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That is the understatement of the millennium. The Polynesians actually did colonize the remote islands of the Pacific with nothing but canoes. No problem. The
by mechanical_fish 19y ago
That is the understatement of the millennium. The Polynesians actually did colonize the remote islands of the Pacific with nothing but canoes. No problem.
The difference is that they found fresh water and air on, e.g., Easter Island. To say nothing of the edible plants and the fish. And it took them at least several hundred years to cut down all the trees. By contrast, I estimate that the Martian forests will take approximately 0 years to be totally harvested -- which is just as well, because the Martian lumberjacks will be scared to take out an axe lest they accidentally slice open their pressurized suits.
- scott_s 19y agoI read National Geographic this month, too. Which is why I chose the Atlantic, because island-hopping is not possible.
- mechanical_fish 19y agoNow is when I wish that the real Vikings wore those cool horned helmets. Because I just had this awesome vision of Leif Ericsson, horns and all, glowering at you with the entire population of Iceland, Norse Greenland, the Faeroes, and the Shetlands arrayed behind him and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song playing in the background. [1] In other words: I'm guessing that the Atlantic is still five or six orders of magnitude more navigable than outer space. ;) I haven't read National Geographic in years, actually, although I might go check it out just to read about the Polynesians. [1] If you find yourself wondering what I'm talking about, be sure to google "Immigrant Song Kittens".
- scott_s 19y agoNote that I deliberately said "canoes."