Spoof website dubs us as a place of flat caps, whippets, smog and shootings ...

Jun 30 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A SPOOF website containing a page about Huddersfield has described the town as covered in permanent yellow smog.

Sheepridge is branded as a “scrotal sack of a place” with the largest number of drive-by shootings in the world.

The average age of the burglar in Deighton is claimed to be seven.

The website, called Uncyclopedia, a satirical take on the online site Wikipedia, also contains scathing remarks about the University of Huddersfield, actor Patrick Stewart and Newsome High School.

In sport, it mentions pigeon racing, whippets, flat cap tossing and ferrets before adding: “Apparently there is a football team in Huddersfield, but the less said about that the better.”

Huddersfield’s main industry is students, claims the site’s authors.

The University of Huddersfield students is described as a half-baked educational establishment now busy churning out high quality graduates in media studies and humanities.

“Much like the Ford Motor Company making thousands of cars that no-one wants to buy; in the off chance sales might pick up.

“The graduates of Huddersfield University go into long term storage at the local dole office (that’s unemployment or social security to non-UK people),” adds the site.

The website is a parody of online encyclopedia Wikipedia and follows the same format. As with that site, anyone can add their own entry and edit existing ones on Uncyclopedia.

Its founders make no bones that there is not a single fact on the site and their aim is to provide a laugh.

Co-founder Jonathan Huang has said in an interview: “We have articles that could be potentially offensive, but they stay as long as their comedy value outweighs their potential to be offensive.”

He added: “We’re not interested in being controversial, but rather just funny.”

Fun? Harmless? Maybe, maybe not. But there’s one almost serious point in its entry about Wikipedia itself: “The term ‘wiki’ derives from the Hawaiian ‘wiki-wiki’ which means ‘some random guy on the internet said it, so it must be true’.”

In other words, be careful about your sources when you go on the web.

Some critics in other parts of the country have been uptight on what Uncyclopedia has to say about their part of the world. But here in Huddersfield we seem to be a bit more laid-back about it.

One town hall source said it was all “puerile” and could not imagine anyone lowering themselves to get worked up about it.

Another slammed it as “thoroughly nasty” rather than funny.

Tourism officials might not be impressed, though.

The entry on Huddersfield says the approach to the town in all directions is lined by a selection of pound shops, Netto, Lidl and derelict buildings.

To the east lie the tourist attractions of the ICI complex, the shopping complexes and Leeds Road, the main escape route out of Huddersfield, says the site.

There are also mocked-up pictures of Huddersfield town centre on fire, “a popular tourist attraction” according to the caption, and one of Huddersfield International Airport.

Uncyclopedia says in another entry on Huddersfield: “It does, however, boast some architectural prowess being home to the infamous Gayfarm stadium, which is built entirely from Lego and loosely based on the 1984 Barbie and Ken playland fun set.”

And just look at what it says about Heckmondwike.

“Had the first Christmas lights in the country and a very pleasant town centre park with flowers and all these have all been nicked for Huddersfield by Kirklees and the park replaced with an open-air urinal (which is described as a bandstand by Kirklees).”

And don’t think Huddersfield alone in getting the Uncyclopedia treatment, many other towns and cities get similar treatment. Neighbouring Leeds for example is said to have been named so by Roman Generals – the name being Latin for “Mama mia, what is that a-hideous thing?!”