A few days ago while reading various bits of news, I came across this one:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/200-years-exploring-antarctica-worlds-133747342.htmlApparently, this week marks the bicentennial of when the continent of Antarctica was discovered.
After a quick read on the Wikipedia page for
Antarctica, I learned that the very first people to ever see any part of that continent was a Russian expedition on January 27, 1820, which was an ice shelf on the eastern part of the continent. Just three days later, a separate British expedition also had their first sighting of the continent, which was actual land at what we now call the Antarctic Peninsula. The first person to actually walk on the land was American seal hunter John Davis in 1821 (although some historians dispute this and other landings in the following decades, and the earliest absolutely confirmed landing was not until 1895). Considering that Antarctica is the only continent on Earth that never had any native human populations, these people discovering and setting foot on this land might as well have been like going to the Moon.
It's also remarkable to think that Antarctica is the only significant landmass on Earth that is not directly claimed by any nation and has been set aside almost exclusively for scientific research, thanks to the Antarctic Treaty signed in 1959. I'll admit, I've actually got quite a fascination with Antarctica because it happens to be to only continent to have remained largely unaltered by human activity (though global warming obviously threatens to change that), giving us a glimpse at a truly large-scale fully natural part of a planet full of life.
Quite amazing to think that we've known about that incredible place for only two hundred years now.
