Georgia Gilmore's marker needs a boost

For many of us with misguided relatives on Facebook or neighbors on Nextdoor, correcting misinformation can be an all-consuming pastime. Setting the record straight gets even harder when the supposed “facts” are rendered in metal.

But as a food history flub now getting attention in Alabama demonstrates, even misstatements engraved on historical markers—which have the authoritative power to shape how people think about the past—can be amended, revised, or even completely rewritten, so long as interested parties are willing to pay for the fix.