Underwater Room

Will Your Next Vacation Be to a Floating Country?

Underwater Room
Underwater Room © Philippe Put

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It could, if Paypal founder Peter Thiel has anything to say about it (along with economist Milton Friedman’s grandson Patri Friedman).

The micro-countries Thiel proposes are diesel-powered, moveable, 2,000-ton structures built on oil rig-like platforms, with space for 270 residents to live. Thiel believes these islands may be important in “experimenting with new ideas for government,”such as no welfare, no minimum wage, fewer weapons restrictions, and looser building codes.

According to Thiel, these will be a reality sooner than you might think.

And the self-made billionaire has a timeline for his micro-countries: he plans to launch a flotilla office park off the coast of San Francisco next year, predicts full settlement of the first island in 2019, and aims to have 10 million floating residents by 2050.

Spring Break 2019 in Thielistan, anyone?

Read more from The Washington Post.

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