1861. The British administration, for technical and bureaucratic reasons, decided to fix the limit between “island ” and ” rock ” stating that an island, if uninhabited, must have enough room to ensure the «summer pasturage of at least one sheep»; this latter condition would be met, according to the bureaucrats, by having an area of at least two acres. So, hired the sheep as the measure unit, the smallest island in the world turn out to be Bishop Rock in the Scilly. This story is pretty famous, but there’s something that doesn’t add up.
