# News Item: Austrian town of Fucking changes its name . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538 "2020-11-27T03:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sarahdonahue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@sarahdonahue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sarahdonahue)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/21 "2020-11-27T17:50:35Z")
Eh, they’ve probably been considering changing the name for years. The 2012 story probably arose because the town was considering changing the name at the time, and some people mistakenly thought they had decided in favor of a name change. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/22 "2020-11-27T18:39:26Z")
Perhaps satisfied Austrian immigrants settled in [western Michigan…](https://99wfmk.com/climax-michigan/) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/23 "2020-11-27T19:50:20Z")
@Dinsdale: The town of > **[Hell, Michigan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%2C_Michigan)** > > Hell is an unincorporated community in Livingston County, Michigan. The population was 72 as of 2022. The community is located along Patterson Lake Road about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Ann Arbor and three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Pinckney. Hell, Michigan is served by the Pinckney post office with the 48169 ZIP Code. > Hell is in Putnam Township, Livingston County, and about 11 miles (18 km) south of Howell, the county seat. Based on satellite views, the area is heavily forested. Hell's ... is a mere 90 minute drive from Climax. I’m reminded of a hoary old joke that’s usually told from a male perspective but in the modern culture is almost equally applicable to any gender combination: > Q: What’s the definition of “eternity”. > A: The interval between when you come and he/she/they go. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/24 "2020-11-27T22:36:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Owing to the threat of censorship back then, Mailer used “fugging” instead of “fucking” throughout the book. Others have picked this up too. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, there is one bit-character who says “fuggin” a lot. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/25 "2020-11-28T02:26:59Z")
I would have expected them to change it to “Farging”. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/26 "2020-11-28T19:24:49Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Likewise, [US 666](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_491#U.S._Route_666) in Arizona and New Mexico was renumbered as US 491, mostly because the US 66 it was a spur of had been eliminated but also because the signs kept disappearing. After the announcement of the number change in 2003, it got worse. > > > Although sign theft has always been a problem along this highway, thefts reached epidemic proportions when the pending number change was announced. Within days of the announcement, virtually every US 666 sign had been stolen, some for sale on [eBay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay).[[34]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_491#cite_note-sttimes-34) Officials in Utah reported that five entire sign assemblies had been cut down with a chainsaw and stolen, while New Mexico officials reported that even signs welded to metal posts, as a theft deterrent, had been stolen. Officials speculated from one scene that someone had intentionally crashed a car into the sign post to break the welds.[[26]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_491#cite_note-nytimes2-26) Colorado had a problem awhile back with stoners repeatedly stealing the 420 mile marker along I-70. They finally solved the problem by renumbering it as 419.99. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/27 "2020-11-28T19:34:21Z")
The town of Fucking should have had some replicas of their sign made up, some in metal, some in cheaper plastic. Then put up a small notice at the actual sign saying (in English) “Please don’t steal our sign. You can buy an authentic copy at such-and-such store.” That would probably cut the sign theft by about 90%. And the proceeds from the sales would cover the loss from the remaining 10%. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/28 "2020-11-29T04:13:44Z")
I would love to steal a sign that says, “Please don’t steal our sign.” ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/29 "2020-11-29T07:19:00Z")
Please don’t steal our Fucking sign. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/30 "2020-11-29T13:07:27Z")
Sign in Biggar, Sask. (Canada): [https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-new-york-is-big-but-this-is-biggar-slogan-sign-biggar-credit-union-53383600.html](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-new-york-is-big-but-this-is-biggar-slogan-sign-biggar-credit-union-53383600.html) ---
**Author:** ![yarblek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/71e660/32.png) [@yarblek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yarblek)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-item-austrian-town-of-fucking-changes-its-name/926538/31 "2020-11-29T13:55:53Z")
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