‘What little they had to eat, they ate—cans of mysterious tinned meat and fishballs that supposedly contained cream. Even Nansen, the ship’s cat, went a little crazy. Eventually, penguins began flocking to the ship and the birds were—Cook wrote—“of equal interest to the naturalist and the cook.” He began eating penguins.’

"Somehow a highly-trained group of scientists at the start of the 20th century knew less about scurvy than the average sea captain in Napoleonic times. What happened?" A(nother) fascinating essay by Maciej Cegłowski.

"Join us as we retrace the worst journey ever endured for the sake of Museum specimens; hear first-hand the challenges of working over-winter on the frozen continent and consider how modern-day scientific exploration contrasts that of a century ago."

Of all the military capabilities the US has, this is one of the least controversial, and yet it's looking like it's in danger. Sigh.