Tag Archives: penguins

January 4, 1854

On January 4, 1854, Captain William McDonald discovered the McDonald Islands. They are halfway between Madagascar and Antarctica and are currently owned by Australia. The islands are mostly barren, cold and volcanic. Australia stated that the islands… Continue reading

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November 20, 1983

On November 20, 1983, an estimated 100 million people watched the controversial ABC-TV movie “The Day After”. This movie depicted the outbreak and some of the consequences of nuclear war. Forty-two year old Wyoming Congressman… Continue reading

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November 4, 1929

On November 4, 1929, Explorers Richard E. Byrd and Laurence McKinley Gould and their polar expedition team began their 2 ½ month, 1,500-mile dog-sled exploration of the interior of Antarctica. They did not find a giant… Continue reading

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July 22, 1898

On July 22, 1898, the crew of the RV Belgica saw its first sunrise in over 1,600 hours. They had become the first crew to successfully endure an Antarctica winter. The Belgica had been purchased by Adrien de Gerlache and… Continue reading

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January 25, 1840

On January 25, 1840, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States Exploring Expedition became the first person to identify Antarctica as a new continent. Subsequent explorers confirmed his finding. Wilkes did not see any giant mutated penguins, nor was he attacked by alien spaceships. He did see some sea lions and regular penguins, though. … Continue reading

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December 1, 1959

On December 1, 1959, 12 countries, including the United States and the USSR, signed a treaty that set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, which would be free from military activity. This treaty does not give aliens the right to snatch up earthlings and conduct body experiments on them. It also does not pay aliens … Continue reading

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November 18, 1820

On November 18, 1820, Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to sight the continent of Antarctica. He did not see the Ice Wall surrounding the Earth, space aliens, or other-dimensional demons thumbing for a ride to the southern most tip of Chile. He did see a lot of ice. And penguins. A shit load … Continue reading

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July 30, 1935

On July 30, 1935, the first penguin books were published. Being that penguins were first discovered by Europeans around 1488, the fact that it took until 1935 to write books about them is astonishing. What? Excuse me? Penguin is the name of the book publisher? That’s stupid. Why even mention it then? Because Penguin ushered … Continue reading

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July 3, 1844

On July 3, 1844, the last pair of Great Auks were killed. The Great Auk was a large, flightless seabird that lived in the islands of the Northern Atlantic around northern Scotland. Unfortunately for these large, penguinesque birds, they were delicious, easy to hunt, and their feathers and down were extremely profitable. Even though Britain … Continue reading

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June 23, 1961

On June 23, 1961, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and USSR signed the Antarctic Treaty. This treaty ensured that Antarctica would only be used for peaceful purposes. Countries would act in international cooperation for scientific research and to protect the native animal populations. Contrary to … Continue reading

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