Above, the South Pole marker which was unveiled on 1 January 2011! This amazing creation takes the art of Pole marker design to a whole new level! Not a bad idea, since this year is the 100th anniversary of when Roald Amundsen’s team first set foot on this bit of the world.
A new marker for the Geographic South Pole is put in place each year on January the first. The South Pole is covered by a moving ice sheet, so at the end of the year the marker is about 10 metres from where it started.
The previous markers are kept in a display case in the South Pole station and a new marker designed and made from brass by the station expeditioners.
This is inspiring! Imagine in 1911 withouth GPS, ar any special device to tell where you are, using analog devices, and guided by stars. In 1911 Roald Amundsen and Captain Robert Scott and his teams,embodied (I believe) the most human characteristic: Curiosity.
Amazing!
“In all exploratory behaviour, wether artistic or scientific, there is the ever-present battle between the neophilic and neophobic urges. The former drives us on to new experiences, makes us crave for novelty. The latter holds us back, makes us take refuge in the familiar. We are constantly in a state of shifting balance between the conflicting attractions of the exciting new stimulus and the friendly old one. If we lost our neophilia we would stagnate. If we lost our neophobia, we would rush headlong into disaster.”
—Desmond Morris.
