Here’s your fact of the day: for almost a century, Canada and Denmark have been involved in a border dispute.
As a Canadian, I’m embarrassed to admit that until recently, I didn’t realize that Canada and Denmark were even neighbours.
In most people’s mental maps, the two countries are on opposite sides of the ocean, and Canada’s only neighbour is the United States. But of course, Denmark’s ownership of Greenland means that we share a border with them, and at a certain point on the globe, there’s only a narrow stretch of arctic water, about 35km wide, that separates us.
And it’s in that stretch of water that you’ll find Hans Island: a rocky, uninhabited slab of rock one third the size of Central Park, and the focal point of the Canadian-Danish dispute.
The problem is that international law allows countries to claim islands within 25km of their coastlines, so Hans Island comes within that distance of both. The arctic was, understandably, not mapped until relatively recently, and not seen as useful until even more recently, so both countries pretty much assumed they could claim it.
In 1973, an official treaty between the two countries drew a border through the strait but left a blank space at Hans Island because they couldn’t agree on which country should have it. In 1984, a Danish minister planted his country’s flag on the island, left a note and a bottle of brandy, and left feeling pretty pleased. The Canadians responded with their own flag and a bottle of Canadian whiskey. In 2005, the Canadian Defence Minister visited the island, which prompted an official letter of complaint from Denmark.
As international disputes go, it wasn’t exactly high drama. It was pretty much the friendliest game of capture the flag imaginable. With free booze.
In fact, the whole argument is, of course, pretty ridiculous. There are plenty of countries you could imagine getting aggressive and macho about borders. Canada and Denmark are probably not on that list. It’s like two bratty siblings drawing a line down the middle of the bedroom, and then arguing over who has to pick up the underwear someone left right on the border.
I think that government officials from the two countries should just split the island in two, make a campfire in the middle, bust out some marshmallows and brandy, and be the friendly countries we were born to be.
And the soundtrack to this peaceful international picnic should be Rhye, a Canadian-Danish duo whose music is soothing enough to calm even the most possessive island-hoggers.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The strings in the opening seconds are a gorgeous tease; they don’t come back later in the song other than brief moments in the background, and leave you wondering if you dreamed them or if they actually happened.
2. The way singer Milosh’s voice slides over certain words like “pool” and “fool” is ever so slightly reminiscent of Marvin Gaye.
3. The soft synths and sparse instrumentation gives the song a really smooth 80s feeling.
Recommended listening activity:
Shoveling snow from your neighbour’s front steps.