are all saying they've never ever heard of this "Fudge" place, it makes me wonder.

The usda.gov link that the Wikipedia page provides as a source for the Fudge article contains, in fact, no mention of a Fudge, KY. And some Flaming Lips fans have stated that, contrary to the article, there is no such thing as a video for the song "Chrome Plated Suicide".

Does anyone else have any evidence for this fabled Fudge other than this increasingly suspect Wikipedia article?

Fudge, KY

Ever heard of of Fudge, KY (not to be confused with Kentucky Fudge)? It's now said to be a ghost town, but it reportedly was once a small community in Fulton County, approximately 4 miles southwest of Hickman.

According to Wikipedia:

A small town in the 1850s and 1860s with a population of less than 50, Fudge was abandoned after a few years after settlers determined that the land was inarable. Poor drainage and salinity on the site rendered the soil inadequate to support sustained farming cycles. The earth beneath the site is rich in limestone, with collapsing (slowly dissolving) caverns beneath.

Several of Fudge's abandoned farmhouses and structures still stand today, and have served as a backdrop for several rock band videos, including The Flaming Lips' "Chrome Plated Suicide" and Big Red Bouncer's "Animal Child".