Portal:Islands

The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origin.

The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period, and over its history has been occupied at various times by Celtic tribes including the Picts and the Gaels, Scandinavian Vikings, and most notably the powerful integrated Norse-Gaels clans of MacLeod and MacDonald. The island was considered to be under Norwegian suzerainty until the 1266 Treaty of Perth, which transferred control over to Scotland. (Full article...)

Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian, West African, Irish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern people who have inhabited the island. It is also influenced by indigenous crops, as well as, crops and livestock introduced to the island from Mesoamerica, Europe, tropical West Africa and Southeast Asia— which are now grown locally. A wide variety of seafood, tropical fruits and meats are available.

Some Jamaican dishes are variations of cuisines brought to the island from elsewhere, which are often modified to incorporate local produce and spices. Many others are novel or Creole dishes, created from a fusion of dishes, techniques and ingredients from different cultures— which have developed locally over time. Popular Jamaican dishes include curry goat, fried dumplings, brown stew oxtail, ackee and saltfish and jerk. Jamaican patties along with various pastries, breads and beverages are also popular. (Full article...)

• ... that a Rhode Island TV station started out by re-running an inventory of 50 hours of cartoons and 14 old movies?
• ... that Saint John's Island was the site of one of the British Empire's largest quarantine centres and held one of the first experimental drug rehabilitation centres?
• ... that te lapa, an unproven and unexplained oceanic light phenomenon, might have been used by Polynesians to find islands in the Pacific Ocean?
• ... that 17 State Street, near the southern end of New York City's Manhattan Island, was described as "quite literally a beacon for Lower Manhattan"?
• ... that during the construction of Coney Island's Luna Park, its owners electrocuted Topsy the elephant?
• ... that the bridge on the R565 road to Valentia Island was opened twice?