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?

Latest Kentucky Floods of 2011

While the world watches and waits to see what further ill effects may occur from the Destruction of the Birds Point Levee, the storm fronts keeps moving in, rain keeps coming down, and flood waters keep rising like in the old Johnny Cash song.

Union County is essentially closed off and surrounded by high water now. According to the Henderson Gleaner, Union County schools and postal services are almost completely out. The Union post office has had to make an emergency relocation to nearby Henderson County.

Livingston County is under emergency evacuation as I type this. The evacuations in Smithland are mandatory and police-enforced, while residents of the towns of Iuke, Ledbetter, and Tiline are also being urged to evacuate for their own safety at this hour. Kentucky State Police have set up a temporary command post at Grand Rivers, and will be organizing all Fire, ambulance, and rescue operations from here.

In Fulton County, many worried citizens have been fleeing Hickman. Gov. Beshear has been monitoring the area in person, and said on Tuesday that blowing up the levee in Missouri was the right decision, because it's helping to take the pressure off Kentucky's own floodwalls.

In McCracken County, The Republic is reporting "The National Weather Service in Paducah forecast a crest of 55 feet, or 3 feet above flood stage, on the Ohio River in Paducah".

Kenton County was declared a disaster area last week when floodwaters closed a dozen roads and tornadoes ripped through the area. They, along with most of Northern Kentucky, are listed on today's flood advisory again as I type this.

Calloway County was, according to thenews.org, under a flood warning until this morning, and it will still take a lot of time for the water to go down. There is water over many roads, although none are closed down at this time.

In Jefferson County, flood waters crossed River Road and lapped at the edges of the Yum! Center and at Butchertown's flood walls. Today the water levels of the Ohio River are receding, but heavy rain is expected in the forecast and it remains to be seen whether the flooding here is truly over.

Sand Boils of the New Madrid

There's something happening here; what it is ain't exactly clear.

At this hour, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have given the go-ahead for the Bird's Point levee on the Mississippi River along the Illinois-Missouri border to be deliberately blown up via a massive shipment of explosives that was quickly barged in last night.

The state of Missouri itself does not want the levee exploded, and has filed a last-ditch effort to get the Supreme Court to stop it. I've seen sources that give differing takes on how Kentucky feels about it, but both versions put Fulton County squarely in the risk region. Apparently Kentucky is, in fact, in favor of the levee's destruction:

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said his state would join Illinois because failure to blow up the levee could cause an estimated $32 million in damage to Fulton County Kentucky including the town of Hickman nearby.

The town of Cairo has been evacuated against its will, and reports are that hundreds of thousands of acres of prime farmland will be permanently submerged under water by bombing the levee.



So why is this happening?

Two "sand boils" have erupted in nearby Cairo, Illinois, and they're enormous. Workers trying to control these spontaneous volcano-like eruptions of sand and water from deep under the Earth's surface are saying it's the biggest sand boil breakout they've ever seen. The sand boils are a sign of immense water pressure, and fear is that Missouri's aging and weak levee will not be able to stand this pressure much longer before collapsing.

Additionally, sinkholes are popping up everywhere, even in the middle of city streets. The ground is quickly reaching the disaster point of soil liquefaction.


Now, obviously, the levee collapsing would be a bad thing, so I'm not really sure why they think it's such a great idea to jump ahead and destroy it ourselves. The end result will be exactly the same - catastrophic flooding. They say doing it their way, with a controlled detonation, will save the town of Cairo and divert the water elsewhere. But if the sand boils are already in Cairo itself, then I'm confused, boss.

No, the only reason I can fathom to do this - and this is just me speculatin', this isn't something I've heard any public official admit yet - is because a sand boil, according to usgs.gov, is symptomatic of earthquakes. The only logical reason to willingly destroy a levee, ruin farms, and risk dangerous flooding for everyone downriver, is because someone knows something we don't - perhaps that the sand boils are indicating great tectonic pressure and they're trying to stave off an Earthquake on the New Madrid Fault (which is already overdue to blow, some say.)

But will a giant explosion at this site prevent an earthquake - or cause one?

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".