No context Polynesians.
April 25, 2026 at 10:07 PM
No context Polynesians.
Title text: "It's possible to do sea navigation without a compass, but you'll have to get some spoilers from the Polynesians."
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3251#Transcript
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3251#Transcript
May 29, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Title text: "It's possible to do sea navigation without a compass, but you'll have to get some spoilers from the Polynesians."
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3251#Transcript
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3251#Transcript
(incidentally I've encountered a *lot* of people who were mindblown to discover the Maori arrived in New Zealand well within 'historical' time. Polynesians were a great seafaring and settler culture!)
December 2, 2025 at 3:06 AM
(incidentally I've encountered a *lot* of people who were mindblown to discover the Maori arrived in New Zealand well within 'historical' time. Polynesians were a great seafaring and settler culture!)
We know that Polynesians had contact with indigenous South Americans hundreds of years before Europeans “discovered” the Americas because the Sweet Potato traveled from South America to Polynesia between 1000AD and 1100AD
www.npr.org/sections/the...
www.npr.org/sections/the...
How The Sweet Potato Crossed The Pacific Way Before The Europeans Did
The genes of the root vegetable have a juicy story to tell of trans-oceanic adventure. A DNA analysis of sweet potatoes adds evidence to the theory that ancient Polynesians visited South America long ...
www.npr.org
August 9, 2025 at 11:34 PM
We know that Polynesians had contact with indigenous South Americans hundreds of years before Europeans “discovered” the Americas because the Sweet Potato traveled from South America to Polynesia between 1000AD and 1100AD
www.npr.org/sections/the...
www.npr.org/sections/the...
Iceland, New Zealand Maori, some (but not all) Polynesians, Falkland Islands/Pitcairn/St Helena...not all that many
August 7, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Iceland, New Zealand Maori, some (but not all) Polynesians, Falkland Islands/Pitcairn/St Helena...not all that many
basically, "that coast is extremely dangerous and there is absolutely no reason to go out there unless you are Polynesians, the most insane group of people on Earth."
November 8, 2025 at 5:17 AM
basically, "that coast is extremely dangerous and there is absolutely no reason to go out there unless you are Polynesians, the most insane group of people on Earth."
Polynesians had such massive guts to travel by stars in this unholy blue stretch of nothing in every direction oh my god.
December 6, 2024 at 4:06 PM
Polynesians had such massive guts to travel by stars in this unholy blue stretch of nothing in every direction oh my god.
So as far as I know - and I may well be wrong - Polynesians didn’t practice astrology on a personal level, despite being world-class observers of the stars for practical purposes.
Astrology is particularly interesting for this as nearly every civilised culture ended up creating some form of it independently from one and other (The Mayans weren't getting their ideas from the Greeks).
December 27, 2025 at 3:12 AM
So as far as I know - and I may well be wrong - Polynesians didn’t practice astrology on a personal level, despite being world-class observers of the stars for practical purposes.
gonna be a hotep but for polynesians
February 24, 2026 at 3:05 AM
gonna be a hotep but for polynesians
It is kinda funny that a lot of theories of indegeneity are "it's morally unacceptable to move" when the implications for polynesians would be... yeah lmao.
July 4, 2026 at 5:13 PM
It is kinda funny that a lot of theories of indegeneity are "it's morally unacceptable to move" when the implications for polynesians would be... yeah lmao.
Cook Island Ladies
These unique and friendly Polynesians have their own language and government and enjoy a vigorous and diverse culture with significant differences between each island. The islanders are of the Maori race.
#CookIslands #polynesians #maori #portraits #sand #beach #raratonga
These unique and friendly Polynesians have their own language and government and enjoy a vigorous and diverse culture with significant differences between each island. The islanders are of the Maori race.
#CookIslands #polynesians #maori #portraits #sand #beach #raratonga
February 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Cook Island Ladies
These unique and friendly Polynesians have their own language and government and enjoy a vigorous and diverse culture with significant differences between each island. The islanders are of the Maori race.
#CookIslands #polynesians #maori #portraits #sand #beach #raratonga
These unique and friendly Polynesians have their own language and government and enjoy a vigorous and diverse culture with significant differences between each island. The islanders are of the Maori race.
#CookIslands #polynesians #maori #portraits #sand #beach #raratonga
A cool thing I didn't know: recent genetic testing said that Polynesians might have had contact with folks on the West Coast of South America! It's how they got sweet potatoes!
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Polynesians steering by the stars met Native Americans long before Europeans arrived
Study of modern DNA shakes up ideas of when and where contact happened
www.science.org
April 17, 2025 at 7:38 PM
A cool thing I didn't know: recent genetic testing said that Polynesians might have had contact with folks on the West Coast of South America! It's how they got sweet potatoes!
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east? theconversation.com/the-real-mys...
The real mystery behind Moana: after 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?
New evidence suggests a massive centuries-long drought may be part of the answer.
theconversation.com
July 12, 2026 at 12:42 PM
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east? theconversation.com/the-real-mys...
European seafarers were limited before the invention of clocks to determine latitude. Polynesians used astral navigation centuries earlier to become what Sir Peter Buck called the Vikings of the Sunrise.
October 2, 2026 at 6:43 AM
European seafarers were limited before the invention of clocks to determine latitude. Polynesians used astral navigation centuries earlier to become what Sir Peter Buck called the Vikings of the Sunrise.
"Was it colonialism when the Polynesians settled Hawai'i," the greatest thread in the history of forums,
April 2, 2026 at 5:36 PM
"Was it colonialism when the Polynesians settled Hawai'i," the greatest thread in the history of forums,
And I could almost give them the Vikings! I will accept the Vikings or Polynesians showing up anywhere, because they were just Like That. But Toronto next to Everest is a bridge too far!
February 14, 2024 at 1:19 AM
And I could almost give them the Vikings! I will accept the Vikings or Polynesians showing up anywhere, because they were just Like That. But Toronto next to Everest is a bridge too far!
‘The Polynesians loved him’: the astonishing revelations that cast Paul Gauguin in a new light
‘The Polynesians loved him’: the astonishing revelations that cast Paul Gauguin in a new light
He has been tarred as a French colonialist who spread syphilis to underage girls in the South Seas. But, writes the author of an acclaimed new book, fresh discoveries challenge this view of the artist – and even show him as a hero
www.theguardian.com
March 17, 2025 at 7:04 AM
‘The Polynesians loved him’: the astonishing revelations that cast Paul Gauguin in a new light
The current discourse is very silly. Building settlements on the moon is ethically akin to the settlement of New Zealand and Hawaii by the Polynesians circa 1000AD, not capital-C Colonialism. If you can't see that this is trivially true you are letting culture-war polarization blind you.
April 2, 2026 at 9:58 PM
The current discourse is very silly. Building settlements on the moon is ethically akin to the settlement of New Zealand and Hawaii by the Polynesians circa 1000AD, not capital-C Colonialism. If you can't see that this is trivially true you are letting culture-war polarization blind you.
... although there is tantalizing evidence the Polynesians may have introduced them to South America in their extensive travel networks, as shown in genes for blue eggs of the Aracuana chicken that have no prior lineage in the European line.
www.nature.com/articles/447...
www.nature.com/articles/447...
DNA reveals how the chicken crossed the sea - Nature
Ancient Polynesians may have brought birds to the Americas.
www.nature.com
May 19, 2024 at 6:12 PM
... although there is tantalizing evidence the Polynesians may have introduced them to South America in their extensive travel networks, as shown in genes for blue eggs of the Aracuana chicken that have no prior lineage in the European line.
www.nature.com/articles/447...
www.nature.com/articles/447...
How exactly do you think the pacific islands were settled by the Polynesians?
March 4, 2026 at 8:04 PM
How exactly do you think the pacific islands were settled by the Polynesians?
Polynesians are the personification of "lol lmao" when it comes to a lot of the imperialism discourse
July 4, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Polynesians are the personification of "lol lmao" when it comes to a lot of the imperialism discourse
Given Polynesians reached Hawai'i, Rapa Nui and Aotearoa, most of that ocean is ours anyway.
January 23, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Given Polynesians reached Hawai'i, Rapa Nui and Aotearoa, most of that ocean is ours anyway.