You know how now and then you find yourself lying awake at night, wondering whether the Johor Causeway is a land border or a maritime border? Yeah, we didn’t think so.
But here’s an explainer in case you do. In his latest episode entitled “The World’s Only Accidental Country”, geography enthusiast and UK-based Youtuber ibx2cat recaps some highlights from your favorite history book while giving us a grand tour of Singapore via Google Maps.
Even though the host races through his spiel, it’s kind of a long watch at 25 minutes, and the dude goes off on a lot of tangents. But if you are really into geography and the minutia of modern map terminology, you might want to give it a go.
Ibx2cat’s main argument is that the unusual way Singapore first became a nation — by getting kicked out of Malaysia rather than fighting for independence — set the stage for the rest of its unique history to unfurl.
From its borders (even though there is some land under the Johor Causeway, it is not considered a “land border”) to its unusually harmonious ethnic diversity (we know it’s not perfect but it’s pretty effing good when you compare it to other places, eh?), Singapore’s unique origin story have caused it to adapt in creative ways. And look where we are now — one of the most expensive and wealthiest cities on Earth.
Now, while we admit that ibx2cat is probably not telling locals much we don’t already know, the video has over 17,000 views in only two days, and we think it’s kind of nice that so many people are that curious about our claim on Pedra Branca.
