Antarctica is not just empty ice and penguins. These facts dig into the continent’s darker, weirder side, from extreme survival stories and buried Soviet relics to strange settlements, frozen mysteries, and science at the edge of the world.
Peaks Named After Una
1. On the Antarctic Peninsula two prominent peaks are called Una’s Tits, named in honor of a woman who worked in the British Antarctic office.
2. Antarctica spans 24 time zones; the scientists who live there follow either the time of their homeland or the time used by the supply line that brings their food and equipment.
3. Eleven children were born in Antarctica in 2009.
4. Antarctican dollars are collector’s items produced by the Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office and made to resemble national money for the continent of Antarctica.
5. Villa Las Estrellas is a town in Antarctica whose primary school has about 15 students and three computers that provide the town with internet access.
6. Antarctica has seven churches.
7. In 1996 a Norwegian man named Børge Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica coast to coast, covering 1,864 miles all alone and completely without support. In 2001 he completed the first solo crossing of the Arctic, traveling from Siberia to Canada via the North Pole in 82 days.
8. There is an exclusive club in Antarctica called Club 300. To become a member one has to warm themselves in a 200-degree sauna, then run outside naked and touch the Ceremonial South Pole where it is 100 degrees below.
9. Only one insect species is native to Antarctica: Belgica Antarctica.
10. In 1912, a trio of men traveled to Antarctica to retrieve emperor penguin eggs. The cold caused one man’s teeth (Apsley Cherry-Garrard) to chatter so violently that they shattered. When he returned to the UK, the National History Museum refused to accept the eggs.
Lenin at Center Ice
11. A statue of Lenin stands at the geographical center of Antarctica.
12. Antarctica’s Dry Valleys are the driest place on Earth; they have gone without rain for nearly 2 million years. There is absolutely no precipitation in this region.
13. Antarctica contains a bar that is the world’s southernmost bar.
14. Snowfall is very rare in Antarctica. The snow that exists has built up over many years, and the temperature never rises enough to melt it.
15. In 2001, an American named Travis McHenry claimed a huge chunk of previously unclaimed Antarctican peninsula as his own nation by citing a supposed loophole in the Antarctic Treaty.
16. South Georgia Island in Antarctica is said to be more biologically diverse than the Galapagos.
17. Eight different countries claim Antarctica, and it is technically “owned” by science.
18. Ancient turtle bones found in Antarctica reveal that 45 million years ago it was a rain forest.
19. Antarctica contains hot springs that reach 158°F.
20. There are two ATM’s in Antarctica. They were installed back in 2000 at the McMurdo Station, which is 840 miles from the south pole.
Medical Rules For Antarctic Workers
21. You are not permitted to work in Antarctica unless your wisdom teeth and appendix have been removed.
22. Researchers live in the interior of Antarctica as practice for a human mission to Mars, studying the effects of extreme isolation.
23. While stationed in Antarctica in 1961, Soviet surgeon Leonid Rogozov removed his own appendix.
24. Australia has a claim to the largest territory of Antarctica, which is only a couple of million square kilometers smaller than the Australian continent itself.
25. There is an old Soviet scientific research hut buried 20 feet under snow in one of the most inaccessible places in Antarctica. If you can make it into the hut there is a golden visitor’s book you can sign.
Add Comment