Comments on: How To: Get Stranded on A Desert Island

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Oops, forgot to include the link.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:55:35 +0000

Damn Interesting did an article about Alexander Selkirk a while back (click on my name for the link), which had a lot more details. Turns out he was a bit of a jerk and pissed the captain off, which was a major contributing factor in his being left behind. Also, turns out he and the goats were more than “just friends”.

By: bucsfan

bucsfan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:26:19 +0000

You doubters must not have a good recipe for feral goat.

You should be watching Man v Wild and get all the tips you need.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:11:06 +0000

How can one inhabit an uninhabited island? It’s a paradigm, with a meaning not restricted by one or two modifiers. It’s a literary construct we’ve all dreamed of visiting, once upon a time.

By: robin

robin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:09:16 +0000

How about stranding on a dessert island? Yummy!

By: Nerdfury

Nerdfury — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:20:19 +0000

Christ, John – chill out! Take your crap elsewhere, or just enjoy the articles.

By: Bill T.

Bill T. — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:02:07 +0000

I think the phrase “desert island” has cemented itself rather well in common language to mean “an uninhabited locale surrounded by water”. I have a hard time believing that John didn’t understand what was meant.

I better start being nicer to my boss, just in case.

By: Ed Hands

Ed Hands — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:38:10 +0000

BUT THEN…in a robust show of google saaviness…I found this…

“A deserted island (also known as a ‘desert island’) is simply any uninhabited island: the word “desert” in this context is an adjective meaning “desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied,” and does not imply arid desert climate.[1] Such islands are commonly invoked in metaphor, literature, and the popular imagination.”

Wikipedia to the rescue….
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninhabited_island

By: Ed Hands

Ed Hands — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:34:58 +0000

Sorry, John..I read it and thought (in passing) the same thing but intellectual laziness swept over me…

At least one of us had the fortitude to point out the error. :)

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:28:32 +0000

Bravo John.