Published: October 13, 2018
A ‘peculiar madness’ afflicted Antarctic explorers, a new book reveals. Their battles with light deprivation hold lessons for today
from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2yC3Iav
via
In the winter of 1897 a surgeon aboard the first research ship ever to spend a whole winter in Antarctic waters observed a worrying affliction among his crewmates. “The men were incapable of concentration, and unable to continue prolonged thought,” wrote Frederick A Cook of his time aboard the Belgica. “One sailor was forced to the verge of insanity but he recovered with the returning sun.”
Given that the darkness of a polar winter can last up to six months, this was no small problem, as a new book makes clear. Among the heroes in Icy Graves: Exploration and Death in the Antarctic are many who buckled under a strain to which few would – or could – openly admit.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2yC3Iav
via
0 Comments