Antarctica, magnificent in its beauty and unmerciful in its brutality, is a land unto itself.The uniqueness also comes from the fact it’s the only continent on earth that has never been bloodied by war.And yet here, in a land mass greater than Europe and America together, more men have died violently than naturally since the never-ending cold makes it virtually germ-free.
Modern Antarctica is a study of contrasts when one considers the opposing politics that come together to work peacefully in comfortable enclosures that are a few inches from a -100-degree environment that would literally freeze them in seconds.Having a healthy appetite is welcomed in Antarctica as many have discovered when they’re downing four good meals a day, and the incredibly low temperature just devours calories quicker than any known diet.
The endless days of Antarctica also brings forth the mass insomnia known as “The Big Eye”. The summertime 3-am sunshine prevent many from sleeping comfortable.Bombastically the people who live in the Antarctic claim the rights to being part of the 300 Degree Club.It holds claim to the cheapest and southernmost bar on the planet, located at the South Pole. Here it is possible to get a 12 year old scotch or a cognac for the same exact price and still have a huge bar tab by the time you are ready to leave.From the month of April through December, the nights become endless.antarctica cruise prices
The heartland of Antarctica is blanketed with a moving cap of ice that is 9,000 feet thick; however, geologists believe that there may be sufficient coal, natural gas, and oil to supply the planet within it.There are many strange laws in Antarctica; including those is the inability to extradite anyone from there, leaving it the perfect getaway spot for criminals who want to escape from justice, provided they could survive for one day in the harsh climate that numbers among the world’s most unforgiving; needless to say, there’s no hurry to amend those laws.
Even so, Antarctica has the smallest crime rate of any country or nation out there.This continent might be considered the best place to commit the perfect crime, as if someone has ever killed anyone, they’ve never been prosecuted for it.There are no statutes, nor are there treaties concerning extradition, so that a murderous felon could be brought to justice anywhere on Antarctica.antarctica cruise vacations
Ten flags from different countries are unfurled over the continent; however, not a single square foot of this real estate is claimed by any.No effort to establish a long term colony in this primitive land has yet been mounted, and even so, the South Pole is home to the most complex scientific instrumentation and computers.
It may be surprising to know that the people who live here, although usually only for a short period, are known to have the highest IQ per capita on the planet.In no other continent will you find more people with degrees than a high school education.There is more research preformed here than in any other geographical location. If you want to find scientific talent, you will find more here than at any university in the world.One of the few laws regarding Antarctica involves the prohibition of nuclear weapons tests and explosions.
The environmental laws on the planet are in effect in Antarctica.A century ago the land and sea were bloody from the slaughter done by seal and whale hunters; today a special license is required before any animal life is killed.The world’s scientists, who find Antarctica to be a research treasure, are working hard to maintain its pristine condition.
It was just over a hundred years ago that a whaling ship named Antarctic anchored itself and then launched a longboat toward a wind-swept shore through the dangerous waters of the Ross Sea.On January 24, 1895, Captain Leonard Kristensen and the landing party of the “Antarctic” left the first trace of human kind on the frozen continent in their quest to slaughter whales in these, as yet, unclaimed waters.
Blood was soon spilled across Antarctica.Millions of seals were killed for their coats, whales and penguins for their oil – which was used to grease the cogs of the industrial Revolution’s new age machinery.It was on Macquarie Island that countless penguins were rounded up and forced up planks that lead into large pots of boiling oil so that they would fall in and add their own oil to the mix.
Finally, after exploiting the Frozen Continent more than 100 years, it seems humans are willing to let go of the easy money and fast kill opportunities to allow Antarctica to be a place of preserving both science and nature for the future.There are discussions currently underway to establish Antarctica as a world park.For science, Antarctica serves as a base for studying pollutant threats that affect the whole world, including ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect.Considering how brief a time we have inhabited our planet, the discoveries that we have made in Antarctica since its discover are truly remarkable.There were only parts of the coastline, the islands, and several paths to the South Pole investigated until the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958.antarctic cruise
From the time Antarctica was discovered its history has been filled with fierceness, nationalism, idealism, and constant killing. Only on occasion were attempts made at scientific research on this continent.Whaling around Antarctica occurred with more intensity during World War I, because the oil from them was refined into glycerin used in artillery shells.Post-WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States both hunted the oil from sperm whales, as this was used for jet engines.It was not until the International Geophysical Year that Antarctica was referred to as anything but “Terra Australia Incognita,” a term used by medieval mapmakers to describe this undiscovered southern continent.
Even though the very first person born in Antarctica is still a child, their birth was still the subject of great nationalistic pretense.The mother of Emilio Marcus Palmer was flown to Antarctica to give birth to him in 1978 simply for the purpose of claiming part of Antarctic territory in the name of Argentina.great antarctic cruise
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had planted the American flag on the moon’s surface nine years earlier, as a show of America’s dominance.A similar exploit took place in 1911 when Roald Amundsen raced to be the first to the South Pole to show nobility to Norway’s King Haakon VII.This journey was also made by Robert F. Scott and his team for the British Empire. However, on their journey they stopped to collect rock and fossil samples which had to be transported using man-pulled sleighs.
It is believed that between the discouragement felt when they found out that Amundsen reached the Pole a month sooner, eating a poor diet, having to haul the rocks and fossils, and utter bad luck caused Scott and his team to perish on the return trip, making them the first people to die in Antarctica for the sake of science.The South Pole was claimed by America in 1929 when Richard Byrd flew over the area using his Ford Trimotor.It was back in 1821 that the Soviets laid claim to the Antarctica with the journey made by Russian Admiral Thaddeus Bellingshausen past the Antarctic Peninsula.
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