Voting Station

Easter Island

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Location

The Resume

    Also known as Rapa Nui
    First inhabited by Polynesians sometime between 300 and 1200 AD
    Discovered by Europeans on April 5 (Easter Sunday), 1722
    Annexed by Chile (1888)
    Area: 63.1 square miles
    Population (2002 Census): 3,791
    Known for its maoi statues

Why Easter Island might be annoying:

    It is very remote, with the nearest inhabited land (Pitcairn Island) located 1,290 miles to the west and with South America 2,200 miles to the east.
    The inhabitants deforested the island by the 1400s.
    Without the trees, canoes could not be built, birds stopped nesting and the topsoil eroded, and famine set in.
    By 1700, the population had dropped to between a quarter and a tenth of its high point.
    Slave raiders from Peru killed or abducted 1500 people, about half the island's remaining population (1862-63).
    Survivors who returned brought smallpox with them, starting a devastating epidemic.
    By 1877, the population of native islanders was down to 111.
    From the time Chile annexed the island until 1953, natives were confined to a single village because the rest of the island was leased to a Scottish company as a sheep farm.
    Because some people refuse to believe that the Polynesians could have built the maoi, it is a favorite subject of 'In Search Of'/'Unsolved Mysteries' types of shows.

Why Easter Island might not be annoying:

    An early European explorer said the natives had 'more beauty and grace than I afterwards met in any other island.'
    The runway of the island's airport was lengthened to 10,885 feet so it could serve as an emergency landing site for the space shuttle.
    Since being granted Chilean citizenship (1966), the native Polynesians have tried to recreate their ancient culture.
    Most of the island is now protected as a national park that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 11 Votes: 18.18% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 12.50% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 39 Votes: 82.05% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 20 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 227 Votes: 59.03% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 616 Votes: 50.32% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 23 Votes: 43.48% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 32 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 35 Votes: 31.43% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 60 Votes: 60.0% Annoying