RocaNews, Chittagong Division (2025)

12/10/2023

Today's Wrap is about Brooks Robinson, the baseball icon remembered as one of the greatest players of all time, on and off the field.

***

"In New York, they named a candy bar after Reggie Jackson. Here in Baltimore, we name our children after Brooks Robinson.”

So said a prominent sportswriter during a banquet honoring Brooks Robinson in 1977. On paper, Robinson was an all-time great baseball player. To many people, though, he was an icon who defined his city for decades.

Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was born on May 18, 1937 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was drawn to basketball and baseball from a young age and made a name for himself with his natural athleticism. His skills didn't go unnoticed, and after graduating from high school in 1955, the University of Arkansas offered him a full basketball scholarship. But Robinson wanted to play baseball.

Three major league teams – The New York Giants, the Cincinnati Redlegs, and the Baltimore Orioles – sent scouts to Little Rock to try to sign Robinson. Each offered $4,000 – a lot of money back then – and Robinson chose to join the Orioles. The team had just relocated to Baltimore and was struggling. Robinson, seeing an opportunity to climb through their system, signed with them at age 18.

While Robinson played just six games in his rookie year, it was evident to the Orioles that they had a star on their hands. His skill at his position – third base – was unmatched, and from 1960 to 1975, he earned 16 Gold Gloves, the award given to top defensive players. In 1966, Robinson led the Orioles to their first World Series victory ever.

Baseball fan Jim Ronan told Roca that he started attending Orioles games 60 years ago, when Robison was in his prime. While Robinson was already a star, Ronan told Roca that in 1970, he became a superstar. That year, the Orioles played the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.

Players kept hitting hard plays to Robinson, and Robinson kept making amazing stops. In one iconic play, the Reds’ first baseman hit a fair ball that hopped once past third. Robinson lunged and backhanded the ball, and with a 180-degree spin and one-hop toss, threw the ball to first base to get the Reds player out.

Plays like that carried the Orioles to World Series victory and earned Robinson a nickname: The Human Vacuum. "I've never seen anything like what he did to us in that Series," the Reds’s manager would later say. "He killed us.” One Reds player said: "God sent Brooks Robinson to play third base in the '70 Series. He caught everything but a cold.”

Mark Frost, a reporter at the Baltimore Sun during the 1970 run, told Roca that the World Series turned Robinson from a local star to a world star. “We knew about him in Baltimore,” Frost said. “But the 1970 World Series was the moment when the world knew about him.” The Orioles won the Series in five games and Robinson was named its MVP.

Baltimore loved Robinson for far more than his skills.

He was a standup man, Frost said, who looked out for younger players, always took time to speak with the press and fans, and seemed to genuinely enjoy getting to know people. He was involved in the Baltimore community, often fundraising and speaking at events.

"I've never known anyone in any profession more adored than Brooks," said a former teammate. "We'd go on roadtrips and he'd stop on the street to talk to total strangers. It's amazing that he was that good a player, and that nice to everyone he met.”

One Orioles broadcaster said, “When fans ask Brooks Robinson for his autograph, he complied while finding out how many kids you have, what your dad does, where you live, how old you are, and if you have a dog.”

Ronan, the Orioles fan mentioned before, recalled an event he organized as Chief of Staff at the Washington Adventist Hospital in which Robinson was delivering a speech to honor medical doctors. Robinson was scheduled to eat dinner with the hospital's leadership, but upon arrival noticed a table of secretaries who had come to get a glimpse of him.

“I’d like to sit with them,” he said. “[Robinson] was the only person willing to talk with any person, at any time,” Ronan recalled. After dinner, Ronan said he gave a wonderful talk and spent time chatting with Ronan as he accompanied him to his car before the drive home. “He was a humble, genuine, kind person,” he said. “It was just a wonderful experience.”

Robinson spent his entire 23-year MLB career with the Orioles and retired on October 18, 1977. The team marked that with "Brooks Robinson Day," an event in which Ronan remembers Robinson riding around the stadium in the back of a convertible, waving to the cheering standing-room-only crowd.

In 1983, Robinson entered the Baseball Hall of Fame – the first third baseman to be elected in his first year of eligibility. Robinson’s legend has only grown since, as the Orioles went from being champions to consistently one of the worst teams in US professional sports.

Asked if Baltimore could ever have another Robinson, Frost was doubtful. “Baltimore is now a small market team,” he said. “Players only commit to the Orioles for seven years and favor larger markets, such as New York, Los Angeles, or Boston.”

“He’s a throwback,” Frost said. “The combination of a player committing to a team and city, of being a great player, with longevity, and as great a person and human being…that’s a longer shot.” Ronan, who remains a loyal Orioles fan, agreed. “There will only be one Brooks Robinson,” he said.

Robinson passed away last month at the age of 86 from coronary disease.

In commemoration of that, the usually-closed gates to the Orioles stadium were left wide open, allowing fans mourning the legend to pile flowers at the base of his statue. Thankfully for Robinson and Baltimore, things are now looking up for the Orioles.

Despite having the second-lowest budget in the MLB, this Orioles just had their best season in decades and were the top seed in the MLB playoffs, before a quick postseason exit. Still, things are looking up for Baltimore baseball after a decades-long post-Brooks hangover.

***

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11/10/2023

Today's Wrap is a Roca original: What’s going on in Poland?

***

Across Europe, countries are divided between two visions. One is socially progressive, pro-immigrant, and pro-EU; the other is nationalistic and skeptical about immigration, the EU, and globalism.

That battle is currently playing out in Poland, which has experienced mass protests ahead of elections scheduled for October 15. Roca spoke to dozens of Polish voters to understand what’s happening. Many said they consider this the most important election of their lifetimes.

The election pits the further-right P*S against a number of opposition parties led by the center-right PO. The P*S has been governing since 2015 and has resisted immigration, challenged the EU’s authority, and taken other conservative positions. Critics accuse P*S of harming democracy by controlling the courts and media; P*S and its supporters deny that.

The opposition wants to draw Poland closer to the EU; reform immigration policy; and have more liberal policies toward abortion, same-sex marriages, and other social issues. One leading opposition politician described his vision as “a Poland that is tolerant, diverse, European, and smiling.” The P*S accuses the opposition of being under the control of Germany and the EU.

P*S voters told Roca that the party has taken care of Polish people and embraced traditionally Polish values.

One P*S supporter said the party “takes from the rich and gives to the poor.” Another said the party has “supported [Poles] socially and economically,” allowing them to live “comfortable lives.” The voter – a 33-year-old urban planner – said, “We have traditional values, Poland is a Catholic nation and this government respects that!”

“Patriotism is coming back!” she added.

Critics paint P*S as corrupt and anti-democratic.

Numerous opposition supporters told Roca that P*S “took over the media” and now controls the information many Poles receive. Another accused the party of using welfare benefits to “literally buy votes from those less fortunate.”

Others said the P*S exaggerates threats, like immigration, to create a common enemy and win votes, and uses the courts to suppress democracy and protect its people from prosecution.

Several Poles who plan to vote for PO told Roca that Poland needs a fresh start.

One said PO is more “liberal/open-minded” than P*S, supporting abortion rights and legal same-sex partnerships. Others say a new government is needed to restore Poland’s international standing. Many said they didn’t necessarily support the PO, but saw it as the “lesser evil.”

Major polls currently show PO at 30% among likely voters versus 36% for P*S. If neither major party wins a majority of the vote, they will have to forge political alliances with smaller parties to form a government. That gives smaller parties outsized influence over the election results, and Roca spoke to members of those parties to hear their perspectives.

Several people said they support Lewika, the country’s largest left-leaning party.

One 25-year-old woman told Roca her support for that party came down to its socially liberal values: “Right to abortion…and a promise to treat climate change seriously,” she said. Another cited the party’s commitment to secularization and its support for Ukraine.

We also spoke to supporters of Konfederacja, one of Poland’s newest and most controversial parties.

Critics describe the party as extremist for its anti-immigration and other conservative stances. Its supporters see it differently: “[Konfederacja] is the only one offering free market solutions,” said one 22-year-old. Another likes that the party supports “Catholic ideas.”

“They are pro-life, don't want to fight the Church, don't mock Priests and the faithful, they respect the tradition that is deeply connected with our country,” he said. He also rejected the claim that Konfederacja is xenophobic. “The only thing that they do is place Polish people first.”

“It's not about saying that we are better in any way, or anything like that. I like the comparison of nations to wives. I have my wife, and you have your wife. Obviously I love my wife more than I love yours. And that does not imply that I hate your wife or you because of her.”

“Those who don't agree with that will call it xenophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, and so on.”

Voters from all parties told Roca the stakes couldn’t be higher, as the outcome will likely dictate Poland’s support for Ukraine, the EU, immigration – and, according to some, democracy. The elections are scheduled for October 15.

Which vision will win?

***

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14/07/2022

Yesterday, we told the story of how the USA outlawed alcohol in 1919. Today's Wrap explains how the country began (legally) drinking again.

***

By the late 1920s, the US’ nationwide ban on alcohol – Prohibition – was clearly failing.

Prohibition took effect in 1920, a year after the passage of the 18th Amendment. Intended to reduce drinking and crime, it inadvertently resulted in a number of powerful gangs supplying alcohol to millions.

These gangs had resources and tactics that often outmatched those of the government. “Rum runners'' imported huge quantities of liquor from abroad, often toying with the Coast Guard by staying just outside US territorial waters but within sight of their pursuers. In New York and Chicago, gangs such as the Mafia created huge crime syndicates that paid policemen, judges, and politicians to turn a blind eye. Police realized that if they were going to make any real progress, they had to go after the crime bosses who held the gangs together.

For them, there was no bigger target than an Italian American from Chicago named Al Capone.

By 1927, Capone had consolidated control over a gang known as the Chicago Outfit and was making millions. He gained a reputation for violence, known for tactics such as the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” when he ordered the ex*****on of 7 rival gang members on Valentine’s Day 1929. By that time, he had paid or scared off most of his Chicago rivals.

The US government decided to make an example out of Capone. If they could take down the top dog, maybe they could scare other gangs into submission.

In 1929, the US Department of Justice appointed Eliot Ness as a special agent to the Chicago Prohibition Bureau. Ness gathered a team known as the “Untouchables,” named that because they couldn’t be bribed. After years of undercover investigations, Ness’s team finally gathered enough evidence to arrest Capone for federal tax evasion and other minor crimes. Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison, after which health issues would force him to retire.

Yet the success proved the feebleness of prohibition: In Capone’s absence, new organizations emerged to conduct the same illegal behavior. Taking down Chicago’s top gangster did little to decrease bootlegging.

By 1932, Congress faced growing pressure to end prohibition. It was the Great Depression and the US had bigger problems, and none of the promised benefits had materialized: Alcohol consumption was approaching pre-Prohibition levels, and crime and incarceration rates were soaring. One former top prohibition prosecutor admitted that hard liquor could be easily purchased “at almost any hour of the day or night, either in rural districts, the smaller towns, or the cities.”

Soon after taking office in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt repealed parts of the Volstead Act, which outlawed alcohol stronger than .5% ABV. 9 months later, the 21st Amendment officially ended prohibition in the US.

While prohibition ended quickly, though, its impact didn't. It made organized crime a major part of American life for the first time, and gangsters soon became cultural icons, particularly as Hollywood began telling their stories.

So while Prohibition only lasted 14 years, its consequences are still felt 100 years later.

***

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14/07/2022

Today's Wrap takes us to a century ago, when the United States decided it had a drinking problem. This is part 1 of a 2-part series on prohibition.

***

Once upon a time, a trip to the local bar could end with jail time.

That was during prohibition – a US ban on the production, sale, or transportation of alcohol that lasted from 1920-1933. Prohibition was rooted in the temperance movement, a campaign by religious officials and women to prohibit alcohol based on the belief that it increased crime, poverty, and laziness.

By the 1900s, the temperance movement gained popularity on a national stage. Led by popular organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 26 of the 48 US states had passed some type of law limiting alcohol sales by 1916.

Prohibition politics became the hot-button issue of the day: Those in favor of such laws (the “bone-drys”) and those against them (the “wets”) soon brought the debate to Washington, D.C. In 1917, some representatives brought forward the prohibition amendment, and the Senate voted 65 – 20 in favor of it. The House passed it soon after. Large majorities of both parties supported it.

By January 1919, 45 of the US’ 48 states ratified the amendment. It took effect a year later. New Jersey would ratify it in 1922, and in the end, just 2 states – Connecticut and Rhode Island – rejected it.

The 18th Amendment, which prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquor,” thus took effect. Congress also passed the Volstead Act in 1919, officially banning all beverages exceeding 0.5% ABV, besides those used for medicinal, religious, or industrial purposes.

Proponents of the bill rejoiced. One reverend optimistically declared: “The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now, women will smile and children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent.” And at first, prohibition seemed to be working: Reports suggested that in the year after prohibition took effect, per capita alcohol consumption dropped 75%.

In reality, though, many people were just finding other ways to drink. Since alcohol was legal for medical purposes, “pharmacies” began prescribing whiskey for ailments ranging from the common cold to syphilis. Companies began selling barrels of “grape concentrate” with labels warning their customers not to leave the contents sitting around too long, lest they turn into wine. Some people claimed to be rabbis to purchase wine for “religious” ceremonies.

The resulting black market sparked a surge in “bootlegging,” or the illegal production and sale of alcohol. As gangs produced, transported, and sold huge quantities of liquor, and underground bars – speakeasies – became big business, gangs found themselves battling for control of the trade.

As crime and incarceration increased, it became clear that prohibition was failing. Nothing did that more than the rise of a Chicago gangster named Al Capone.

***

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14/07/2022

Today's Wrap takes back to Iran, where a revolutionary cyberweapon has just been unveiled.

***

In early 2011, Iran’s nuclear program was running into unexpected difficulties as its centrifuges – machines used to enrich uranium — kept inexplicably breaking.

Separately, a coder in Belarus stumbled across a remarkably complex computer virus. He shared his discovery with other coders, and soon researchers from around the world were trying to reveal its purpose and origin.

The connection between both events, when it finally came out, was straight out of a spy thriller.

After months, coders began to see a clearer picture of the virus. Fairly quickly, they realized that the virus targeted Iran: Of ~100k infected devices, ~58% were in Iran. Given its complexity and sophistication, they inferred that it must have been funded by a government. Finally, by judging its methods of spreading, they estimated that it was probably released “into the wild” in 2005.

They named the virus Stuxnet.

The most groundbreaking discovery about the virus came when a team of scientists reverse-engineered it. That’s when they realized that it used 4 “zero days.”

A zero day is a software hole — a metaphorical c***k in the armor — that has never been discovered before and, as a result, allows hackers to bypass firewalls or security systems. They are rare and extremely difficult to find, and once found, can be worth huge sums. Scientists realized that Stuxnet exploited 4 zero days to propagate itself — an incredible number.

They also discovered that the software targeted a brand of centrifuges used at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. Every time Stuxnet entered a new computer, it ran a code to determine whether or not the computer was connected to one of these centrifuges; if it wasn’t, then Stuxnet did nothing.

However, if it did detect a centrifuge, then it was programmed to slowly accelerate the rate at which they spun, causing irreparable damage to the system while providing false feedback to operators. Stuxnet would cause centrifuges to start breaking in large numbers with no apparent cause. It is widely considered the first computer virus in the world that could cause real-life destruction.

But one final question puzzled scientists: How did it get into the Natanz facility? Like many high-security facilities, Natanz was “air-gapped,” meaning it wasn’t connected to the Internet. Eventually, researchers determined that it was likely transmitted to Natanz through a flash drive.

Both the US and Israel, deemed most likely to have funded the virus, denied a role in the situation. However, in the decade after its discovery, some officials implied they were responsible. It has since become widely believed that they cooperated to create and plant the virus. Leaks indicate the virus was created by US-funded “Operation Olympic Games,” which, while still officially unacknowledged, allegedly ran from 2006 — 2012.

It is still unclear how much Stuxnet impacted Iran’s nuclear program. Although some suggest that Iran quickly recovered, others believe the damage constituted a major setback for Iran.

In the coding community, Stuxnet has gained near-legendary status. The sheer size, complexity, and detail of the code were record-shattering, and in terms of cyberwarfare, it was revolutionary.

***

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14/07/2022

Today's Wrap takes us to Iran, where nuclear processing machines are inexplicably breaking down... This is part 1 of a 2-part series.

***

In 2010, Iran began experiencing unexpected troubles with its nuclear energy program. Its centrifuges — large, expensive machines used to enrich uranium — were mysteriously breaking.

A few months later, a computer security firm in the Eastern European country of Belarus troubleshooted an Iranian computer that wouldn’t stop crashing. They found nothing wrong with it.

These seemingly unrelated events would prove the first clues of a mysterious revolution in cyberwarfare.

***

In 2009, Iran’s nuclear program was running smoothly. After years of struggling to devise a system that worked, Iran was finally producing large amounts of enriched uranium. At the Natanz uranium enrichment facility — buried deep underground to protect it from attack — upwards of 5,000 centrifuges were set to enrich enough uranium to build 2 bombs within a year.

Iran had secretly begun its nuclear program years before. Its discovery by the international community in 2005 led to fierce condemnations and sanctions, but Iran continued forward anyway. Iran’s leaders claimed that its only goal was to use nuclear power as an energy source.

But many of Iran’s opponents, including the US and Israel, feared that Iran was building bombs. Publicly, they used diplomacy and threats against Iran; privately, they plotted military action.

Per a previous agreement, the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), an international nuclear oversight body, was allowed limited access to Natanz to monitor Iran’s nuclear program. Their goal was to ensure that uranium was only being enriched at low, energy-related levels.

But by June 2010, IAEA inspectors began noticing something odd: Centrifuges at Natanz were breaking. By August, 328 centrifuges had broken; by November, 984. Although some breakage was normal — centrifuges are delicate, sensitive machines — these numbers were unusually high.

Iran’s production of enriched uranium, previously at high levels, plummeted by the start of 2011.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a small computer security company in Belarus received a request from an Iranian client with ties to Iran’s nuclear program. The client told Sergey Ulasen, a computer engineer, that his computer wouldn’t stop rebooting. After running malware detectors over the computer, Sergey found nothing.

Over the next few days, Sergey and his coworkers scoured the computer for any malware, but to no avail. Finally, they found something mysterious: A computer file, supposedly licensed by many respected software companies, that was virtually undetectable to every malware blocker.

The mystery only got stranger: Sergey soon realized that this was unlike any virus he had ever seen before. Its sophistication and complexity told him that he had found something special.

Sergey posted his findings on online forums. Soon, dozens of researchers from around the world were investigating “Stuxnet,” the name given to the mysterious virus. But the sheer size and complexity of the code meant that it would be months before it could be fully understood.

Little did they know, they had discovered a cyberwarfare revolution.

***

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14/07/2022

Today's Wrap takes us to France a century ago, where a Frenchman's unique cheese was about to take the world by storm.

***

In 1865, a French man named Jules Bel founded a small cheese company. After a war and a rebrand, it became one of the most popular in the world.

Jules lived in a tiny town in southern France renowned for its quality cheese. At 23, he decided to become a master cheese refiner. He launched a successful cheese business that his 2 sons – Henri and Léon – would later inherit.

When World War I broke out, the 36-yo Léon was assigned to a French army unit that was delivering food to front-line soldiers. Many units were doing the same, which made it confusing about which vehicles were delivering which supplies.

To differentiate the various units, soldiers drew humorous symbols on the supply vehicles. The head of Léon’s unit asked one well-known illustrator to design theirs, and he sent back a laughing cow.

In French, “laughing cow” is “la vache qui rit.” To the French soldiers, that sounded a lot like “La Wachkyrie,” a famous German opera. The cow became popular among French soldiers who used it to make fun of their German enemies.

Léon’s cheese business was struggling after the war, with low demand and backed-up supply. He decided to make 2 changes: He began processing his cheese so it would last longer, and he changed the logo to a laughing cow, hoping that the image’s wartime popularity would help his cheese business stand out. The logo showed a cow with a red coat and cheese box earrings.

With the combination of processed cheese and innovative branding, Léon struck gold.

Laughing Cow went on to become one of the world’s most popular cheeses, sold in 120 countries across 5 continents. About 125 portions are sold each second, or about 4B portions each year. The cow has changed a bit since the 1920s – she became redder, while her smile grew and horns shrunk – but her popularity never waned.

***

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14/07/2022

Today's Wrap tells the unlikely story of the most successful band ever in music-crazy Cuba: The Buena Vista Social Club.

***

Cuba is famous for its music – yet the best-selling band in the country’s history almost never was.

That band, the Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC), was formed out of 20 Cuban artists in 1996. The Club revived the “golden era” musical styles of 1940s Cuba, reintroducing traditional Cuban styles to a generation raised on pop. The group’s debut production became the best-selling album in Cuban history, with 9M+ sales.

The “Buena Vista Social Club” name is a flashback to the early 1900s, when Cuban society was segregated. In that era Black Cubans hung out at “cabildos,” a fraternity-like organization descended from Cuban slaves where people sang, drank, and danced. Among all the cabildos in Havana, Cuba’s capital, the BVSC’s music stood above the rest.

When British producer Nick Gold traveled to Cuba in 1996, he had different expectations for the group. He initially planned to record a collaboration between Cuban and African musicians, but when the African musicians couldn’t join due to passport-related issues, Gold had to improvise. He instead decided to gather Cuba’s oldest musicians, some of whom hadn’t played in decades.

One of the most famous members of the band was Ibrahim Ferrer. Born in 1927, Ferrer was one of the only people in the world who still sang the old-fashioned “bolero” style. When Gold found him, he was living in an old apartment in Havana and working as a shoe shiner.

The group’s pianist, Rubén González, had over 5 decades of experience as a musician, but he didn’t even own a piano anymore; his last one had been destroyed by bugs. “Everybody said he was dead,” one producer remarked. “He hadn’t been heard from in 20 years.”

Everybody involved in the Buena Vista Social Club knew something special was happening. “They knew they had nothing to prove,” Gold stated in 2017. “It was the right time and place." The group took the world by storm, introducing Cuban music to global audiences for the first time since the 1959 Cuban Revolution blocked most of the island’s music scene from the world. Their first album went on to win the 1998 Grammy for “Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.”

Their music still plays in the streets of Cuba today, and although many of the group’s musicians have died, their music will live on forever through the millions of fans still listening to Chan Chan, El Cuarto de Tula, and Candela every year.

***

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14/07/2022

Today's Wrap dives into the waters off Long Island to explore nearby mysteries and surprises. Shoutout to our rockstar summer intern Hannah who pitched and wrote this wrap!

***

Off the coast of Long Island – the mainland US’ largest and most populous island – are 3 islands known for their mystique and mystery.

Some know the first, Plum Island, as the Area 51 of the East Coast.

In the 1800s, the island became home to a lighthouse and army post, then a US Army biological warfare research program nearly a century later. That closed quickly, though, and the US government – alarmed by the spread of Foot and Mouth disease among livestock – replaced it with the Plum Island Animal Disease Control New York (PIADCNY) in 1954.

The PIADCNY conducted – and still conducts – classified research on contagious animal diseases. Only employees and officials can access the highly secure island, which is under 24-hour surveillance. The island’s mysterious work has generated widespread speculation about what’s actually happening there – especially after nearby places were among the first to report Lyme Disease, and when a mysterious bloated and bloodless animal washed up on a nearby beach in 2008…

The second island, Gardiners Island, was the site of a scandal involving Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s.

In 1639, the Earl of Stirling, a British official who owned most of Long Island, gave a man named Lion Gardiner the right to possess an island off the Long Island coast “forever.” The island has since passed through 13 generations of the Gardiner family. During that period, it was home to numerous Long Island socialites, including Julia Gardiner, who became first lady after marrying the soon-to-be-president John Tyler.

While the island has been kept almost entirely private, some journalists and celebrities have visited – Jackie Kennedy among them.

When Kennedy visited the island in 1966, she allegedly used a golden lighter to spark a cigarette, but never returned it. One of the Gardiners became furious about the theft, and spread the word that Jackie was a thief. To end the gossip, Jackie’s husband at the time – Aristotle Onassis – sent a $5,000 check and threatened a lawsuit. When Jackie died in 1994, the lighter resurfaced and went on auction at Sotheby’s in New York.

The third island – North Dumpling Island – may not even belong to the United States.

In 1986, Dean Kamen – the eccentric inventor of the Segway, among other devices – bought an island for $2.5M. He wanted to build a wind turbine on it, however local governments prevented him from doing so. To deal with that, he struck a deal with friend and then-president George H. W. Bush: He seceded from the US, and signed a nonaggression pact with the president.

Kamen – who refers to himself as Lord Dumpling – renamed the island North Dumpling Island, and wrote a national anthem, issued a new currency, designed a flag, and adopted a constitution. The island operates on an independent electric grid, fully powered by solar panels and a singular wind turbine.

And in what may have been Dumpling’s most popular move, he appointed the founders of Ben & Jerry’s the island’s Ministers of Ice Cream.

***

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