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Comment by maybeiambatman | Hacker News Reader

This is so crazy. Just out of curiosity, is there a list of places around the world which are claim-able yet still unclaimed?

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I think this Wikipedia article covers most of that situation in a quick-to-read format:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius

There are some other articles out there describing these areas, but I can't recall where to find them.

The only other place, that is actually colonizable is Bir Tawil, but the land there is so terrible, but so terrible, that noone actually made a serious attempt (a bunch of people made bogus claims, for example one guy proclaimed himself king, just so his daughter could be a princess).

Even for desert standards, Bir Tawil is desolate, and it has no decent natural resources, so literally noone wants it.

The reason Bir Tawil is unwanted is more subtle: claiming it would discredit a claim made to the more desirable neighbouring region: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hala%27ib_Triangle

I am talking about people like the guy in the article... not the countries that created the situation.

I see, I did misinterpret your point somewhat. The situation is still relevant to individual would be claimants, though. Even though Egypt and Sudan don't want to claim the region I don't think they're too keen on random third parties staking a claim either. You'd be surrounded unfriendly governments.

Forgive me for only doing basic research into this, but couldn't one set up some solar panels for electricity, dig some shelter, and recover water from the atmosphere? Wouldn't that do a decent job of allowing at least some degree of livability there?

I think it's technically possible, but it would be expensive, and then what do you have? A hole in the dirt, powered by solar panels you have to maintain forever so you don't die of hunger and thirst.

No, you wouldn't get a meaningful amount of water from the air (I think it is safe to assume the air is quite dry there). And you'd still need food, at least.

The amount you would need to reclaim is related to the efficiency at which you recycle the water you have. You would need to invent a real-life culture like the Fremen of Arrakis.

Of course, if you got efficient enough, you could simply buy water to be airdropped into a catch pond. Then you drain the pond and pipe the water into your recycling system. It would likely be cheaper than trying to dehumidify desert air.

There no permanent settlements, but people do use the land, e.g. nomads pass through. Presumably, they'd notice if someone tried to wall it off.

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