Arsehole of the world?

A British island which claims that it's the remotest island in the world is fucked. Completely fucked.

Many of Tristan de Cunha's 271 residents have developed severe breathing problems due to acute viral asthma. Their one doctor (exactly) has issued an appeal for medical supplies, but it's not as simple as DHL-ing them. The nearest country is St. Helena, but at almost 2,500km away it's not exactly a short hope on the red line. And they've undoubtedly got their own medical issues too, as they are home to the largest per capita Jehovah's Witness population in the world. So no blood transfusions there I guess.

Both of these countries are part of the British "commonwealth", although St. Helena's economy is a disaster since their string and rope processing businesses vanished in the late 60's. Seriously, I didn't make that up. So not a whole lot of aid from the neighbours either. Planes can't land at Tristan de Cunha as there's no airstrip, and boats from Capetown only come every six weeks or so (see schedule here). There's also no guarantee that they can dock because the island is located in the roaring forties. The sea is so mental down there that there's an uninhabited neighbouring island called "Inacessible Island". Even the tourism pages mention the "rapid changes" in weather.

So you've got viral asthma, there's no medicine and only one doctor for 270 people. Your nearest neighbours are 2,500km away and are idiots (Jehovas Witnesses), your next possible visit from the outside world is January 16th - and that's providing the boat can get close. As I said earlier, fucked.

Take a look at the wiki for the island though - it's got a crazy story from the small gene pool (only eight surnames), to plagues of rats that destroyed crops, invasion by American confederate cruisers, volcanic eruptions, atomic bomb testing (that the islanders were never told about) and a serious lack of alcohol.