One could say that the Uzname can be traced back to two characteristics that had a very negative effect on some Otterstadt residents towards the end of the 19th century: haste and gullibility. People were only too happy to believe the promises of a distinguished gentleman who claimed to be a surveyor for the royal Bavarian government. This surveyor promised that Otterstadt would be connected to the planned rail connection between Ludwigshafen and Speyer. Enthusiastic about the idea of enjoying considerable advantages both in the economic and private sectors through the connection, the citizens bought stakes at their own expense and eagerly set about sharpening these “sticks” to mark out the route. The surveyor was granted board and lodging on credit, since the noble gentleman spoke of a temporary liquidity bottleneck. The rude awakening came on Christmas Day 1896 when the surveyor was exposed by the police as a fraud and arrested. The money that had been advanced to the ne'er-do-well and all expenses related to the railway project were lost.