World’s shortest international bridge connects a homeowner in Canada to his backyard in New York

This homeowner lives on Zavikon Island, in Canada, but he also owns property on an island that’s located just 32 feet (9.75m) away, and that one belongs to the United States.

This unusual geographical oddity means the homeowner effectively lives in two countries at the same time.

And it also means the bridge he uses every day is technically the shortest international bridge in the world.

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The homeowner is in a weird situation due to a boundary agreement that was drafted between Canada and the United States.

Per the agreement, no island can be split into two territories, but no law says you can’t connect the islands with a bridge, which is what this homeowner did.

Zavikon Island, his main property, is one of about 1,800 islands that comprise the Thousand Islands archipelago, and it is connected to his other island, which belongs to the state of New York, with a tiny bridge.

The case of Zavikon Island is rare, but not unique

About two-thirds of the islands in the archipelago belong to Canada, while the other islands belong to the United States.

As the islands are very close to one another, all residents, not just the owner of Zavikon, probably ‘cross the border’ multiple times every day.

This is a bit strange but, precisely because the world is full of geographical quirks, it isn’t particularly shocking.

In Poland, for example, there’s a small town where everyone lives on the same street, because that is literally the only road in the village.

And then there’s the curious case of Whittier, a town in Alaska (below) that only consists of one building.

Every single person in town, around 300 people in total, lives under the same roof.

So perhaps a 32-foot international bridge is weird, but not that weird.