The Wonderful World of Completely Random Facts — Issue 61
The Island That Appeared and Disappeared
There was only water in a spot off the southwestern coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea before 1831, but something strange happened in July of that year. Sicilian fishermen began to notice that dead fish were rising to the surface in that area that reeked of sulfur.
It was not known what was going on until July 10, 1831, when sailors saw that a mouth of a volcano had appeared above the surface, spewing ash and lava. By August, the once wholly water-only area had an island in its place.
The new island was about a half mile wide (800 meters) and 200 feet tall (60 meters).
It wasn’t long before governments began eyeing the island, as it sat in the middle of European shipping routes in the Mediterranean. France wanted it, as did the United Kingdom, Spain, and Sicily, which it was closest to. But the quest to claim this island by these countries became moot. Within five months, the island retreated back under the sea. Some dubbed it “L’isola che non c’è,” the island that isn’t there, or “L’isola che se ne andò,” the island that went away.
