S1E27 - The Phantom Island of Hy-Brasil: Maps, Mirages, and Mass Delusion

What if an island could be so real that it was mapped for over 500 years, only to be proven a complete fiction? This is the enduring mystery of Hy-Brasil, a phantom speck in the Atlantic that captivated and confounded the greatest explorers and cartographers of the age. Beginning with a 1325 Genoese map labeling it "Bracile," this episode traces the persistent legend of a circular island west of Ireland. We explore its appearances on official Portuguese charts and Venetian maps, its many names, and the peculiar lore that said it was shrouded in mist, visible only one day every seven years...