As any grade school student knows, an island is a piece of land that is surrounded by water. The U.S. Territory of Guam was created by the collision of the Pacific and Philippine Sea tectonic plates. It is firmly connected the rest of the Earth's mass.
However, one politician, Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia, disagrees. He testified in a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing that he's concerned that Guam may "tip over and capsize" due to a planned increase in American military personnel.
I must quote:
Addressing Adm. Robert Willard, who commands the Navy's Pacific Fleet, [Rep. Hank] Johnson made a tippy motion with his hands and said sternly, "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."Willard paused and said: "We don't anticipate that."
Watch the "capsize/tip over Guam" video on the left. Rep. Johnson really did say this. In particular, look behind Adm. Williard – you can see people hiding their laughter at the Representative's "Guam capsize" comments. (The "Guam capsize" comment is at 1:20.)
Right now, Guam has a population of about 175,000 people. The military is planning to add several thousand troops and their families to the island.
On another website, someone suggested a great solution to the weight distribution problem:
The obvious solution to resolve the fears of Rep. Hank Johnson is too require the military to ship in and install an appropriate amount of helium balloons placed strategically to counteract the "Guam capsize" effect so common to overpopulated land masses.