4 ms·

How an Imaginary Island Stayed on Maps for Five Centuries

59 points by Vigier 10y ago

shaftoe 10y ago
This would make a great basis for a video game.
- kuschku 10y ago
  It’s also the basis for countless books, audio books, etc.
  - dghf 10y ago
    E.g. Jack Vance's Lyonesse trilogy, set in the imaginary, soon-to-be-sunken Elder Isles, the largest of which is called Hybras.
kurthr 10y ago
I always wondered if name and dreamy search in Brazil (1985 movie) for a mystical place (and woman) was motivated by Hy-Brasil. I suppose it has been debunked, but it still seems apropos... http://stanleyrumm.com/?p=12 http://stanleyrumm.com/?p=12 “Port Talbot [in Wales] is a steel town, where everything is covered with gray iron ore dust. Even the beach is completely littered with dust, its just black. The sun was setting, and it was quite beautiful. The contrast was extraordinary, I had this image of a guy sitting there on this dingy beach with a portable radio, tuning in these strange Latin escapist songs like ‘Brazil’. The music transported him somehow and made his world less gray.” Terry Gilliam
- B1FF_PSUVM 10y ago
  Wales has also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion , where the TV series The Prisoner was filmed.
rbanffy 10y ago
When I see things like this I always wonder if we can find a nearby underwater mountain upon which we could build an island.
- robin_reala 10y ago
  This is effectively what China is currently doing in the South China Sea [1]. These also happen naturally from time to time, see Surtsey [2] and for that matter Hawaiʻi. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_wall_of_sand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_wall_of_sand [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey
- ChuckMcM 10y ago
  Yes if you don't mind building on the top of a volcano :-) Plate tectonics take to long to create new land surface.
  - rbanffy 10y ago
    Free energy for the next couple million years. What else could you want? Porcupine Bank goes all the way up to 200 meters deep. Seems very doable for a very determined multi-billionaire. 200 meters of rubble is not that hard to stack. The main problem is that there are a couple people drilling for oil around there and I suppose they'd object to being in someone's territorial waters. OTOH, negotiating protection and sovereignty in exchange for very lax law about oil exploration could make an independent country viable. How tragic the island of Hi Brazil would be born out of such dirty interests...

59 points by Vigier 10y ago

shaftoe 10y ago

This would make a great basis for a video game.

kuschku 10y ago
It’s also the basis for countless books, audio books, etc.
- dghf 10y ago
  E.g. Jack Vance's Lyonesse trilogy, set in the imaginary, soon-to-be-sunken Elder Isles, the largest of which is called Hybras.

kurthr 10y ago

I always wondered if name and dreamy search in Brazil (1985 movie) for a mystical place (and woman) was motivated by Hy-Brasil. I suppose it has been debunked, but it still seems apropos... http://stanleyrumm.com/?p=12 http://stanleyrumm.com/?p=12 “Port Talbot [in Wales] is a steel town, where everything is covered with gray iron ore dust. Even the beach is completely littered with dust, its just black. The sun was setting, and it was quite beautiful. The contrast was extraordinary, I had this image of a guy sitting there on this dingy beach with a portable radio, tuning in these strange Latin escapist songs like ‘Brazil’. The music transported him somehow and made his world less gray.” Terry Gilliam

B1FF_PSUVM 10y ago
Wales has also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion , where the TV series The Prisoner was filmed.

rbanffy 10y ago

When I see things like this I always wonder if we can find a nearby underwater mountain upon which we could build an island.

robin_reala 10y ago
This is effectively what China is currently doing in the South China Sea [1]. These also happen naturally from time to time, see Surtsey [2] and for that matter Hawaiʻi. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_wall_of_sand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_wall_of_sand [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey
ChuckMcM 10y ago
Yes if you don't mind building on the top of a volcano :-) Plate tectonics take to long to create new land surface.
- rbanffy 10y ago
  Free energy for the next couple million years. What else could you want? Porcupine Bank goes all the way up to 200 meters deep. Seems very doable for a very determined multi-billionaire. 200 meters of rubble is not that hard to stack. The main problem is that there are a couple people drilling for oil around there and I suppose they'd object to being in someone's territorial waters. OTOH, negotiating protection and sovereignty in exchange for very lax law about oil exploration could make an independent country viable. How tragic the island of Hi Brazil would be born out of such dirty interests...