Ice mountains, penguins, breathtaking feasts of light… these are just some of the things that come to mind when we think of Antarctica. There is a lot we don’t know about this mysterious continent located in the southernmost part of the world.
1- Antarctica is almost as big as the United States and Mexico combined
1- According to observations by NASA scientists, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in March 2011 created new icebergs in Antarctica
3- Emilio Marcos Palma is the first person born in Antarctica
4- December 1 is Antarctica Day. This day is celebrated to commemorate the signing of the Antarctic Treaty
5- There is a famous saying of people who stay in Antarctica. “If you sweat, you will die.” Because in polar environments such as Antarctica, sweating causes hypothermia
6- Another living species that cannot survive in Antarctica due to the cold weather are sharks! The only exception to this situation is a species of sand tiger shark called striatolamia macrota, which is now extinct
7- Fish living in the freezing cold waters of Antarctica have a special protein called “antifreeze” that allows them to survive in this environment
8- Adolf Hitler had organized an expedition to Antarctica in order to collect whale oil, which was needed to lubricate weapons and produce margarine
9- Antarctica was not covered with ice 100 million years ago! Studies show that frogs, birds and even dinosaurs once lived on this continent
10- The name Antarctica is derived from the word “Antarctica” of Greek origin, which means “opposite the North pole
11- There are no polar bears in Antarctica. These snow-white bears can only live in the arctic. The environment of Antarctica is too cold even for them
12- Antarctica is the only continent in the world that has no citizens! Scientists who Decamp there for research purposes can only stay in Antarctica for 3 to 6 months
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