Amid pandemic, California neighbors discover they are long-lost cousins

The flag of Norway.
(Image credit: iStock)

For years, Erik Strom and his family wondered about the small island their ancestors once lived on in Norway, unable to find this mysterious Newton Island on a map.

The island is actually called Njoten, something Strom learned when Kjetil Njoten and his wife, Zoe Njoten, moved in a few doors doors from his house in Los Angeles County. Kjetil grew up on Njoten Island, home to just a few dozen residents. In English, Njoten is often pronounced as "Newton," and when Kjetil shared this with his neighbor, they joked about the possibility of being related.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.