Collections — Specks in a very large sea
Islands & Outposts
Remote rocks, lonely atolls and islands with absurd names. The further a place is from anywhere, the more likely the panel has an oddly specific story about it.
28 places in this collection
- 1
- 2Isle of WightUnited Kingdom
There was someone recently on the Isle of Wight who brought back a lovely old fossil from the beach and caused the entire resort to be evacuated because it was an old hand grenade.
Open this place → - 3Easter IslandChile
He visited on Easter Day in 1722, which is why he gave it the name Easter Island.
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- 5Prince Edward IslandCanada
A quarter of Canada's potatoes are grown and processed on Prince Edward Island by McCain, who are the world's largest manufacturer of frozen potato products.
Open this place → - 6Andaman IslandsIndia
There was another group called the Jurawas who were in the Andaman Islands and they saw the patterns of the waves changing and they had this ancient knowledge that knew that there was something that was a…
Open this place → - 7Rhode IslandUnited States
He lives in Rhode Island, and he has the world record most number of unread emails in his inbox.
Open this place → - 8South IslandNew Zealand
There is a $10,000 reward for any photographic proof of the South Island Coca-Co.
Open this place → - 9Long IslandUnited States
The Broccoli family immigrated to Long Island from Calabria at the turn of the 20th century, descended from the Broccolis of Calabria, who were the first to cross cauliflower and rape to produce the broccoli —…
Open this place → - 10Ascension IslandSaint Helena
In 2010, a group of botanists were doing this routine plant survey on Ascension Island — the tiny island in the South Atlantic.
Open this place → - 11Disco IslandGreenland
He was an English explorer and whaler, and it was originally called Ducky's Island, then Ducco's Island, then Dicco's Island, then Disco's Island, and eventually Disco Island.
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- 13CarlisleUnited Kingdom
The economic and political problems facing Britain in the twenties and thirties that ultimately led to the Second World War and the rebuilding problems in the fifties and sixties were far more politically…
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- 15Falkland IslandsFalkland Islands
It was in the 1760s, and it was captained by Lord Byron's grandfather — the same guy who named and claimed the Falkland Islands.
Open this place → - 16Canary IslandsSpain
The highest point in Spain is in the Canary Islands, Mount Tied.
Open this place → - 17Isles of ScillyUnited Kingdom
The Isles of Scilly are incredibly small, with a population of just 2,153 people.
Open this place → - 18Disappointment IslandNew Zealand
They were called Disappointment Islands for a different reason — it was because John Byron found that the people who lived there were of a hostile disposition and they didn't like him.
Open this place → - 19Cayman IslandsCayman Islands
Most of these members are tiny little colonies like American Samoa, Anguilla, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Curacao, Faroe Islands, Guam, Hong Kong is a member of FIFA,…
Open this place → - 20Cook IslandsCK
The people of Mangaia, which is an island in the Cook Islands, don't kiss at all.
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- 23Norfolk IslandNF
If you were badly behaved in Britain and you got sent to Australia, if you were badly behaved in Australia, then they'd send you even further to Norfolk Island.
Open this place → - 24Sandwich IslandsUnited States
I don't think I'd like to watch the Sandwich Islands version of the Great Sandwich Island Bake-off.
Open this place → - 25Vancouver IslandCanada
It was specifically in Canada, off Vancouver Island in a place called the Salish Sea, just near the border with the US.
Open this place → - 26Machias Seal IslandUnited States
One of my favourite lighthouses is what I think is basically an unnecessary lighthouse — the lighthouse on Machias Seal Island.
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- 28Coffee Club IslandIceland
The most northerly point of Greenland is called Coffee Club Island.
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