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Sandy Island, the Undiscovered Country

Posted by timothy on from the proof-of-global-warming dept.

Big Hairy Ian writes "A South Pacific island, shown on marine charts and world maps as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps, does not exist, Australian scientists say. The supposedly sizeable strip of land, named Sandy Island on Google maps, was positioned midway between Australia and French-governed New Caledonia. But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea."

17 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Kate... by Drophet · · Score: 5, Funny

    We have to go back!

    1. Re:Kate... by slim · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's too late. The joy of Lost was the promise of a satisfactory conclusion to a coherent story arc. Now we know that there isn't one.

    2. Re:Kate... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      No!

      That's not true!

      That's impossible!

    3. Re:Kate... by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      That it ended wasn't enough of a satisfactory conclusion?

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Good. Gooooood.... by asdf7890 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Excellent, my evil island cloaking device is functioning perfectly. They'll never know my nefarious plans until they are too late to do anything about them!

  3. Copyright Trap, perhaps? by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Putting non-existent features onto published maps to provide proof of future copyright infringement is a well-known practice, after all...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry

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    1. Re:Copyright Trap, perhaps? by chill · · Score: 5, Informative

      RTFA

      A spokesman from the service told Australian newspapers that while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements, that was was not usually the case with nautical charts because it would reduce confidence in them.

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    2. Re:Copyright Trap, perhaps? by wvmarle · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That are normally dead-end streets in the middle of nowhere that are not likely to cause any issues other than raised eyebrows, and someone thinking "oh, a piece of road to no-where gone". Putting a complete island on a map where the sea is supposedly 1400m deep, that's a totally different thing. Such an island could be used as orientation point: a single island in the vast ocean is great for that. Not finding an island where it's expected, can give serious problems.

  4. Pumice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumice_raft

  5. Some folks will believe anything... by Third+Position · · Score: 5, Funny

    But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea.

    April Fools!

    --
    American Third Position
    Finally, a real choice!
  6. That's exactly how I felt by joeflies · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... The last time I visited Alderaan

  7. R'lyeh by plopez · · Score: 5, Funny

    ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  8. Dolphin lure by Jaza · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is just a marketing stunt by the area's resident Dolphin community. They want to lure tourists to this patch of the sea, so they can do some backflips in return for loose change and hearty gifts of plankton.

  9. Re:Funny! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The funny thing is Google seems to have doctored the satellite photos to put a dark blob where this fictitious island is supposed to be.

    I doesn't show up on my new iOS 6 Maps app ... and here I thought this missing island was Apple's fault.

  10. Re:Funny! by Albanach · · Score: 5, Funny

    If Google doesn't correct this within a few days, I'll be surprised.

    I'll be surprised if Google doesn't announce their street view cams have been adapted and installed on board ships. That island is out there somewhere, and I trust Google to find it.

  11. Re:Funny! by sjames · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is, a bunch of Apple fanatics with shovels actually removed the island rather than admit Apple was wrong.

  12. Re:Funny! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My Times Atlas (big papery thing, pub. 1992) has a long thin ellipse-ish shape with a couple of small blobs on it in about the right place that might indicate something was once there.
    Called 'Sable' (French for 'sand') and just to the left of the 160 line, looks like it got washed away or fell over some time in the last 20 years.
    Assuming it existed - or is this the 'copyright check' glitch added? It is not a nautical chart, just a home atlas.

    Times atlas of the world, concise edition, 6th ed.
    ISBN: 0 7230 0493 5