There is an early episode of Family Guy where Peter declared his house its own sovereign country of Petoria. And we all laughed, because, you know, Family Guy. Funny. Usually.

Believe it or not, the above scenario is not exactly unprecedented. The world is peppered with such unrecognized "countries". The most famous one is Sealand, which is located on a sea fort in the North Sea. They have their own flag, coins, and a national soccer team. There was even a "war" over control of the fort. Yes, these guys are nuts.

Compared to Sealand, Akhzivland is a calm paradise. It's located in Northern Israel on the coast of the Mediterranean, close to the Lebanese border. Akhzivland was founded in 1970 by Eli Avivi, an Iranian-born Jew who had been squattering in the area for more than a decade. When the Israeli government decided to do something about it, Avivi declared the land his own country and himself as its president. The Israelis laughed and decided to leave him alone.

So, for the past four decades, Avivi has been relaxing on the beach, swimming in the sea, collecting treasures for his "Museum of Antiquities", welcoming tourists, and, we assume, not paying taxes.

Sure, it's a bit out there, but it's not a bad life, is it?