These Stranded Teens Lived A Real Life 'Lord of the Flies'

Land Ho!

After drifting for what felt like forever (though was only about eight days), the boys came across a tiny island. Sure, it wasn't the sprawling civilization they had hoped to discover, but it was land. Laying about 102 miles southwest of Tonga, the boys stumbled across a giant, rocky island known today as 'Ata. The desolate rock would become their new home... 

Inhabiting the Island

The last indigenous people of ‘Ata had left in 1863, making this island completely empty. It's no wonder why it was never repopulated, the rocky shores made it pretty uninhabitable. In over 100 years, no one aside from the boys stepped foot on the land. They had to start from ground zero and work their way up. They had to work fast too, summer was right around the corner. 

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The More You Know

  • In 1567, the man said to have the longest beard in the world died after he tripped over his beard running away from a fire.
  • Donkeys and dolphins are sometimes used as guard animals.
  • In 1945, Dwight D. Eisenhower predicted that people would try to dispel the holocaust as a falsehood, and ordered all possible photographs taken of the Nazi crimes to hinder any such attempts.
  • In 1923, jockey Frank Hayes won a race at Belmont Park in New York despite being dead — he suffered a heart attack mid-race but his body stayed in the saddle until his horse crossed the line for a 20–1 outsider victory.
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Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.