Pedaii Island was discovered behind Staten Island in 1999. Both its manner of discovery and its theory of origin have been hotly contested. Because of its mysterious monolithic sculptures of feet with eyes (referred to as steles, pronounced stellas, also known as "Pedeasters"), the land was first called "Pedeaster Island" but, by Presidential decree, it was officially renamed in 2001.
Kitty Mischapun, a Darwinian, thinks feet with eyes were a mutation that could have occurred often within an isolated population. "It wouldn't be the first time a horrible mishap of nature was taken for divinity," she writes. "Depictions of man-leopard gods in pre-Columbian art are generally believed to have been suggested by the common birth defect known as cleft palate or ‘hair lip.' Extreme cases were viewed as cases of mortal-immortal hybrid, and were respected as such...[I see] no reason why similar events can't be behind the [Pedaii Island] phenomena." Furthermore, Mischapun asserts that the mutated eyes of the feet were "probably incapable of vision as we understand it."
Extra Terrestrial intervention is the explanation put forth by Randolph "Tranquil" Leiser, a believer. Mr. Leiser alleges that the mysterious sculptures of Pedaii Island are influenced by a master race known as the Mani Kura. A regular participant at Burning Man in Nevada and a charismatic speaker, Leiser's theories have gained credibility with a handful of people.
That the island is the hoax of a madman with "too much time and money" is the opinion of Brian Egolala. His "Hoax Theory" proposes that [Pedaii Island's] "mastermind...is sitting somewhere on a private beach surrounded by pretty girls and mixed drinks with little umbrellas in them. He's laughing his head off." Egolala goes on to say: "What happened to this society of foot fetishists? How come we've never heard of them? Where are they now? No...come on." Egolala frowns into his beer and grows silent.