Hans Island solution,

Part Two

A friend of mine, John Gordon, during a gathering at which more than a few bottles of wine and a vast mound of barbecued ribs were consumed, hit on the most inventive solution to this diplomatic conundrum yet. Hockey.

Every four years, a hockey series would be played, best out of seven, sudden-death rules, none of that shoot-out nonsense. Only Danes playing for Denmark, only Canadians for Canada--no Russian or Swedish ringers.

Hans Island/Hans Ø would be the trophy. It would be awarded to the winner for four years, during which time the other country would have access rights without passport or visa requirements.

We'd need, of course, something to hold aloft (from the Viking a lopti, used here in the spirit of friendship) and gulp booze out of at victory-time, and for such immediate purposes an island won't do. Hence, proof of four-year occupancy rights would be the possession of a more manageable token: the Hanley Cup.

Someone nominate this man for the Nobel Peace Prize.