# Is The World unstable?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-world-unstable/569327>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 28, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-world-unstable/569327 "2011-01-28T19:53:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-world-unstable/569327/1 "2011-01-28T19:53:26Z")

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Not the Earth – Dubai’s constellation of islands:

> **[Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](https://news.yahoo.com/)**
>
> The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos.

> [@](#):
>
> DUBAI (AFP) – A cluster of 300 artificial islands off Dubai’s coast in the shape of a global map is stable, its developer Nakheel insists, despite a court claim alleging that “The World” was neglected and eroding away.
> 
> “There is no issue with the stability of The World islands that are approximately 70 percent sold and handed over,” a Nakheel spokesman said when asked about the allegations.
> 
> “The island purchasers (have) the responsibility to proceed with their developments in due course,” he added.
> 
> The islands, many of which represent individual countries and which can only be accessed by boat or helicopter, were meant to be one of the Gulf city-state’s crowning developments.
> 
> Builders have announced plans for a few of the islands, but development has yet to begin on most of them.

Yeah – what are the chances that constructions of sand would simply melt back into the ocean?  
Don’t ask the people of Massachusetts’ Plum Island that.

[http://nshoremag.com/last-days-of-plum-island/](http://nshoremag.com/last-days-of-plum-island/)

> **[The World (archipelago)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_%28archipelago%29)**
>
> The World Islands (Arabic: جزر العالم, romanized: Juzur al-Ālam) are an archipelago of small artificial islands constructed in the shape of a world map, located in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The World Islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai's shallow coastal waters and are one of several artificial island developments in the emirate. The World's developer is Nakheel Properties. Construction was done by two Dutch joint-venture specialist co Con...

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**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-world-unstable/569327/2 "2011-01-28T20:58:49Z")

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I heard a report on NPR’s Marketplace program just last night that asserted the same thing - that the “islands” were being reclaimed by the ocean. But that it really wasn’t that big a deal; only Greenland had anything built on it so far.

I watched a Discovery Channel show on their construction once - they had a ton of problems with circulation, leading to smelly, stagnant water (and debris) at some parts of the World. Supposedly they fixed that, but perhaps not.

What a ton of money just literally dumped into the ocean. It’s rather a shame.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-world-unstable/569327/3 "2011-01-28T23:41:25Z")

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I believe the intention was to maintain the islands by regularly topping them up with additional sand (same for the nearby Palm Islands too)

Although I’m sure there’s no shortage of sand there, it just seems like a weirdly overdependent construction idea to me. Still, it doesn’t really matter - as far as I can tell, the only people buying property there are celebrities looking for new ways to waste their money, or display their wealth. Good luck to them, or something.