Think You're Cold And Hungry? Try Eating In Antarctica
If the icy blast of polar air that's descended upon much of the U.S. over the last couple of days has you reaching for the cookie jar for comfort — and ready to give up on those New Year's resolutions — then seriously? It's time to toughen up. Just think: At least you're not in the Antarctic.
That polar vortex putting the deep freeze on America comes from the Arctic, but the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth — minus 117 Fahrenheit — was actually at the other end of the world. Even so, Antarctica's vast, frozen, barren landscape has beckoned scholars and adventurers alike for more than a century. And one thing we've learned from them is: When life is stripped down to man versus the most brutal elements, bring plenty of snacks.
Indeed, the history of exploration on the continent is as much about hunger as heroism, as Jason Anthony explores in his book Hoosh: Roast Penguin, Scurvy Day and Other Stories of Antarctic Cuisine.
"Hunger," Anthony writes, "was the one spice every expedition carried."
Think those aboard that Russian research vessel and Chinese icebreaker that just spent several days stuck in the Antarctic ice had it rough? The ordeal pales compared to the legend of what British explorer Ernest Shackleton went through.
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