Hi-yi-yi
Encyclopedia
Hi-yi-yi was a fictitious small archipelago
in the Pacific Ocean
supposedly destroyed by the secret nuclear test of the US military in the 1950s. It was created by Gerolf Steiner
, a zoology
professor at the University of Heidelberg, to be the habitat
of his equally fictitious Rhinogradentia
.
Each island was home to a distinctive fauna, dominated by many species of Rhinogradentia or Snouters – the only mammals in the archipelago, besides humans.
explorer Einar Pettersson-Skämtkvist, who arrived in Hiddudify in 1941, after escaping from a Japanese prisoner of war camp. In the late 1950s, as a consequence of atomic bomb testing, the islands suddenly sank into the ocean, destroying all traces of the snouters.
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
supposedly destroyed by the secret nuclear test of the US military in the 1950s. It was created by Gerolf Steiner
Gerolf Steiner
Gerolf Steiner was a German zoologist.He was born on March 23, 1908 in Strasbourg, and occupied the chair of zoology at the University of Karlsruhe from 1962 to 1973. He is famous worldwide for a little book on the anatomy and habits of the Rhinogradentia, a fictitious order of mammals whose nose...
, a zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
professor at the University of Heidelberg, to be the habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
of his equally fictitious Rhinogradentia
Rhinogradentia
The Rhinogradentia are a fictitious mammal order documented by the equally fictitious German naturalist Harald Stümpke...
.
Description
The tropical archipelago measured some 1690 km² (652.5 sq mi), and the highest peak (2230 m or 7316 feet) was on the main island, Hiddudify (Hy-dud-dye-fee). The islands were- Annoorussawubbissy
- Osovitissy
- Owsuddowsa
- Noorubbissy
- Miroovilly
- Towteng-Awko
- Nawissy
- Hiddudify
- Naty
- Ownavussa
- Lownunnoia
- Mittuddinna
- Vinsy
- Shanelukha
- Mara
- Lowlukha
- Koavussa
- Awkoavussa
Each island was home to a distinctive fauna, dominated by many species of Rhinogradentia or Snouters – the only mammals in the archipelago, besides humans.
History
Hiddudify was inhabited by the Huacha-Hatchis. The first description of the archipelago published in Europe was provided by SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
explorer Einar Pettersson-Skämtkvist, who arrived in Hiddudify in 1941, after escaping from a Japanese prisoner of war camp. In the late 1950s, as a consequence of atomic bomb testing, the islands suddenly sank into the ocean, destroying all traces of the snouters.