6 Cool Facts About Living in Antarctica

It’s freezing-cold, snows almost every day, there are very few people there… How does one apply to be sent to Antarctica, or how the cool kids call it – “White Mars”? It’s an amazing place to conduct all sorts of experiments. Take Concordia for example. It’s a research base built in 2005, that has over 50 people living there. The life is tough out here, but aside from low oxygen, sub-optimal temperatures and wacky day-night cycles, it’s not all bad, or maybe I’m wrong.

Here are 6 cool facts about living in Antarctica!

1. Is there a Wallmart around?

If you look at the map, you’d see that the closest store near Concordia would be 2500 miles away, and it takes the scientists around 10 days to get from the station to the nearest civilization. But don’t worry, they get a steady supply of meat, fish, fruits, and veggies, so they’re probably eating better than any one of you.

2. It’s like a big odorless freezer

On average temp. in Antarctica is −58°F (-50 C), with the lowest being −110°F (-79 C). What this means is that the bacteria that usually emit odor can’t survive in such harsh environment, making the air outside the base the cleanest you’ll ever sniff. Too bad that the oxygen level is very low, and just to go take a breath of fresh arctic air, you’d need to spend 30 minutes putting all the gear on.