Dr. Brian Keating

There's ice there and Santa is there. Exactly, right? And then the South Pole is a continent. I brought a piece of it here that I collected probably illegally from Antarctica. I'll show it to you later. It's just rocks, right? So if you drill under the ice in Antarctica, you come to a continent. That's the difference between the North and South Poles.

There's ice there and Santa is there. Exactly, right? And then the South Pole is a continent. I brought a piece of it here that I collected probably illegally from Antarctica. I'll show it to you later. It's just rocks, right? So if you drill under the ice in Antarctica, you come to a continent. That's the difference between the North and South Poles.

But the South Pole is 700 nautical miles from the coast of Antarctica. The closest point of approach in the 1900s was you take a ship from New Zealand You sail due south. There's no other way to go. And you come to the continental shelf. The coastline is called McMurdo Station, which was just basically there's some sea lines there and that's it and orcas and penguins and nothing else at that time.

But the South Pole is 700 nautical miles from the coast of Antarctica. The closest point of approach in the 1900s was you take a ship from New Zealand You sail due south. There's no other way to go. And you come to the continental shelf. The coastline is called McMurdo Station, which was just basically there's some sea lines there and that's it and orcas and penguins and nothing else at that time.

But the South Pole is 700 nautical miles from the coast of Antarctica. The closest point of approach in the 1900s was you take a ship from New Zealand You sail due south. There's no other way to go. And you come to the continental shelf. The coastline is called McMurdo Station, which was just basically there's some sea lines there and that's it and orcas and penguins and nothing else at that time.

Now there's a whole research station. And then they got on skis and skied up 9,000 feet from sea level to 9,000 feet where the polar plateau flattens out. And they got to the South Pole and Amundsen got there three weeks before Scott. And Scott was this British naturalist, like a Darwin, but also he was a scientist plus an explorer. So he wanted to collect samples and he found flora and fauna.

Now there's a whole research station. And then they got on skis and skied up 9,000 feet from sea level to 9,000 feet where the polar plateau flattens out. And they got to the South Pole and Amundsen got there three weeks before Scott. And Scott was this British naturalist, like a Darwin, but also he was a scientist plus an explorer. So he wanted to collect samples and he found flora and fauna.

Now there's a whole research station. And then they got on skis and skied up 9,000 feet from sea level to 9,000 feet where the polar plateau flattens out. And they got to the South Pole and Amundsen got there three weeks before Scott. And Scott was this British naturalist, like a Darwin, but also he was a scientist plus an explorer. So he wanted to collect samples and he found flora and fauna.

There's not much rocks, meteorites. He actually discovered meteorites in Antarctica. Incredible scientist. But because he was a scientist, it cost him his life. Because he was carrying all this scientific equipment and scientific samples, and he had to ski up them. He would find it, and he's like, I'm not coming back the same way that you got there because of the wind patterns.

There's not much rocks, meteorites. He actually discovered meteorites in Antarctica. Incredible scientist. But because he was a scientist, it cost him his life. Because he was carrying all this scientific equipment and scientific samples, and he had to ski up them. He would find it, and he's like, I'm not coming back the same way that you got there because of the wind patterns.

There's not much rocks, meteorites. He actually discovered meteorites in Antarctica. Incredible scientist. But because he was a scientist, it cost him his life. Because he was carrying all this scientific equipment and scientific samples, and he had to ski up them. He would find it, and he's like, I'm not coming back the same way that you got there because of the wind patterns.

So he knew he'd never come back, so he couldn't leave it there. So he had to carry extra food, fuel, and men dedicated to it. Oh, and by the way, the Norwegian team, Amundsen was Norwegian. And they used sled dogs for two reasons. One, they conserved calories. They provided propulsion. And then they provided a tasty snack once you got to the South Pole.

So he knew he'd never come back, so he couldn't leave it there. So he had to carry extra food, fuel, and men dedicated to it. Oh, and by the way, the Norwegian team, Amundsen was Norwegian. And they used sled dogs for two reasons. One, they conserved calories. They provided propulsion. And then they provided a tasty snack once you got to the South Pole.

So he knew he'd never come back, so he couldn't leave it there. So he had to carry extra food, fuel, and men dedicated to it. Oh, and by the way, the Norwegian team, Amundsen was Norwegian. And they used sled dogs for two reasons. One, they conserved calories. They provided propulsion. And then they provided a tasty snack once you got to the South Pole.

Because once you get to the South Pole, you can ski downhill 9,000 feet to sea level, basically. And so they ate—British would refuse to do that. So they knew they couldn't eat their dogs. And they had dogs, but they wouldn't eat them. So they were the sled dogs. And when they got to the South Pole— They came within three or four kilometers, and it's totally flat like this table.

Because once you get to the South Pole, you can ski downhill 9,000 feet to sea level, basically. And so they ate—British would refuse to do that. So they knew they couldn't eat their dogs. And they had dogs, but they wouldn't eat them. So they were the sled dogs. And when they got to the South Pole— They came within three or four kilometers, and it's totally flat like this table.

Because once you get to the South Pole, you can ski downhill 9,000 feet to sea level, basically. And so they ate—British would refuse to do that. So they knew they couldn't eat their dogs. And they had dogs, but they wouldn't eat them. So they were the sled dogs. And when they got to the South Pole— They came within three or four kilometers, and it's totally flat like this table.

The South Pole looks like this. Go out in the middle of the ocean, freeze it, paint it white, and that's what it looks like. It's white, 360 degrees around. It's the most boring place on Earth, literally, and I've been there. So you can see things really far away. He got there. He got within three kilometers, and he saw something on the horizon. He's like, oh, bleep. And it was a Norwegian flag.

The South Pole looks like this. Go out in the middle of the ocean, freeze it, paint it white, and that's what it looks like. It's white, 360 degrees around. It's the most boring place on Earth, literally, and I've been there. So you can see things really far away. He got there. He got within three kilometers, and he saw something on the horizon. He's like, oh, bleep. And it was a Norwegian flag.

The South Pole looks like this. Go out in the middle of the ocean, freeze it, paint it white, and that's what it looks like. It's white, 360 degrees around. It's the most boring place on Earth, literally, and I've been there. So you can see things really far away. He got there. He got within three kilometers, and he saw something on the horizon. He's like, oh, bleep. And it was a Norwegian flag.