20 interesting facts about Antarctica that You didn't know

In January 1820, a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered Antarctica, the existence of which had previously only been speculated. Today we have collected for you interesting and little-known facts about the most remote southern continent — the highest, driest, windy, sparsely populated and coldest place on earth.

1. At one time it was impossible to work in Antarctica for those who did not have wisdom teeth and appendix removed. Due to the fact that no surgical operations were performed at the stations of Antarctica, in order to work here, it was necessary to part with these body parts beforehand, even if they were completely healthy.

2. Antarctica is the driest place on earth. Or rather, the dry McMurdo Valleys located here, some areas of which have not seen rain or snow for two million years.

3. Like many countries, Antarctica has its own domain on the Internet — .aq

4. 53 million years ago, Antarctica was so warm that palm trees grew on its shores, and the air temperature rose above 20 degrees Celsius.

5. In December 2013, Metallica gave a concert in Antarctica, thus becoming the first band in the world to perform on all continents. In order not to disturb the local fauna, the concert was held under a special protective dome, and the audience listened to the music through headphones.

6. From 1960 to 1972, the first nuclear power plant in Antarctica operated at McMurdo Station, the largest settlement and research center owned by the United States.

7. Antarctica has its own fire station. It belongs to the McMurdo station, and it employs the most real professional firefighters.

8. Despite the extreme conditions, 1,150 species of fungi have been found in Antarctica. They adapt perfectly to extremely low temperatures and prolonged periods of freezing and thawing.

9. Technically, all 24 time zones are present in Antarctica, since their borders converge at one point at both poles.

10. There are no polar bears in Antarctica. To see them, you will have to go to the North Pole or, for example, to Canada.

11. There is a bar in Antarctica — the southernmost bar on the planet. And it is located at the Akademik Vernadsky station, which belongs to Ukraine.

12. The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth - minus 89.2 degrees Celsius - was recorded in Antarctica at the Russian Vostok station on July 21, 1983.

13. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in the world. Its territory is 14 million square kilometers.

14. 99% of Antarctica is covered with ice. The continent's ice sheet is often called the ice sheet.

15. The average thickness of the Antarctic ice is 1.6 km. Antarctica contains about 70% of the reserves of all fresh water on earth.

16. Transantarctic mountains run through the entire continent and divide it into western and eastern parts. This ridge is one of the longest in the world — its length is 3,500 km.

17. The existence of the continent of Antarctica was unknown until its discovery in 1820. Before that, it was assumed that it was just a group of islands.

18. On December 14, 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole and plant his nation's flag there. He also became the first person to visit both geographical poles of the planet.

19. As a result of secret negotiations, on December 1, 1959, 12 countries concluded the Antarctic Treaty, which provides for the demilitarization of the Antarctic region and its use for exclusively peaceful purposes. To date, more than 50 countries are already parties to the Treaty.

20. On January 7, 1978, the Argentine Emilio Marcos Palma was born — the first person in history to be born in Antarctica. It is believed that this event was a planned action by the Government of Argentina, which specifically sent a pregnant woman to the Esperanza station in order to subsequently claim part of the territory of Antarctica.