TOWN NAMED BY DRUNKARDS!

“We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.”
― Leo Tolstoy

“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
― Plato

“To do nothing is the way to be nothing.”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne

Why so many quotes on “nothing”? Is this about philosophy? Or about scientific nothing (vaccum)? Or is it just nothing? So many such questions might arise when you read those quotes as it has nothing to do with the title of our story. So lets try to link them both like our usual routine.

Actually there is a city in Arizona, USA which was actually given a strange name in a strange way. There’s a city named “Nothing”, a ghost town, a small unincorporated settlement in far eastern Mohave County, Arizona, United States with four inhabitants. The people of the state say that the name was given by a bunch of drunkards who just gave nothing when they were high. Technically nothing came out of nothing.

History says that nothing was established in 1977 by Richard “Buddy” Kenworthy.The entire population( four people) ran a gas stop and garage, as the town is along the most famous route; the route 66. Nothing was abandoned by May 2005, and by August 2008, the gas station was beginning to collapse. An attempted revival of Nothing occurred at some time after August 2008 when Nothing was purchased by Mike Jensen. By April 2009, Jensen had opened his pizza business, run from a portable oven, with hopes of reopening the mini-mart and creating accommodations for RVs. As of April 2011, it appears that Nothing has once again been abandoned. The building has fresh boards in the windows, and no sign of inhabitance or any activity.

In 2016, century 21 real estate ran a “Give Dad Nothing” promotion where a free 24 hour lease to a piece of property at Nothing, Arizona could be secured for June 19, 2016 (Father’s day) only.The promotion was done with the participation of the current property owner and included a downloadable “Certificate of Nothing” and gift card. Anais and Billy Yeager’s film “Jesus of Malibu” was partially filmed in Nothing, Arizona.

The best part of nothing is its town sign which read,“ Town of Nothing Arizona. Founded 1977. Elevation 3269ft.The staunch citizens of Nothing are full of Hope, Faith, and Believe in the work ethic. Thru-the-years-these dedicated people had faith in Nothing, hoped for Nothing, worked at Nothing, for Nothing.” Irony indeed!