Kunashir Island Kunashir Island Kunashir Island (; , "Kunashiri-tō"; or クナシㇽ, "Kunasir"), possibly meaning "Black Island" or "Grass Island" in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, an archipelago under Russian control, among which Kunashir Island and another three islands are claimed by Japan (see Kuril Islands dispute). It lies between the straits of Kunashir Island, Catherine, Izmena, and South Kuril. Kunashir Island is visible from the nearby Japanese island of Hokkaido, from which it is separated by the Nemuro Strait. Kunashir Island is formed by four volcanoes which were separate islands but have since joined together by low-lying areas
Sawing-off of Manhattan Island Sawing-off of Manhattan Island The sawing-off of Manhattan Island is an old New York City story that is largely unverified. It describes a practical joke allegedly perpetrated in 1824, by a retired ship carpenter named Lozier. According to the story, in the 1820s a rumor began circulating among city merchants that the weight of the urban district was causing southern Manhattan Island to sink, near the Battery. It was believed that by cutting the island, towing it out, rotating it 180 degrees, and putting it back in place that Manhattan would be stabilized, and that the thin part of the