What If You Visited Antarctica?
We’re back from our world travels and we’re talking about Antarctica. It’s real strange down there dudes. Antarctica is larger than the continental United States, it’s never been warmer than 58 degrees, there aren’t any time zones, and there’s just one native insect species. Oh, and it’s full of UFOs and Bigfoots.
Facts, B
- The coldest place on Earth is a high ridge in Antarctica where temperatures can dip below -133°F
- The highest temperature ever recorded is 58.2°F
- Contains 90% of the world’s fresh water.
- Discovered in 1820.
- Larger than Europe, about 1.5x the size of USA
- “The loss of ice from West Antarctica between 2009 and 2012 caused a dip in the gravity field over the region,” writes the ESA. Apparently, melting billions of tons of ice year after year has implications.
- The ice sheet has been in existence for at least 40 million years
- Antarctica banned dogs to prevent the introduction of new microorganisms or viruses.
- There are icebergs the size of Jamaica
- Lake Vostok is one of the largest lakes in the world.
Rodney Marks
Rodney Marks was a 32 year old Australian astrophysicist who died in Antarctica in May of 2000. Doctors originally chalked his death up to natural causes. This seemed weird, considering he was 32. Six months later, his body was flown back to New Zealand where an autopsy was performed. The autopsy determined that he died from methanol poisoning. Methanol is a non-drinking type of alcohol used for industrial and automotive purposes. New Zealand police officer, Grant Wormald, believes Marks was murdered. He also believes his investigation has been hampered by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Raytheon Polar Services.
Hot Topics: Antarctica, Operation Highjump, Rodney Marks, whale tanks, seal sounds, no more dogs, we’re a bit rusty, and much more.
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