# Yes, there ARE such things as floating islands. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712 "2005-10-31T13:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/1 "2005-10-31T13:53:28Z")
I’d read stories about them, but the proof exists. There **are** floating islands. [HERE’S](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/29/officials_tow_floating_island_back_to_middle_of_pond/) a news article about one. Freshwater. It apparently smells like an old bus. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/2 "2005-10-31T14:02:07Z")
How long before the officials from the local archipelago come by and demand their back taxes? Maybe they could sell it for coral jewelry. Anybody got the references? … ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/3 "2005-10-31T14:08:20Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > It apparently smells like an old bus. Ever smell an old bus? I do daily. I would not describe it as “funny”. It’s a complex mixture of stale, damp, diesel and remnants of the absorbent used to soak up puke. I think I’d take a methane-farting island over that. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/4 "2005-10-31T20:54:27Z")
The French have a dessert called _îles flottantes_, consisting of “islands” of baked meringue floating in a punchbowl of syrup. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/5 "2005-10-31T21:46:19Z")
It wasn’t called Kooey-kooey-kooey, was it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/6 "2005-11-01T04:29:59Z")
Is it populated by meerkats? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/7 "2005-11-01T05:09:54Z")
> [@caveman](#): > > It wasn’t called Kooey-kooey-kooey, was it? 😃 Wouldn’t you be surprised if they actually found blue beetles on it… ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/8 "2005-11-01T07:42:45Z")
What I want to know is, have they found Hot Cha yet? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/9 "2005-11-01T12:56:08Z")
The novel _Life of Pi_ by the French-Canadian author Yann Martel has a weird floating island in it. I wonder if he got the idea for it while spooning up a nice sweet _île flottante_. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/10 "2005-11-01T13:03:55Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The novel _Life of Pi_ by the French-Canadian author Yann Martel has a weird floating island in it. I wonder if he got the idea for it while spooning up a nice sweet _île flottante_. I thought of the same thing 🙂 But that island could also kill you! ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/11 "2005-11-01T16:35:47Z")
> [@](#): > > A worker stationed on the island whooped when he felt the island move underneath him, sailing back to the center of the 10-acre pond. Must be a quiet little town… ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/12 "2005-11-01T19:42:02Z")
You have no idea. My hometown has one of these in a nearby lake - it’s always a topic of conversation when they tow it back out after it gets too close to the shore. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/13 "2005-11-01T19:42:05Z")
Is it time for another thread about what it takes to create an independent country? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/14 "2005-11-01T19:46:35Z")
Sure there are floating islands! Apollo and Artemis, my fellow gods, were born on Delos before… …oh, you mean in _real life_. Sorry, I never pay attention to reality if I can help it. Can’t help you there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/15 "2005-11-01T20:32:08Z")
Anyone that has lived in Georgia knows about the Okefenokee Swamp, which means “trembling earth”. If you have ever stood on one of the floating islands, it is easy to understand where the name came from. Anyone driving through south Georgia on the way to Florida should take time to visit the Okefenokee Swamp. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/16 "2005-11-01T22:22:35Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > You have no idea. My hometown has one of these in a nearby lake - it’s always a topic of conversation when they tow it back out after it gets too close to the shore. Is it easily observable from rocking chairs on the porch of the General Store? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/17 "2005-11-01T23:53:01Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > You have no idea. My hometown has one of these in a nearby lake - it’s always a topic of conversation when they tow it back out after it gets too close to the shore. PHOTOS! PHOTOS! Links to news articles!! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/18 "2005-11-02T03:15:55Z")
[In fiscal year 04-05, the BIPM budgeted more than $6 million strictly for controlling tussocks and floating islands.](http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/tussocks.html) ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/19 "2005-11-02T03:28:49Z")
Northern Minnesota has lots of bogs. I’ve seen plenty that had floating islands. They smell okay until your foot goes through into the slimy black muck. Then an old bus would be a nice reprieve. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-there-are-such-things-as-floating-islands/328712/20 "2005-11-02T03:40:56Z")
Worst, yet, is when the stirrer sometimes falls and crushes the local populace. Poor Doug McLean.