What is The Aerican Empire?

I just recently heard of micronations. This means they are independent, but are not recognized by world governments or organizations. Micronations usually only exist on paper – they have no actual ownership of any land.

I’m sure there are plenty of micronations out there, but my favorite so far is The Aerican Empire, or Aerica. Aerica is basically just America without the “m” (and is pronounced “Ah-erica”). There are currently 238 registered citizens in Aerica. Emperor of Aerica Eric C. Lis founded Aerica all the way back on May 8, 1987.

But why is The Aerican Empire so great? And where exactly is it? Well, you will see why it is so great. And it is located in many different places such as: Australia, an area the size of a house in Montreal, Canada, America, and New Zealand. A map of all these places, which are explained in greater detail, can be found here. Aerica also claims the northern hemisphere of Pluto, a colony on Mars, a yet-to-be-discovered planet named Verden, and one day hopes to claim land on the Sun. Further details can be found on this map.

In addition to holidays, Aerica also celebrates Niftydays, which are celebrated days which have no greater meaning. For example, January 2nd is Procrastinator’s Day, April 22nd is Inanimate Objects day, and January 3rd is Snappy Comeback Day.

Aerica doesn’t have its own language, but it does have a micro-language. In other words, they have created a few words that people can incorporate into everyday conversations. “Ich Grok Pickles” translates to “I eat pickles”.

Have you ever heard of Sillyball? Well it is basically the Football of Aerica. It is described as “organized chaos” and doesn’t have a whole lot of restrictions. You just need to get a ball through a hoop without causing intentional physical harm, although psychological harm is encouraged. The typical game of Sillyball includes “taunts, riddles, insults, and generally distracting mockery.”

Although Aerica doesn’t have an official religion (all religions are welcomed), citizens tend to favor Silinism. This unorganized religion worships Forsteri, the Great Penguin. This religion supposedly boasts some actual, real-life followers.

Can you see now why The Aerican Empire is so great? Aerica also has a government in place and you can even print out passports and ID cards from their website.

I even applied for citizenship. Hopefully they let me in. You can apply here if you wish.

What do you think of The Aerican Empire? Have you heard of any better micronations? I think this one would be tough to beat.

The Aerican Flag

Coat of Arms

Someone Wasn’t Paying Attention

Someone messed up.

Saw this walking around the city. I thought it was pretty unusual.

Death by Water

One of the most unusual causes for death I have heard is Water Intoxication. Who would think that a person could die from drinking too much water? I mean our bodies are about 60% water anyways.

Apparently water can be considered poisonous when consumed in vast quantities. An over-consumption of water can bring about an underpopulation of electrolytes and end up disturbing brain functions. But don’t worry – it is unlikely to happen to you unless you are in some sort of water guzzling contest or you exercise excessively without replenishing electrolytes.

The most famous instance of water intoxication is the death of Jennifer Strange (what an unusual last name). She was in a contest titled “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” which was held by radio station KDND. The contestants were instructed to drink 8oz of water every 15 minutes. Apparently, the DJ’s of the show had heard of water intoxication yet they didn’t halt the contest even after a warning from a caller. The DJ’s, however, ignored her and even made jokes about Jennifer Strange looking pregnant from the water intake.

After the contest, Strange spoke to a friend and described being in intense pain. An hour later, she was discovered dead. Her family later won $16.5 million in a lawsuit about her death.

Now, this isn’t meant to be a sad post. Certainly, the death of anyone is no laughing matter, but the cause of death is still very bizarre.

Interesting fact: Artist Andy Warhol died of cardiac arrhythmia. However, his family believed the arrhythmia was a result of water intoxication from an overload of fluids after surgery. They sued, of course.

Olympian Bode Miller’s Sister

While reading Bode Miller’s Wikipedia page, I came across something interesting. Apparently, Bode’s younger sister is named Genesis Wren Bungo Windrushing Turtleheart Miller. Not only is that extremely embarrassing, but it would really suck for her if she ever has to write out her full name. She usually goes by Wren though which probably a smart choice.

Of course, I was reading Wikipedia, so I originally thought it was a joke. But a google search proved that to actually be her name. I also found what may or may not be her facebook page. I mean, how many people have the name “Genesis Wren”? My bet is not too many.

Oh, and Bode’s younger brother also has an interesting name: Nathaniel Kinsman Ever Chelone Skan. “Bode” isn’t exactly a normal name, but I would take it over his siblings’ names any day. But I guess nothing about him or his siblings is too normal considering they grew up in a log cabin without electricity or plumbing.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to find any pictures of her, but the profile picture on her possible-facebook can tell you how she looks (although you can’t really see much).

Just something I thought was interesting. I know there are plenty of unusual names out there and I plan on writing about some of my favorites in the future. Does anyone else have a favorite unusual name?

The Beginning

Unusual things almost always pique my interest when I come across them, so I figured a blog would be a good place to organize the things that interest me.  If other people enjoy my blog – awesome.  If not – oh well.  I’ve never been one to stick with projects I start, but I really like this idea so hopefully I can keep it going.