  The anomalous rod shape in carbon isotopes has been investigated in the
framework of the cranking covariant density functional theory, and two
mechanisms to stabilize such a novel shape with respect to the bending motion,
extreme spin, and isospin, are simultaneously discussed for the first time in a
self-consistent and microscopic way. By adding valence neutrons and rotating
the system, we have found the mechanism stabilizing the rod shape; i.e., the
$\sigma$ orbitals (parallel to the symmetry axis) of the valence neutrons,
important for the rod shape, are lowered by the rotation due to the Coriolis
term. The spin and isospin effects enhance the stability of the rod-shaped
configuration. This provides a strong hint that a rod shape could be realized
in nuclei towards extreme spin and isospin.
