Obscure islands I find interesting

Site design and interaction

• Commenters praise the site’s mobile experience, smooth “cosmic zoom” animations, and use of maps to tell stories without overcomplicating the UI.
• Minor UX wishes: a clear “back to all islands” / full zoom-out button, and direct Wikipedia links from each island entry. One user reports a possible Firefox issue with navigation.

Additional obscure islands and curiosities

• Many suggest additions: Pitcairn (debated as “too famous”), Johnston Atoll, Fakaofo, Deception Island, Socotra, Tokelau, Niʻihau, Middle Percy, Ball’s Pyramid, Cabrera, Ailsa Craig, and the snake-infested Ilha da Queimada Grande.
• Recursive islands and island-in-lake-in-island structures fascinate people (Canadian “world’s most recursive island,” Vulcan Point in the Philippines, Moose Boulder lore).
• Others note fun or oddities: Null Island, Kiritimati/“Christmas” pronunciation, Diomede islands vs Samoa/American Samoa time difference, and various personal favorite atolls.

North Sentinel Island and ethics of contact

• A large subthread challenges the label “uncontacted,” arguing “isolated and vulnerable” is more accurate: shipwrecks, historical British incursions, and late‑20th‑century contact/gift expeditions are cited.
• Satellite imagery reveals trails and probable fish traps; dense canopy likely hides dwellings.
• One line of argument stresses they became hostile after lethal disease introductions and traumatic colonial encounters; therefore they deserve legal and practical protection, including being left alone.
• Counter‑arguments push back against “noble savage” romanticism, speculating their society may include violence and suffering like any other; others criticize that as baseless demonization without evidence.
• Debate extends to whether every human society “should” pursue innovation and be assimilated, versus respecting sustainable, low‑tech cultures and acknowledging the harms of forced “civilizing” projects (e.g., Stolen Generations, missionary deaths, OLPC‑style tech interventions).

Life on remote islands: health, happiness, and self‑sufficiency

• Tristan da Cunha draws interest for its tiny population, evacuation after a volcanic eruption, unique English accent, and high incidence of genetic diseases (e.g., asthma, glaucoma) due to endogamy.
• Devon Island is discussed as a Mars analogue; commenters question whether anyone has lived there truly self‑sufficiently and outline challenges: energy storage through polar night, greenhouses, spare parts.
• There’s a broader philosophical exchange: some idealize simple, subsistence lives; others note that many “aboriginal” communities eagerly adopt modern goods and that isolation can feel like a “life sentence” for curious kids.

Space elevators and Ascension Island

• One commenter imagines Ascension Island as a base for a space elevator: near the equator, sparsely populated, and symbolically named.
• Others dissect feasibility: lack of a major harbor, volcanic risk, negligible benefit of mountains vs total cable length, and preference for equatorial continental sites (e.g., Ecuador, Kenya, Indonesia).
• There’s side discussion on anchoring offshore, marine corrosion, and the weak economic case for large‑scale space infrastructure and asteroid mining.

Books, media, and long‑term island obsessions

• Multiple people recommend island books: Atlas of Remote Islands, Fifty Islands I Have Not Visited, Palmyra‑Atoll murder narrative And the Sea Will Tell, early 1900s diaries from Tristan da Cunha, and assorted documentaries.
• Several recount lifelong fascinations: poring over old atlases, hunting “lost” islands pre‑internet, virtually island‑hopping on Google Earth, or even working on cheap submarine fiber links to remote islands.