Six Micronations You Can Join (Petoria, anyone?) – Neatorama

Admit it you've thought about what life would be like if you ruled your own country. I would make an awesome Queen, just for the record. Diet Coke would flow from kitchen faucets, scientists would put all of the vitamins and minerals you need into low-calorie mint-chocolate chip ice cream and the Killers would sing our national anthem.

OK, so maybe not everyone would want to live in Conradtia, but that's fine. I'll declare myself a micronation.

Micronations usually exist only on paper or in the minds of their creators and aren't recognized by governments or organizations or anything like that (so maybe Conradtia already exists?!). Although some micronations actually have their own currency, stamps, passports, flags and other "national" memorabilia, none of it is considered valid except to the people who, well, consider it valid. If that makes any sense. It's different than an imaginary country, because in this case the "rulers" of the micronations actively seek to be recognized by world governments.

Now that we've established that, let's take a look at a few micronations.

Roy Bates and his wife, Joan, call themselves the Prince and Princess of Sealand (why not King and Queen, I wonder?). Their son is "His Royal Highness Prince Michael", but the Bates family refers to him as the "Prince Regent". Following a fire in 1999, the Bates' moved back to England but still retain "ownership" of Sealand. Oddly, Sealand citizens have competed at various sporting events and have even taken home medals in honor of the micronation. Mountaineer Slader Oviatt carried the Sealandic flag to the top of Muztagh Ata in 2004 and in 2007, Michael Martelle represented Sealand in the World Cup of Kung Fu, held in Quebec City, Canada, where he won two silver medals.

It's really more in good fun than anything else, though the residents of Seborga still pay Italian taxes and vote in Italian elections.

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Six Micronations You Can Join (Petoria, anyone?) - Neatorama