I went there in 1994 with the Royal Navy, I got drunk in the bar and bough a Tristan tea mug , and yes, all the locals look the same , it was a great experience . Coincidentally I was drinking in a bar in Brighton and started a conversation with a guy who looked familiar and it turns out that he was from Tristan 😂😂, now that’s a small world
Jim Sim...thank you for an accurate video without dramatization.. I lived on tristan from 1957...to1961... when the volcano erupted .my father got the job of ...agricultural superintendent. Which should be translated as ...all round tradesman and food production advisor he got the village hall built he installed running water plus stand pipes to houses plus external flush toilets . Also started planting canary pine forestry at sand point .we as kids had a fantastic time .my father let us roam with strict instructions .. if we heard the big refineries whistle we stop what we are doing and come home PDQ .we could hear that whistle at most places on the settlement plateau .the other thing dad did was show us how to do things safely using ropes when climbing cliffs not going into stupid places ..waves ..scree slopes ..cliff edges ..etc etc .. we were the only outside children who were ollowed to roam we played with the island kids and had fun .we also went out lobster fishing with the Francis repetto crew in the cobbles plus the tristania crew. We caught five finger snook mackerel took them home and had good fresh fish dinners .this place taught me more than most schooling I have had .I am useless with writing average at math but I am good at 90 percent trade or mechanical subjects .if it broke on tristan you fixed it or you did not have one . Untill the order you sent by sea to Capetown which was cabled to England. Then purchased by a relative .packed mailed via the next antarctic research ship usually John Briscoe or Shackleton or if lucky navy ..linx puma protector ...4 ...6 ...months later you get replacement .if it was a fridge bad luck our fridge ran on paraffin and was brilliant all cooking was on an assortment of primus stoves I think about 5 oven stove top griddle even the iron was pump up paraffin mum spent a lot of time pumping primusesplus iron .when I came back to England it took me 2...3YRS to get back to English ideas learning. I was backward . Secondary school I flew threw 4 th to 1st stream in1 YR due to practical subjects .a place like tristan can teach you a lot without schooling . But you will never work in an office .I like freedom of .movement open air and scenery to much ...
@@jeffdroog Yes I suppose that's true! Very sorry you were so offended by my wrong use of language - I don't put that much thought into the grammatical correctness of youtube comments :)
@@jeffdroog imagine reading an interesting comment and that’s all you can respond with. I’m tempted too right all the wrong words just two be faseeshus. Oh…and the irony of “than” 🤦🏻♂️
Omg this sooo reminds me of living on Midway’s Sand Island. 150 permanent residents with approximately 75 Filipino’s , 42 Sri Lakans, 12 Thai, 12 Japanese, a couple of S Koreans and a couple of Aussie. We used to believe we were the second most remote island group in the world. It was a Fish & Wildlife Refuge. Great video, thanks! 😁
Shush😁 living in the Pacific is steamy hot, people are though, fungus, tigersharks, giant centipedes and Amazon does not deliver and your internet connection will fail. Everything metal perishes in a few months.
I would think that living on a remote Pacific island would be much harder than a remote Atlantic one. I believe this for many reasons, but the one that sticks out the most is the HEAT.
I became interested in Tristan as a kid when a man who had worked as a schoolteacher there for a few years came and gave a talk at our school. Tbh, he made it sound more developed and pleasant than it looks. A man who was the only policeman on Tristan wrote a book about his experiences around 15 years ago. It’s a good read with a lot of information about the island.
@CRAM MARC The book, by Conrad Glass, is entitled "Rockhopper Copper". A new book just out about Tristan "Nothing can stop us" by Richard Grundy and Neil Robson is well worth reading. Richard Grundy may well have been the schoolteacher that Doctor Lolchicken remembers.
The construction of St Helena's airport is worthy of a Megaprojects video of its own given the remoteness. Even in the limited time it's been open pre-COVID flight operations were constrained by the cross winds at the site (only discovered AFTER construction was nearly complete) and the lack of a suitable diversion airfield apart from Ascension Island.
100%. My wife's family are from St Helena, they were worried the airport would bring unnecessary dangers from tourists etc. After it was complete, they think it's amazing. Cape Town in a couple of hours instead of days
What I believe is currently their sole supply ship, the MV Lance is currently berthed across the Quay from me in Cape Town Harbour. They are busy taking on supplies & cargo in preparation to depart later tonight for the Island.
I have visited the island twice, spending seven weeks there, and it is a dream of a vacation spot. The friendliest people you will ever meet who will feed you the best potatoes and crawfish (rock lobster) you have ever eaten. Circumnavigate the island and take a trip to Nightingale if you can. It's a weeklong trip by sea from Cape Town so the first encounters you will have with Tristanians will likely be on the boat going there.
Must admit, I've always wanted to visit Tristan da Cunha. That boat trip put me off a spur-of-the-moment visit, but a more considered, perhaps lengthier visit is on my bucket list.
@@cpuwizard9225 I thought of that too when I first heard of the severe problems they have with asthma. But keep in mind that anyone that wants to contribute to a larger gene pool will be thinking that they will be setting up their kids and descendants to still having some problems with asthma as well as low education and extreme isolation. Plus someone on the island will have to want to mate with the external gene provider. They are humans after all, not cattle.
My late grandfather took part in the evacuation of the island in 1961 due to the volcanic eruption, sailing there from Cape Town. I have a stack of old photos that he took back then. He sailed the world, but he found the people from Tristan to be the most fascinating as they were completely cut off from the rest of the world.
They evidently were not cut off completely from the rest of the world lol That's how he has photographs from there,and why anyone knows about it lol...But thanks?
@@ewestner If you could just keep your facts straight,that would be nice.People are either completely cut off from the world,or they're not.It has nothing to do with being a literal meaning,but more of an accurate meaning.If you visit a place,and then say no one ever visits there,then that doesn't make any sense.
@@jeffdroog the people there are _essentially_ cut off from the rest of the world. Sure, they are not 100% cut off but close enough that SparkBerry's comment is completely valid, so shut up.
@@ewestner it's not completely valid lol essentially,and close enough,do not make something completely anything.Good try lol But seriously,there's a whole English language filled with better description words for something that is nearly,but not completely,cut off from visitors.So maybe just use the better words that actually describe what you're talking about.
Brought back memories of when I was Foreign Office desk officer for Tristan. Never got to visit the place, no money available. But spent hours in London dealing with lobsters and conservation. Also spent a surprising amount of time in correspondence with Garter King of Arms about getting it a coat of arms
Thank you for this introduction to Tristan da Cunha. The stories of how human settlements of all kinds are born and evolve are fascinating. Every one is different in some way. I think we should look to places like Tristan as examples for future (hopefully!) interplanetary settlements. Of course, on Tristan we can breathe the air and there's plenty of water, God knows, but this remote settlement has a lot to teach us about people and how they can work together, adapting to apparently impossible conditions.
On a planet with a nice atmosphere and a nice nitrogen/oxygen mix, we can do a lot even under harsh conditions. On a planet lacking that however...not doable. At least for centuries or millennia.
@@interwebmaksustehsmart4451 - Interplanetary settlements are just barely possible with today's technology. Settlements orbiting other stars are indeed out of our reach right now, but that doesn't mean they always will be.
I hope we are unable to leave, at least for a long time. We have a lot more to figure out here on Earth first. Maybe fix the atmosphere, clean up our water supply and try to make as less toxic or poisonous byproducts as we can before we just spend all the money & time on other stuff. If we do not spend the time to learn how to do all that on a bigger scale then we will most likely fail trying to colonize another world. Even the smallest base on another planet is way out ov our league right now, including Mars. It would be awesome if we can make it to that point in human history. I am hopeful I just do not see it happening in my lifetime, and I am not too old yet!
@@jaymeVos - I wouldn't say it's 'way out of our league. Our knowledge about all the planets, including our own, has grown astronomically (pardon the pun) since the first satellite went into orbit in 1957. In fact, the most powerful evidence of the changing climate comes from satellite observations made over the last thirty or forty years. We can't hope to be proper stewards of Earth without space travel. Other than that, there are many reasons why we should explore and settle the Solar System even as we work to reverse the damage we've done to our home planet. At the top of the list, consider: how can we understand the Earth's environment if the Earth is the only planet we know? Sure, it's unique, but why is it unique? The closed-loop environmental systems required for space travel will also apply to our terrestrial waste processing problem. A little more visionary is the idea of moving our heavy, polluting industries off the planet entirely, drawing on the vast resources of the Solar System to provide what we need.
It is amazing a tiny, isolated place like that can keep a community viable and going all these years. Yet another excellent Simon Whistler presentation.
There's no society on earth that is more communist or socialist than Tristan. I think that's a big reason for their ability to stick together and "thrive" for over 200 years in such an inhospitable place.
This certainly was different, but I really enjoyed it. I always wondered what life would be like on such an isolated place, and now I have a better idea. Thank you!
Great video Simon as always, I feel very privileged to have visited the island during my time the the Royal Navy on a trip from the Falkland Islands to Simonstown in South Africa back in October 2011. A fantastic bunch of people were there to meet us and make us feel very welcome. The one memento I have is the fridge magnet I have from there, one that I know not many people will have the good fortune to get. and the Crawfish were great too. As the ships head chef I had the pleasure of serving these local delicacies to my crew.
LOVE stories like this! isolated island communities like Tristan, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui etc. endlessly fascinate me, and ive more then once seriously considered emigrating to Pitcairn. More like this please!
I cannot resist the idea of coming up with a strange and wonderful story, with strange and wonderful characters, set many years ago on Tristan da Cunha. I find something irresistibly appealing in the idea of a story that no one in the outside world can ever know about, let alone believe. I do wonder what things might have happened in that tiny, extremely isolated community in the past, that no one will ever know about. Call me crazy.
I love this series on tiny nations and remote territories of the world. So fascinating how people live in situations that would be foreign to us in the western world.
By coincidence I was thinking about the people of Tristan earlier today, then up pops Simon with a video about the place! Nothing spooky though as it was news reports about Tonga and the volcano there that triggered the memory of the Tristans and their volcanic problems 60-odd years ago.
Keep those MegaProjects coming Simon. Somehow you find the intricates that a documentary can't find. I will keep watching. Your humor is outstanding AF
You should take a look at the history of Citadel Laferriere -- a fortress built in Haiti by a rather brutal regime of the early 1800s. For its time it was most certainly a very impressive megaproject and its story is colorful to say the least. It cost many lives! And remains impressive to this day. I first read of it in a National Geographic Magazine dating from December of 1920 (I have a nearly complete collection).
@@AnzacPT I stan for Tristan and nope, Pitcairn is remote but it's an island that is closer to other inhabited places than is Tristan. "The most remote inhabited island in the world" is Tristan's catchphrase, and they've earned it :)
Great video! I've been fascinated with this place for about 2 years now. Don't remember how I heard about it but I remember marveling at its remoteness. Please, keep up the fantastic work.
It seems that tourism would be the best thing. Mountain climbing, nature watching. If a small resort could be built with pool, observation decks, boat excursions, local cuisine, and local history would be a great experience.
I've been in love with this place for several years since stumbling on a TH-cam film called, I think, The Tristan de Cunha project, a work-in-progress documentary which doesn't appear ever to have been completed. It's definitely on my bucket list. I'd go there tomorrow if the opportunity arose. Magnificent people with a robust culture. There's also a pop video featuring the whole community jiving along to Pharrel Williams' song Happy. Makes me very happy. Thanks for this.
At one point I was about to apply for a position as a mechanic there. Salary was faboulous! At last, I desisted. These postions are offered from time to time.
Anyone else make up words and sing along to the intro music? "Mega-mega projects, mega projects, mega projects. They're really really really cool!" No, just me?
Found this very interesting as an aquintance of mine is responsible for co-ordinating Catholic chaplaincies in the British posessions in the Atlantic, and regularly visits Tristan. Hoping to join him on one of those journeys when this covid thing eases up.
Bita Bing Bita Bang, nice job. Concise, as much history as I'm interested in. Found this burg on Google Earth, now I know more about it then anyone else at any cocktail party I'll attend for my entire life. Thank you.
Hi Simon, My Grandfather was stationed on Tristan as a radio operator for the British Navy in the 1940's. Hi wife joined him there. After a year she couldn't take the isolation and diet of potatoes. She said they would take the next ship to Cape Town and divorce! She went back to Britain, my grandfather stayed here and met my Grandmother. I think I should thank his ex wife for being alive 😅
Reminds me of two years stationed on Diego Garcia British Indian Ocean Territory in the 70's. Saturday nite at the Brit Club listening to soccer games piped in over MRSAT. Lovely island.
Really enjoyed this. I have previously seen documentaries about these islands but this had a lot more detail and was easy to follow… thanks a bunch for making it. I continue to enjoy all your videos…
Great episode, more like this please, like the cook islands etc. I heard of this island when I was in school in the sixties, but then I discovered motorbikes and as you said they only have one road so that was that.
Thank you for this pocket overview of T da C. 👏 It’s a very unique place with delightful people - wish I could have stayed longer, but the ocean (as ever) was very rough and disembarking the ship onto a small boat was an adventure in itself! It was a long voyage there from St Helena via Cape Town.
Anyone interested in Tristan and the other remaining islands should read the book from which that Simon Winchester quote is derived, Outposts. It was written in the 1980s and was a very good and interesting read.
Also worth reading is the new book about Tristan, "Nothing can stop us" by Richard Grundy and Neil Robson; and "Rockhopper Copper" by Conrad Glass, the island's policeman
Ascension Island would be interesting for a video too, the island was effectively terraformed by humans planting trees on the barren hills of the island over a hundred years ago.
Did you ever see the episode of Family Guy where Peter is standing next to a dancing lobster wearing a turbin on its head, singing that tune you mentioned but changes the words to Iraq Lobster? It's one of those things that's so stupid is kinda funny. The clip is about 30 seconds long. I'm sure it's here on TH-cam. It's the type of thing to look up if you're ever bored one day and looking for a laugh.
When i was younger, i lived in Tristan Close, Calshot, Southampton where some or all of the evacuees from TDC were housed following the eruption of the volcano. There was a lady there called Dora, a TDC native. I believe her children and grandchildren are still living in the area.
A part of the world that I have long found fascinating. Looking at those choppy waves is a wake up call that just sailing in for a visit is a fantasy that I should abandon. However it would be somewhere that I would like to go if given the chance.
Lovely video Simon 🔥 My fourth grade social sciences teacher told us about it and the eruption of the volcano which could be heard around the world 🌍 Core memory unlocked
Can you do the history of The Thunderbirds? The aircraft are always evolving, the history is decades long with tragedy, unmatched skill, and they've entertained millions. Thank you from Nellis AFB, home of The Thunderbirds!
A "Shed of Doom" episode would be awesome. I don't doubt it's been suggested before, but I hear demand counts for something with this channel of and by legends.
Didn't even realize that the channel was megaprojects at first, lol! Simon could probably show up and present info in basically any combination of video and channel that shows up in my recommendations and I wouldn't even bat an eye at this point, apparently 😅 Keep up the gr8 work!
I have 3 friends who are currently on inaccessible island for a 3 month mission doing conservation work by removing invasive plants (New Zealand flax).
I'm still currently working ( May 2022) on Tristan and was lucky enough to meet the three you are talking of (B, C & J) . They returned to SA about a month or two ago Nice people!
A truely Australian megaproject was the Snowy Mountains scheme where most of the short flow of a coastal river was diverted over the Great Dividing range to the not so well watered interior. Along the way considerable hydro-electric power is made to this day. And it is being upgraded.
Very interesting! I'd love to move there and retire. Peace and quiet! And I love seafood and could open up new markets for the people for their seafood.
Will you be following up with the story of Ascension Island? As a Mega Project it is pretty phenomenal that the Brits managed to turn a barren cinder into a tropical island, complete with rain forest (Charles Darwin had a hand).
Hey Simon can you do a topic one amazing feats of construction or the like by a single person. Or as few people as possible. I'd love to hear what insane things loaners built by themselves. Your loyal fan Tom.
A bit different than the normal MegaProjects topics, but very interesting! I knew about St. Helena, but didn't know that it was part of a group of other extremely distant British islands. Well done Simon and team 😊❤
Megaprojects (maybe geographics?) topic idea: In 1887 Illinois REVERSED THE CHICAGO RIVER. I have no idea how this worked but if that's not the definition of a mega project idk what is
Bouvet Island, 54.25° S; 3.22° E, a dependanc of Norway, also in the South Atlantic, is the most remote island on the planet. Tristan da Cunha, 37° 4' S: 12° 19' W, is the most remote INHABITED island. In the late 1960's & early 1970's, the father of a good friend, a dentist by profession, made an annual visit, from Cape Town, courtesy of the Royal Navy, to Tristan, to tend to the Island's dental needs.
I was Lon the island when the volcano erupted,my dad went there as the factory manager,we were only there for about 4 months when the volcano erupted,I was 4 years old at the time.
I've read a couple of books about Tristan da Cunha. Fascinating place! There is an adventure novel from the 60s in the waters around Tristan by UK writer Geoffrey Jenkins called A Grue of Ice.
I went there in 1994 with the Royal Navy, I got drunk in the bar and bough a Tristan tea mug , and yes, all the locals look the same , it was a great experience . Coincidentally I was drinking in a bar in Brighton and started a conversation with a guy who looked familiar and it turns out that he was from Tristan 😂😂, now that’s a small world
Haha that’s awesome 👏🏽
You met someone from Tristan da Cuhna at Brighton; that’s a coincidence!
That's so awesome. The modern world is such a small place compared to 300 years ago
And that girl u f'd that night ended up getting pregnant after u left and now your child is living on tristan
OH MY WHAT A COINCIDENCE! IM SO SURPIRZED RN!
Jim Sim...thank you for an accurate video without dramatization.. I lived on tristan from 1957...to1961... when the volcano erupted .my father got the job of ...agricultural superintendent. Which should be translated as ...all round tradesman and food production advisor he got the village hall built he installed running water plus stand pipes to houses plus external flush toilets . Also started planting canary pine forestry at sand point .we as kids had a fantastic time .my father let us roam with strict instructions .. if we heard the big refineries whistle we stop what we are doing and come home PDQ .we could hear that whistle at most places on the settlement plateau .the other thing dad did was show us how to do things safely using ropes when climbing cliffs not going into stupid places ..waves ..scree slopes ..cliff edges ..etc etc .. we were the only outside children who were ollowed to roam we played with the island kids and had fun .we also went out lobster fishing with the Francis repetto crew in the cobbles plus the tristania crew. We caught five finger snook mackerel took them home and had good fresh fish dinners .this place taught me more than most schooling I have had .I am useless with writing average at math but I am good at 90 percent trade or mechanical subjects .if it broke on tristan you fixed it or you did not have one . Untill the order you sent by sea to Capetown which was cabled to England. Then purchased by a relative .packed mailed via the next antarctic research ship usually John Briscoe or Shackleton or if lucky navy ..linx puma protector ...4 ...6 ...months later you get replacement .if it was a fridge bad luck our fridge ran on paraffin and was brilliant all cooking was on an assortment of primus stoves I think about 5 oven stove top griddle even the iron was pump up paraffin mum spent a lot of time pumping primusesplus iron .when I came back to England it took me 2...3YRS to get back to English ideas learning. I was backward . Secondary school I flew threw 4 th to 1st stream in1 YR due to practical subjects .a place like tristan can teach you a lot without schooling . But you will never work in an office .I like freedom of .movement open air and scenery to much ...
I lived here as a child and this video made me very nostalgic - great video!
Were you born there? Just curious, don't run into many people from there.
No,you lived THERE...Here would imply you're currently writing your comment from that location...Unless you are,than I apologize.
@@fromulus No, my mother worked as a conservationist there so only lived there for 3 years and went to school there too
@@jeffdroog Yes I suppose that's true! Very sorry you were so offended by my wrong use of language - I don't put that much thought into the grammatical correctness of youtube comments :)
@@jeffdroog imagine reading an interesting comment and that’s all you can respond with. I’m tempted too right all the wrong words just two be faseeshus. Oh…and the irony of “than” 🤦🏻♂️
Omg this sooo reminds me of living on Midway’s Sand Island. 150 permanent residents with approximately 75 Filipino’s , 42 Sri Lakans, 12 Thai, 12 Japanese, a couple of S Koreans and a couple of Aussie. We used to believe we were the second most remote island group in the world. It was a Fish & Wildlife Refuge. Great video, thanks! 😁
Shush😁 living in the Pacific is steamy hot, people are though, fungus, tigersharks, giant centipedes and Amazon does not deliver and your internet connection will fail. Everything metal perishes in a few months.
I would think that living on a remote Pacific island would be much harder than a remote Atlantic one. I believe this for many reasons, but the one that sticks out the most is the HEAT.
what were all these people doing there?
I became interested in Tristan as a kid when a man who had worked as a schoolteacher there for a few years came and gave a talk at our school. Tbh, he made it sound more developed and pleasant than it looks. A man who was the only policeman on Tristan wrote a book about his experiences around 15 years ago. It’s a good read with a lot of information about the island.
@CRAM MARC The book, by Conrad Glass, is entitled "Rockhopper Copper". A new book just out about Tristan "Nothing can stop us" by Richard Grundy and Neil Robson is well worth reading. Richard Grundy may well have been the schoolteacher that Doctor Lolchicken remembers.
The construction of St Helena's airport is worthy of a Megaprojects video of its own given the remoteness. Even in the limited time it's been open pre-COVID flight operations were constrained by the cross winds at the site (only discovered AFTER construction was nearly complete) and the lack of a suitable diversion airfield apart from Ascension Island.
Did you see Wendover Productions documentary on it?
I feel sorry for them opening a new airport just before Covid but like everyone else they must be locked down until we reach 100% vaccination.
100%. My wife's family are from St Helena, they were worried the airport would bring unnecessary dangers from tourists etc. After it was complete, they think it's amazing. Cape Town in a couple of hours instead of days
@@Wooargh you’re surely aware we’ll NEVER reach 100% vaccination right?
@@mugfish0 Pobable 100%... of acceptable vaccination rate was meant. 😉
1:45 - Chapter 1 - Geography
3:45 - Chapter 2 - History
7:55 - Chapter 3 - Present Day
11:15 - Chapter 4 - New challenges
I do remember the eruption in1961 as a 9 year old.I’ve been fascinated ever since.Thank you for the informative update.
What I believe is currently their sole supply ship, the MV Lance is currently berthed across the Quay from me in Cape Town Harbour. They are busy taking on supplies & cargo in preparation to depart later tonight for the Island.
I have visited the island twice, spending seven weeks there, and it is a dream of a vacation spot. The friendliest people you will ever meet who will feed you the best potatoes and crawfish (rock lobster) you have ever eaten. Circumnavigate the island and take a trip to Nightingale if you can. It's a weeklong trip by sea from Cape Town so the first encounters you will have with Tristanians will likely be on the boat going there.
You lucky sob!
Must admit, I've always wanted to visit Tristan da Cunha. That boat trip put me off a spur-of-the-moment visit, but a more considered, perhaps lengthier visit is on my bucket list.
But he did say they are suffering from inbreeding!! The wicker man springs to mind
@@TheLoxxxton Hey, time to bring in some fresh blood.
@@cpuwizard9225 I thought of that too when I first heard of the severe problems they have with asthma. But keep in mind that anyone that wants to contribute to a larger gene pool will be thinking that they will be setting up their kids and descendants to still having some problems with asthma as well as low education and extreme isolation. Plus someone on the island will have to want to mate with the external gene provider. They are humans after all, not cattle.
@@TheLoxxxton I don't honestly think that'll stop it from being a beautiful and interesting island.
@@mikentx57 still better than Ethiopia.
My late grandfather took part in the evacuation of the island in 1961 due to the volcanic eruption, sailing there from Cape Town. I have a stack of old photos that he took back then. He sailed the world, but he found the people from Tristan to be the most fascinating as they were completely cut off from the rest of the world.
They evidently were not cut off completely from the rest of the world lol That's how he has photographs from there,and why anyone knows about it lol...But thanks?
@@jeffdroog wow, you are ridiculously literal.
@@ewestner If you could just keep your facts straight,that would be nice.People are either completely cut off from the world,or they're not.It has nothing to do with being a literal meaning,but more of an accurate meaning.If you visit a place,and then say no one ever visits there,then that doesn't make any sense.
@@jeffdroog the people there are _essentially_ cut off from the rest of the world. Sure, they are not 100% cut off but close enough that SparkBerry's comment is completely valid, so shut up.
@@ewestner it's not completely valid lol essentially,and close enough,do not make something completely anything.Good try lol But seriously,there's a whole English language filled with better description words for something that is nearly,but not completely,cut off from visitors.So maybe just use the better words that actually describe what you're talking about.
Brought back memories of when I was Foreign Office desk officer for Tristan. Never got to visit the place, no money available. But spent hours in London dealing with lobsters and conservation. Also spent a surprising amount of time in correspondence with Garter King of Arms about getting it a coat of arms
Thank you for this introduction to Tristan da Cunha. The stories of how human settlements of all kinds are born and evolve are fascinating. Every one is different in some way. I think we should look to places like Tristan as examples for future (hopefully!) interplanetary settlements. Of course, on Tristan we can breathe the air and there's plenty of water, God knows, but this remote settlement has a lot to teach us about people and how they can work together, adapting to apparently impossible conditions.
On a planet with a nice atmosphere and a nice nitrogen/oxygen mix, we can do a lot even under harsh conditions. On a planet lacking that however...not doable. At least for centuries or millennia.
@@interwebmaksustehsmart4451 - Interplanetary settlements are just barely possible with today's technology. Settlements orbiting other stars are indeed out of our reach right now, but that doesn't mean they always will be.
@@jmax8692 - [Insert Joe Pesci "Goodfellas" quote here.]
I hope we are unable to leave, at least for a long time.
We have a lot more to figure out here on Earth first. Maybe fix the atmosphere, clean up our water supply and try to make as less toxic or poisonous byproducts as we can before we just spend all the money & time on other stuff.
If we do not spend the time to learn how to do all that on a bigger scale then we will most likely fail trying to colonize another world. Even the smallest base on another planet is way out ov our league right now, including Mars.
It would be awesome if we can make it to that point in human history. I am hopeful I just do not see it happening in my lifetime, and I am not too old yet!
@@jaymeVos - I wouldn't say it's 'way out of our league. Our knowledge about all the planets, including our own, has grown astronomically (pardon the pun) since the first satellite went into orbit in 1957. In fact, the most powerful evidence of the changing climate comes from satellite observations made over the last thirty or forty years. We can't hope to be proper stewards of Earth without space travel.
Other than that, there are many reasons why we should explore and settle the Solar System even as we work to reverse the damage we've done to our home planet. At the top of the list, consider: how can we understand the Earth's environment if the Earth is the only planet we know? Sure, it's unique, but why is it unique? The closed-loop environmental systems required for space travel will also apply to our terrestrial waste processing problem. A little more visionary is the idea of moving our heavy, polluting industries off the planet entirely, drawing on the vast resources of the Solar System to provide what we need.
It is amazing a tiny, isolated place like that can keep a community viable and going all these years. Yet another excellent Simon Whistler presentation.
I'm sure the fact that most of them are all related to each other kinda makes it easier
@@mnichols1979 I’d move and deepen the gene pool in the name of humanity.
There's no society on earth that is more communist or socialist than Tristan. I think that's a big reason for their ability to stick together and "thrive" for over 200 years in such an inhospitable place.
This certainly was different, but I really enjoyed it. I always wondered what life would be like on such an isolated place, and now I have a better idea. Thank you!
Romantic isolation. Superb for a schizoid type.
Great video Simon as always, I feel very privileged to have visited the island during my time the the Royal Navy on a trip from the Falkland Islands to Simonstown in South Africa back in October 2011. A fantastic bunch of people were there to meet us and make us feel very welcome. The one memento I have is the fridge magnet I have from there, one that I know not many people will have the good fortune to get. and the Crawfish were great too. As the ships head chef I had the pleasure of serving these local delicacies to my crew.
LOVE stories like this! isolated island communities like Tristan, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui etc. endlessly fascinate me, and ive more then once seriously considered emigrating to Pitcairn. More like this please!
I cannot resist the idea of coming up with a strange and wonderful story, with strange and wonderful characters, set many years ago on Tristan da Cunha. I find something irresistibly appealing in the idea of a story that no one in the outside world can ever know about, let alone believe. I do wonder what things might have happened in that tiny, extremely isolated community in the past, that no one will ever know about. Call me crazy.
I love this series on tiny nations and remote territories of the world. So fascinating how people live in situations that would be foreign to us in the western world.
By coincidence I was thinking about the people of Tristan earlier today, then up pops Simon with a video about the place! Nothing spooky though as it was news reports about Tonga and the volcano there that triggered the memory of the Tristans and their volcanic problems 60-odd years ago.
Reminds me a lot of Pitcairn Island. Really cool to see how people live far from civilization.
That was fascinating. Never heard of this island before and now I really want to visit. Such a unique place. What a cool story, thanks Simon and team!
Keep those MegaProjects coming Simon. Somehow you find the intricates that a documentary can't find. I will keep watching. Your humor is outstanding AF
You should take a look at the history of Citadel Laferriere -- a fortress built in Haiti by a rather brutal regime of the early 1800s. For its time it was most certainly a very impressive megaproject and its story is colorful to say the least. It cost many lives! And remains impressive to this day.
I first read of it in a National Geographic Magazine dating from December of 1920 (I have a nearly complete collection).
This was super interesting, I'd never heard of these people and their home.
Right? Incredible to me.
This is super interesting! I didn't know that you didn't know about these people,and now I do! Thanks for the bonus facts.Keep up the good work!
@@jeffdroog relax my friend. We're not all as cool as you think you are.
*now we know your grammar needs some work! Keep trying kiddo!
Thank you for creating this video!
What an interesting place! Have you ever covered Pitcairn Island on any of your channels? It's also very remote and isolated and has a great story.
i´d say Pitcairn is even remoter! i do buy their honey every once in a while. takes just 8-10 months to arrive!
@@AnzacPT I stan for Tristan and nope, Pitcairn is remote but it's an island that is closer to other inhabited places than is Tristan. "The most remote inhabited island in the world" is Tristan's catchphrase, and they've earned it :)
Do you know what happened on Pitcairn?
Great video! I've been fascinated with this place for about 2 years now. Don't remember how I heard about it but I remember marveling at its remoteness. Please, keep up the fantastic work.
It seems that tourism would be the best thing. Mountain climbing, nature watching. If a small resort could be built with pool, observation decks, boat excursions, local cuisine, and local history would be a great experience.
The biggest obstacle to this would be the 6 day boat trip it takes to get to the island
Well they do have a golf course.
I mean that's what they call it but it's kind of a joke :)
I've been in love with this place for several years since stumbling on a TH-cam film called, I think, The Tristan de Cunha project, a work-in-progress documentary which doesn't appear ever to have been completed.
It's definitely on my bucket list. I'd go there tomorrow if the opportunity arose. Magnificent people with a robust culture. There's also a pop video featuring the whole community jiving along to Pharrel Williams' song Happy. Makes me very happy. Thanks for this.
Been there. I did Ascension and At Helena too. All stunning places.
Caladesi? Nice beach.
I have always been a big Fan of the tristanian culture and it is really cool seeing you commenting about the island. Huge thumbs up for you!
You should do a series on one of your channels on the world’s remote islands!
who will feed Danny then?
@wendoverproductions does a lot of this
At one point I was about to apply for a position as a mechanic there. Salary was faboulous! At last, I desisted.
These postions are offered from time to time.
I've been working here as a mechanic for the last year. What an absolutely enjoyable time!
@@craigcaldwell7447 Congratulations! Nice to know from you, then!
Anyone else make up words and sing along to the intro music?
"Mega-mega projects, mega projects, mega projects. They're really really really cool!"
No, just me?
Found this very interesting as an aquintance of mine is responsible for co-ordinating Catholic chaplaincies in the British posessions in the Atlantic, and regularly visits Tristan. Hoping to join him on one of those journeys when this covid thing eases up.
This one is fabulous. Please do more on isolated communities including ones in the Arctic.
Bita Bing Bita Bang, nice job. Concise, as much history as I'm interested in. Found this burg on Google Earth, now I know more about it then anyone else at any cocktail party I'll attend for my entire life. Thank you.
Hi Simon, My Grandfather was stationed on Tristan as a radio operator for the British Navy in the 1940's. Hi wife joined him there. After a year she couldn't take the isolation and diet of potatoes. She said they would take the next ship to Cape Town and divorce! She went back to Britain, my grandfather stayed here and met my Grandmother. I think I should thank his ex wife for being alive 😅
Royal Navy
Reminds me of two years stationed on Diego Garcia British Indian Ocean Territory in the 70's. Saturday nite at the Brit Club listening to soccer games piped in over MRSAT. Lovely island.
Cannot imagine living there. There is NO life guard at the Gene Pool. Thanks, Simon. As always.
Why would a guard be at an empty pool; You are the water, not a swimmer.
What's the pizza delivery like on that island?
Alas, there is no lifeguard needed, as it is only a shallow pool.
Really enjoyed this. I have previously seen documentaries about these islands but this had a lot more detail and was easy to follow… thanks a bunch for making it. I continue to enjoy all your videos…
Great episode, more like this please, like the cook islands etc. I heard of this island when I was in school in the sixties, but then I discovered motorbikes and as you said they only have one road so that was that.
"we just can't have nice things" 😂😂🤣🤣🤣 too true
I always wondered what was the most remote place on Earth, thank you for the answer. Loved the video Simon.
Thank you for this pocket overview of T da C. 👏 It’s a very unique place with delightful people - wish I could have stayed longer, but the ocean (as ever) was very rough and disembarking the ship onto a small boat was an adventure in itself! It was a long voyage there from St Helena via Cape Town.
Every now and again a few Tristans would be at my local bar in CapeTown. They'd be staying at Tristan da Cunha House and getting supplies, etc.
I was just reading about Tristan da Cunha in Discover Magazine. Fascinating place. If I had the money, I'd definitely visit.
Is this the right channel? I feel like this should be on Geographics lol. Great video! I've always been curious about Tristan da Cunha.
Was literally searching about this last night, only to wake up to a vid by one of my favorite channels on this exact topic 👏🏼
That's the place of my dreams! Barely inhabited, isolated and surrounded by the ocean.
More remote than I thought possible in this day and age. Weeks to get there. Impressive video bringing this to light Simon
Gotta love Simon's video narrations ! Thank you Simon.
Anyone interested in Tristan and the other remaining islands should read the book from which that Simon Winchester quote is derived, Outposts. It was written in the 1980s and was a very good and interesting read.
Also worth reading is the new book about Tristan, "Nothing can stop us" by Richard Grundy and Neil Robson; and "Rockhopper Copper" by Conrad Glass, the island's policeman
Top little number well researched and delivered. Keep up the good work mate.
Excellent video loved to here all of this. I hope that thos grows and Tristan da chuna keeps growing and facing the odds
Thank you for your Channel update God bless you
Ascension Island would be interesting for a video too, the island was effectively terraformed by humans planting trees on the barren hills of the island over a hundred years ago.
Thanks
I can't be the only one who thought of the 'B-52s' when Simon said 'rock lobster', can I? :P
Thought the same.
Yep. Great song
Did you ever see the episode of Family Guy where Peter is standing next to a dancing lobster wearing a turbin on its head, singing that tune you mentioned but changes the words to Iraq Lobster? It's one of those things that's so stupid is kinda funny. The clip is about 30 seconds long. I'm sure it's here on TH-cam. It's the type of thing to look up if you're ever bored one day and looking for a laugh.
Video idea: the discovery, use and history of electricity? We take it for granted and the story is fascinating
Excellent educational report, thank you.
When i was younger, i lived in Tristan Close, Calshot, Southampton where some or all of the evacuees from TDC were housed following the eruption of the volcano. There was a lady there called Dora, a TDC native. I believe her children and grandchildren are still living in the area.
A part of the world that I have long found fascinating. Looking at those choppy waves is a wake up call that just sailing in for a visit is a fantasy that I should abandon. However it would be somewhere that I would like to go if given the chance.
Great vid
Great insight to a place I never heard of before
Thanks
A Call of Cthulhu real play podcast I really like set a scenario here. It’s great to hear more information about it!
Outstanding, yet again.
I thought the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific were the most remote, but hey ho.
Lovely video Simon 🔥 My fourth grade social sciences teacher told us about it and the eruption of the volcano which could be heard around the world 🌍
Core memory unlocked
Loved this one! What an interesting community/corner of the world!
Very interesting, I love that they all chose to return home after being evacuated.
Very interesting Nomis!!! Well don, another great video fella
Very much enjoyed.
Can you do the history of The Thunderbirds?
The aircraft are always evolving, the history is decades long with tragedy, unmatched skill, and they've entertained millions.
Thank you from Nellis AFB, home of The Thunderbirds!
"Thunderbirds are go!"
Spent 8 months on Ascension Island which is part of the same protectorate i believe.
Beautiful experience and nice people the Saints.🇬🇧👍
A "Shed of Doom" episode would be awesome. I don't doubt it's been suggested before, but I hear demand counts for something with this channel of and by legends.
Actually, the medical team can handle births. I know someone who lives on the island and gave birth a few months ago - on the island.
He was talking about complicated births
Really cool! Thank you for sharing
Yes, more content like this please
Didn't even realize that the channel was megaprojects at first, lol!
Simon could probably show up and present info in basically any combination of video and channel that shows up in my recommendations and I wouldn't even bat an eye at this point, apparently 😅
Keep up the gr8 work!
Who here when they here "Rock lobster" 🦞 gets that Family Guy clip playing in there head with Peter singing Rock Lobster 🦞 😄 😅🤣
Thank you. This is truly interesting. Love this video. Talk about getting away from it all.
Simon, I didn't like this episode, I freaking loved it! More like this please 😍
I really liked this episode 👍 It's fun to learn about little know or little explored places like this. Thank you! 😊
Please more like this! I love The Faraway places with current pictures
I have 3 friends who are currently on inaccessible island for a 3 month mission doing conservation work by removing invasive plants (New Zealand flax).
I'm still currently working ( May 2022) on Tristan and was lucky enough to meet the three you are talking of (B, C & J) . They returned to SA about a month or two ago Nice people!
A truely Australian megaproject was the Snowy Mountains scheme where most of the short flow of a coastal river was diverted over the Great Dividing range to the not so well watered interior. Along the way considerable hydro-electric power is made to this day.
And it is being upgraded.
You might want to cover building the airport on Saint Helena!
Very interesting! I'd love to move there and retire. Peace and quiet! And I love seafood and could open up new markets for the people for their seafood.
Will you be following up with the story of Ascension Island? As a Mega Project it is pretty phenomenal that the Brits managed to turn a barren cinder into a tropical island, complete with rain forest (Charles Darwin had a hand).
Hey Simon can you do a topic one amazing feats of construction or the like by a single person. Or as few people as possible. I'd love to hear what insane things loaners built by themselves. Your loyal fan Tom.
Look up coral castle and Edward leedskalnin if you want your mind blown about what one man can do
Never heard of this amazing little place before. Excellent video team 👏
A bit different than the normal MegaProjects topics, but very interesting! I knew about St. Helena, but didn't know that it was part of a group of other extremely distant British islands. Well done Simon and team 😊❤
Megaprojects (maybe geographics?) topic idea: In 1887 Illinois REVERSED THE CHICAGO RIVER. I have no idea how this worked but if that's not the definition of a mega project idk what is
Thank you for this interesting piece.
This was really interesting. Thanks. Happy to see more like this in the channel
Bouvet Island, 54.25° S; 3.22° E, a dependanc of Norway, also in the South Atlantic, is the most remote island on the planet.
Tristan da Cunha, 37° 4' S: 12° 19' W, is the most remote INHABITED island.
In the late 1960's & early 1970's, the father of a good friend, a dentist by profession, made an annual visit, from Cape Town, courtesy of the Royal Navy, to Tristan, to tend to the Island's dental needs.
Good video 👍
I was Lon the island when the volcano erupted,my dad went there as the factory manager,we were only there for about 4 months when the volcano erupted,I was 4 years old at the time.
I've read a couple of books about Tristan da Cunha. Fascinating place! There is an adventure novel from the 60s in the waters around Tristan by UK writer Geoffrey Jenkins called A Grue of Ice.