The Deadly Race To The South Pole • Puppet History

foreign [Music] welcome one and all to the season finale of puppet history today we'll be taking an Ever wondering look at yet another chapter in the heavy heavy book we call history while our guest ruthlessly campaign for the Covenant title of History wizard I'm your beloved host the professor thank you thank you thank you Ryan bergara are you ready pal I'm good man I'm good to go season finale huh yeah can you believe it nothing crazy gonna happen I mean it seems like it I think we made it out of this one with all of

our souls and uh bodies intact well I've heard that before Oh special guest Sarah Roman our returning champ are you ready I am ready Professor you grew a bit I got big you're a little bit bigger but the funny thing is I'm still just a little guy that's so true you are just you have little guy Vibes also history wizard yeah that's the upgrade from history master I think so you get magic like powers that let you control history or or rewrite it in some way well sir well no more like a trucker hat that

you would find at a gas station but you know not exactly that I associate with the wizard but well it seems like you two are ready to go season finale baby let's crack in [Music] all right now to begin hey which do you prefer the cold or the heat I like the heat a little bit more but if we're talking about either in extremes probably the cold yeah because there's nothing you could do to get less hot other than get naked but that's frowned upon like the idea of freezing to death is much more appealing

to me than like dying of heat I'd be preserved yeah Etc look good whereas if you get hot you probably get all bubbly yeah and probably like animals are more likely to munch on you yeah exactly I wouldn't want them to find my dead naked frozen body well our story today takes place in the cold the very cold in fact most of our story is set in the coldest place on Earth put a cup of cocoa on today we're talking about the race to the bottom aka the race to the South Pole never heard about

this you never heard about the South Pole I mean I've heard about it I didn't know there was a race to it is that where Krampus lives well I guess that would make sense huh there's Penguins there lots of penguins oh and they have a little Highway oh and Arctica that long white streak at the bottom of maps it's a bit hard to parse thanks to that old son of a [ __ ] the Mercator Projection but the whole continent is about 1.4 times the size of the U.S including Alaska and is home to 70

percent of the planet's fresh water locked away as ice I mean not for long well that's true Christ you don't have to you ever seen the movie Waterworld well you know what it's important we talk about that good for you for reminding people I'm not saying like oh I'm so excited for all that ice to be water water world does kick ass though I'm excited to ride around on ski news with guns in 1773 Captain James Cook became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle while he never spotted land he noticed rocks and the icebergs

floating about convincing him a continent did exist though as he would put it quote I make bold to declare the world will derive no benefit from it after that the world was in Zero Rush to confirm or deny the existence of a useless place it wasn't until 1820 when Russian Navy Captain Thaddeus Von bellingshausen first spotted actual land technically becoming the only person in recorded history to discover a new continent as it was the only one with no native population what do you do to penguin I would not eat a penguin I don't like eating

birds that are in suits for the next hundred years some wailing and sealing ships would Bop around but it wasn't until the sixth International geographical Congress in 1895 in London that the professional explorers really started stealing glances at our planet's juicy bottom calling Antarctica quote the greatest piece of geographical exploration still to be undertaken basically they were running out of new places to geograph and yet we still haven't explored most of the ocean ah what is it like 95 or some [ __ ] like that you want to go down there hell no I think

most of these you want to go down there no I'm afraid of fish don't use that against me he will he's sick that's a message to everybody out there do not use that against me please don't mail her fish no mail me fish but don't put a fish in my bed that's exactly what I was thinking of doing okay moving right along hey uh Elmer Walter everything all right let's tell them about Walter Williams to you sir have you you've seen my bride Dorothy Rolfe no I haven't is today the big day yes at the

weddings in a couple hours I must be off that's kind of a jerk anyway oh hey is that you Dorothy Ruth what who's who's Dorothy Ruth it's clearly you oh okay you found me Professor oh boy hang on a second I just saw Elmer Walter looking for you are you pulling a Runaway Bride yes yes but for good reason I I I had a dream last night that my sweet Stanley Melvin well it wasn't alive no but he he wasn't dead either he was sort of cosmically betwixt but oh it felt real as rain I

looked into his molasses covered eyes and nuzzled his molasses covered Mane as I breathed in the sickly sweet scent of molasses it felt too good to be true and then I woke up but I can't quite shake the feeling that he's out there somewhere so I'm leaping clear off the grid now and I'm gonna find him even though that means leaving my dimwit fiance at the altar I mean you know I I did see the guy drown in molasses you really think Stanley's alive I don't know man anyway I want to shout out today's episode

sponsor nordvpn for helping me on my journey I just got a sweet exclusive deal via this link on screen now while I'm on the run I need to maintain privacy and protect my online activity and non-vpn creates an encrypted hi it's my dedicated IP address and keeps nosy Nellie's from intercepting my data oh wow your Norton VPN account sounds like it feels super safe and secure the professor and one nordvpn account protects up to six devices and includes 24 7 customer service support well it sounds like they've got your back just like yes just like

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Belgian naval officer Adrian Victor Joseph de gerlash Montgomery set off on an old whaling ship he bought called the belgica with him was a crew of 19 speaking five different languages none more valuable than 25 year old first mate rauld amundsen rauld Engelbrecht grovning amundsen was born July 16 1872 in Borg Norway at age 15 amundsen read about Sir John Franklin a British explorer who had searched the Arctic for a Northwest Passage between Franklin and the famous Norwegian Fritz off nansen amundsen became so captivated by Arctic explorers that he began dedicating his whole life to

preparing for a similar life in the cold for instance by Sleeping with his windows open to get used to the frigid Norwegian Knights damn that's metal I tried doing one of those cold plunges recently I lasted 10 seconds well it was very cold and I was scared I was going to have a heart attack why did you do that why did you do this well because apparently it's supposed to be good for anxiety and mental health and it like improves circulation all those you know woohoo things I have a good remedy for anxiety what okay

so you get a little blanket and you get a little tea and then you watch Wally you know that does sound pretty good so that's the share Reuben method by the time he was 25 and setting off on the belgica he'd already been on a seal hunting Excursion in the Arctic and losting the mountains of Norway for days without food if ever there was someone prepared to thrive in the Antarctic it was even still amundsen's Trip would prove to be a trying one during a January storm a man was lost overboard on amundsen's watch by

February of 1898 the belgica was repeatedly getting stuck in ice for days at a time on March 6 the belgica got stuck in the ice and simply wouldn't budge this was not the plan they were not outfitted to stay for the sunless winter as amundsen wrote on March 11th things were quote starting to get interesting it's kind of sucked a journal when you're so cold with a little inxical yeah could you imagine being like I can't feel my [ __ ] fingers that's right about it I wonder if they made any like snowmen on the

deck I don't think they did about eight months into the trip on April 1st amundsen was brainstorming a solution which included he and another man spending six weeks looking for an iceberg to Winter on eating penguins and seals for months until the weather turned then eventually paddling a kayak to Australia it never would have worked though the crew did resort to eating seals and Penguins to stay alive Robinson loved it writing how one could quote take the meat as it is and put it in the pan with a little clutter and you have the most

delicious steak you could wish for penguins look fatty so I imagine they would be very tasty I saw penguin Burger it was awesome like yeah like I'm glad they're not eating each other if we were on a boat together Sarah and I died of natural causes okay what kind of bow like this kind of boat okay like a big ship like a big ship we were the last two left in the United States the cat is dead well you're the captain now yeah we're technically co-captors okay but then I die you would eat me right

what what what did you die of because I feel like if you died of like something gross worms of exposure from from the the cold okay or that I'm probably gonna die too so is it even worth it but then you could always you know fulfill that lifelong question what does a human taste like I don't really have that question that was a test and she passed in early 1899 as summer returned in the southern hemisphere the belgica finally made it back to Open Water they hadn't even come close to the South Pole really they'd

barely even tried but Robinson had thrived as he wrote in his diary quote the summer night and the winter night at home are beautiful but they do not seem as captivating [ __ ] what what did no one see that what water just tripped on on me that scared the [ __ ] it scared the [ __ ] out of me it scared you scared me because there's a little ghost right there no the yeah my whole shoulder's wet you got a wet shoulder wait let me touch I don't feel it what are you talking

about there's some sort of leak up there maybe okay I see it yeah oh you saw that one right look at my face look at my face look at my face there's a yeah there's some water on this there's water on his face as he wrote in his diary quote the summer night and the winter night at home are beautiful but they do not seem as captivating as this silent cold of the moonlit polar night it is a marvelous feeling that grabs one did God create this whole great area for it to be abandoned and

forgotten by humans no and again no certainly not as amundsen sailed his way back North in June of 1899 in the British Isles another man was planning a trip South Robert Falcon Scott was born June 6 1868 in devonport England strong name he sounds like the real name of like a superhero like Peter Parker yeah I've never met anybody with the name Falcon that's not a nickname that's his actual birth given real name birth name God damn that's [ __ ] cool Scott joined the Navy at age 12 impressing officers with his wits Charisma and

enthusiasm chosen to lead an expedition South by the Royal Society and the royal graphical Society Scott and his crew left of the UK on July 31st 1901 establishing winter Quarters on Ross Island in February of the following year Ross Island is uh down in Antarctica it's not where a bunch of Ross is live Rachel I love Rachel oh yeah that's some friends humor I'm not even reacting to it because I don't know on November 2nd set off with two and a sledge pulled by 19 dogs in an attempt to reach the South Pole the team

laid food and Supply Depots in the snow as they set off so they could carry only what was necessary and still have food for their return trip by December 30th Scott and his two companions had made it to 82 degrees 17 minutes south but had to turn back due to illness and hunger oh our first question I was waiting for that one how far away was Scott's team from the South Pole a about 4.6 miles B about 46 miles or see about 460 miles you're just moving the decimal yeah I am so what what are

you gonna do about it okay Ryan what do you got I put b46 sure I think it's like enough that it's like oh we're kind of [ __ ] but maybe we could do it how about you sir my [ __ ] and I drew a seed because I thought I was going to be a sea dog but he didn't know I I just thought that would be the funniest yeah we'll give you a bonus jelly for a little Sea Dog you could do a solo Sea Dog solo Z dog we love it two oh

pickles yes not all that close really remember Antarctica is bigger than the USA and once you're at the coast you've still got quite the distance to the middle and not a ton of Transportation options Scott's team didn't have experience with dogs and traveling with them proved to be a disaster what this dude was like yeah just attaching dogs to the sled they'll know what to do he read the manual yeah should have watched Balto Balto [ __ ] Balto [ __ ] that's a good movie I mean is that the sequel Balto [ __ ]

yeah you're right Scott and his two travelmates barely made it back to Ross Island on February 3rd 1903 having covered 960 miles in 93 days as Scott wrote quote we are has spent as three persons can be their ship frozen in ice Scott in the remaining crew spent another winter in Antarctica not returning to London until September of 1904. three years after they'd left the scientific Community praised their work but Scott simply wasn't satisfied three years later Scott was planning another trip to Antarctica and this time his goal was simple to be the first man

to reach the South Pole you know the crazy thing is he could just be like I did it I made it you want to go check my work you won't be able to yeah and then that would be like their version of like the people who think the moon landing is fake exactly well it took him a long time to raise money for this second Expedition a crew was surprisingly easy to Source 8 000 people volunteered to risk their lives under Scott's command Having learned much from his first trip down Scott devised a new plan

to actually achieve the poll oh what was Scott's plan hey same as the last time but double the dogs and double the men [ __ ] he double dog dared himself B training polar bears to pull the sledges or C unused technology and horses God I wish it was the polar bear one they're [ __ ] vicious polar bears they're considered hyper carnivores yeah they're the most violent Bear by a wide margin I feel you ever see those guys just going to town on a penguin yeah and they're just covered in blood because they're white

fur just soaks it up double dog dare he doubled them up sure uh Sarah how about you whoa I feel like he was just like more okay well I think we're gonna find out via the magic of theater by the way are you guys getting chilly yes it's called Professor I'm chilly are you chilly I think it's just the story or I don't know if there's a draft in here but I gotta bundle up all right I'll see you guys in a bit whoa well uh Eureka with this plan I shall surely make it to

the South Pole wow how exciting what you got in store for us Commander Scott okay so dogs were a real pain last time so I'm done with dogs well I mean you didn't spend any of these last six years learning about dogs I don't need to I've got a better plan experimental motor sledges that have never been used ever before okay cool but uh what if those don't work thought of that that's why we're bringing horses or horses they'll sink straight into the snow not after we strap them into snow shoots okay what what about

when we get to bairdmore Glacier and we have to climb like three kilometers are those horses gonna pull the sledges up that no of course not okay we will be carrying the sledges up the glacier now who's excited for the best years of their lives we're all going to die he's got that big old dunce cap on his head they let anybody on the ship these days fun to put shoes on a horse though that is a good idea yes oh oh that's better I'm nice and snuggly now oh my God you look so cute

I'm kind of giving IKEA monkey Vibes huh a little bit you look more human than ever in a way like it it looks like you have muscles I do I mean I do have muscles it also looks very tied up on your neck like that one photo of Bernie Sanders you know what he does look a lot like Bernie Sanders I am once again rewarding you a history point there it is that's what I was fishing uh points to neither of you oh sorry about that that's fine well with the benefit of hindsight the plan

sounds Bonkers but Scott was trying to do something that never been done before on June 15 1910 a week and a half after his 42nd birthday Scott and his crew set off from Cardiff Wales during the journey South storms claimed some of their equipment like horses and coal during one storm a dog named Osman was swept overboard by a giant wave oh but the next wave washed him back on board yay whoa cool that's good that's so funny that's fun that dog must have been traumatized on January 4th 1911 Scott crew anchored in the ice

at mc2 of the motorized sledges were immediately put to work hauling equipment from the ship to camp but the third and largest Sledge immediately broke through the ice and sank 60 fathoms into the sea it took two weeks for the men to erect their 1250 square foot base camp the seaweed lined basically single room space wasn't exactly cozy but it was home as all the pieces fell into place for his Trek to the pole Scott suddenly received some upsetting news uh-oh what was the bad news a they were not alone B the other two sledges

had also broken through the ice orsi Scott's wife and son were dead I'm ready put a they're not alone okay because it sounds like the start of a horror film yeah right I like that um I put a they're not alone because the title of the episode is the race to the South Pole oh interesting that's a good so that was a context clue solid solid logic point of reasoning there a Jelly Bean for both of you hooray yeah it says John Carpenter knows the worst thing that can happen when you think you're alone in

Antarctica is not being alone in Antarctica unfortunately for Scott this was no alien no it was rolled almondson amundsen had landed in the Bay of Wales April 70 miles to the South this was a total surprise Scott had planned for a deliberate scientific Journey to the pole but amundsen's presence suddenly changed things Scotsman were pretty upset that some Norwegian Punk was trying to beat them in a race they didn't even know they were in as Scott wrote to his wife quote I don't know what to think of amundsen's chances you can rely on my not

saying or doing anything foolish only I'm afraid you must be prepared for finding our adventure much belittled after all it is the work that counts not the Applause that follows were they talking all kinds of [ __ ] to each other too that'd be great I feel like either though these two parties are like gonna fight or party I think they're gonna fight so how did amundsen manage to organize this Expedition without anyone in Scott's Expedition no prior in November of 1908 amundsen announced to the Norwegian geographical society that he was planning a new expedition

to be the first person to reach the North Pole huh yeah that's right well this concern about the South Pole when no one had even been to the North Pole yet as amundsen Was preparing to stand Atop The Globe news broke that Frederick Cook an old crewmate of amundsens on the belgica had made it to the North Pole Days Later American Robert Perry claimed cook was a fraud and it was he who had made it to Santa's Hometown to this day both claims are debated but amundsen didn't care about the details his dream of being

the first to reach the North Pole was thwarted nevertheless the arrangements had already been made and so on June 7 1910 amundsen and a crew of 19 men left swartzkog on a boat borrowed from his childhood hero free Joff nanson friends and family wave Norwegian flags at the departing boat on board though amundsen had a dirty little secret what was his daddy let us see they were actually sailing to Antarctica B amundsen had secretly succeeded in training polar bears to haul sledges and one was in the hull or see he would be picking up a

whole second crew in southern Africa okay Ryan did you wear Stripes earlier this season I think I might have but it was a long sleeve shirt it's a stripy season for you it's a stripy season you look like a mime thank you look like a [ __ ] mime well yeah [Music] that's gonna be gonna be crew and boat arrangements had been made with the end of going to the North Pole but Robinson changed his intended target without telling anyone on board as he later wrote quote it may possibly appear to many people that I

was running a pretty big risk and thus putting off till the last moment the duty of informing my comrades of the very considerable detour we were to make suppose some of them or perhaps all had objected it must be admitted that it was a great risk but there were so many risks that had to be taken at that time basically yellow so you see the captain he is the captain it's interesting people's like Devotion to like the captain of the Devotion to like the hierarchy of Captain my Captain yes guys yeah exactly where they're like

he could do something as shitty as that and you'd just be like I guess we gotta go we gotta you know unless you have a little Mutiny oh I think this would be the ultimate test of that loyalty on January 14 1911 about a week after Scott's crew had arrived amundsen landed in the Bay of Wales Antarctica and began setting up camp as he and His companion set up resupply Depots for their eventual push to the pole amundsen wrote about his confusion surrounding Scott's decisions his location was far superior to the englishmans and as for

dogs amundsen wrote quote do not understand what the English mean when they say they cannot use dogs here there are no better draft animals under these circumstances I mean this guy's got laughing seeing the horses he's like look at this [ __ ] [ __ ] well because Norway it's like they're used to this sort of similar environment I'm pretty sure a husky is a president of Norway as far so it makes sense I feel bad for the horses yeah you should yeah I got a feeling what's coming with both groups resupply caches in position

the men settled into their respective winter camps the Trek to the pole would start when the sun returned in the summer a round-trip Journey that would be the same as going from New York to Wyoming wow wow it is long that's long all right with our two outfits waiting at the starting line we've got time to get a good look at the teams and pick our sides racing on behalf of King George V and the British Empire Robert Falcon Scott Scott has two motorized sledges and nine of his original 19 ponies left two of the

Lost horses having been eaten by what must have been very confused killer whales oh my God that's true that's crazy that's not a joke do you think he's probably after that was like um delicacy he's got a taste for horse now bigger bones than he's ever had I was about to say in a penguin's nice and fatty so it's probably delicious a horse is very muscular and gamey it probably was like yeah I just spit that [ __ ] back onto the boat that thing sucks send it back a mangled chewed horse corpse rocketing out

of the water for clothing Scott and his men are outfitted with wool underwear and a windproof outer layer 90 miles closer Racing for King hakan the seventh and the proud populace of Norway we have Raul amundsen Robinson's crew will be carried on seven sleds by 84 dogs wearing loose Furs in the Inuit Style boom all right for a jelly bean who do you think's gonna be the first to the pole oh he certainly seems more prepared my money's on that guy yeah sure I like the underdog but you know it seems like a no-brainer here

yeah as they waited one of amundsen's crew wrote what everyone was thinking if you were not the first at the South Pole you might just as well just stay at home zing on September 8th 1911 with the thermostat touching a balmy negative 38 degrees Celsius amundsen set off with eight men pulled by 84 dogs three days later as the temperature dropped below negative 55 degrees Celsius the alcohol in their compasses froze on September 14th they reached their first Supply Depot but with frostbite setting in already the men decided to leave the equipment and turn back

amundsen was heart growing how did they not all immediately get frostbite in like 15 minutes well I mean they're look they're bundled up but uh yeah your face is still somewhat exposed you have your eyeballs yeah yeah do the eyeballs not just I was about to wonder at what temperature do your eyeballs they probably got some nice goggles or something oh surely they had goggles then it's the early 1900s they had goggles bigger goggles because they definitely wore goggles in Downton Abbey yeah they got these guys were probably steampunk as [ __ ] those men

however were Furious back at camp on September 17th amundsen wrote out at the dinner table I asked each individual what he thought of my actions there was only one opinion that I had acted correctly this was a sad end to our excellent Unity dissension was starting to seep in and the guy who said that was like a guy who they hated oh no no Captain I think you did a great real good decision making shut up 70 miles to the north Robert Scott waited until November 1st to set off hoping the improved weather would Aid

his ponies in their Trek unfortunately even with the improved conditions the ponies kept sinking up to their bellies and before long they were uh converted into rations yikes nice way to put it though and then the others were whale food each man now had to Lug 200 pounds Through The Damp snow and many of the men began to be affected by snow blindness which you may recall from that Old Donner Party episode meant their eyes were literally sunburnt yikes like I'm so tired hearing this like I never heard of anything that I want to do

less you know fun to go on an adventure but not fun to have sunburnt eyeballs not really worth it though for what essentially boils down to like a bar story like oh yeah I went to the South Pole it was cold there's not much to see like other places you explore is like find like some cool stuff or nature this is just like it's snow maybe I'm just not an adventurous guy though I've never understood things like this like people who want to climb Everest I don't get that either no thanks sometimes when I follow

my snowboard getting back up is really [ __ ] hard like I get sweaty well that's concerned that's Expedition progressed is Breeze inside their jackets support groups were periodically sent back to the base camp until only four men remained for the final push by January 16th the group was only covering five to seven miles a day they could sense that they were getting close and with no signs of the Norwegian team Spirits were high suddenly one of the four men Bertie Bowers called out wait we're getting close do they see a little stripy pole in

the beach they're doing cartography stuff I almost feel like it'd be better to just die out there because then there's like an air of mystery yeah yeah rather than come back and be like faced with shame I prefer I prefer living yeah but if you had to go you would love to freeze to death sure yeah I'd love to appreciate it provided that I froze in a funny position yeah let's let's uh freeze you real quick let's see let's see nice okay I want to be like I want to be like rodent like okay very

nice yeah what did Birdie Bowers have to say that was so important hey amundsen was only a mile behind them B it was an odd black spot on the horizon or see he was about to die 4D Iceberg ahead or see I farted are we locked in yeah yeah hey we're not alone hey would you guys like to find out via the magic of theater if we must yeah okay I'll be right back oh this sucks this sucks so bad ah chin up birdie old bird we're on the Forefront of man's knowledge of nature we're

mere hours away from being the first men to set foot at the South Pole I mean right I guess that'll be cool and all I just uh hey uh Bobby we're the only people who have been down here right oh my dear birdie you really are losing it of course it's only us and the only only thing around here is ice right blinding White Ice God's Own blank canvas pure is the driven snow because that's exactly what it is right and what's that black spot up there ahead of us where oh that why that's a

way that looks to be a flag which would mean no which would mean we're not the first to the pole oh shoot oh my God what a Twist what a twist yay S as Scott wrote that night quote this told us the whole story The Norwegians have forestalled us and our first at the pole it is a terrible disappointment and I am very sorry for my loyal companions tomorrow we must march on the pole and then hasten home with all the speed we can Compass all the Daydreams must go it will be a weary some

return I love this journal entries just like book yeah dude I beefed it beefed it hard this time maybe guys might be well Scott wrote about how tough the return would be Robinson was already most of the way through his so how that Crazy Norwegian end up first at the pole anyway well let's backtrack a bit after his first failed attempt amundsen waited for more than a month until October 20th to start again since they had already been through the first part of their Journey the beginning went swimmingly by December 8th they passed 88 degrees

in 23 minutes until then the furthest house anyone had been and on December 14th rolled amundsen and His Four companions became the first people to make it to the South Pole the next few days the men trekked about taking measurements as amundsen wrote here we are at the South Pole an extremely flat snow plane almost nothing uneven to see the Sun Passes around the sky at practically the same height to shine and warm from a cloudless sky it's quiet tonight and so peaceful the dogs are all stretched out in the sun to enjoy despite the

slight hustle and bustle apparently life is good I'd pay anything to just see the moment when after it wore off that they got there they're like yeah we got here we're the first all right yeah it sounds like he's like feet up a hands back he's having a great time this is the laugh guys flat snow plane hell yeah this is like nice and sunny the dogs are loving it he's trying to sell it to the rest of his team he literally says apparently life is pretty good you know I'm thinking of this through the

lens of Ryan because if I got there and it was just like a flat surface I'd be like what should we do [ __ ] snow angels or something or something on December 18th almost a full month before Scott and his crew would even arrive amundsen and his crew prepared to leave setting up a small tent as a monument inside amundsen left behind his quote Sextant with Horizon glass a hipsometer three reindeer skin foot bags some comics and mittens and incidentally some Trifles in addition to that pile of equipment and clothing amundsen left two letters

one addressed to the king of Norway and the other addressed to one Robert Falcon Scott [Music] listen I don't know everything about this guy but I feel like he's going to be he's going to be humble you know they had the Sith a lot in common they both wanted to reach the South Pole he probably knows his struggle he's probably the only person who knows game recognizes game exactly if they had left a little later they might pass each other in the snow and all give each other high fives you know it's possible good game

good game nice hustle maybe he was gracious in Victory so that's a point for you both for guessing that amundsen would get there first scrats on January 17 1912 Captain Scott read a letter left for him on the bottom of the planet dear Captain Scott as you are probably the first to reach this area after us I will ask you kindly forward this letter to King hakan VII if you can use any of the Articles left in the tent please do not hesitate to do so with kind regards I wish you a safe return Yours

Truly rolled almonds it's kinda it's it's like saying congratulations but it's kind of it's kind of like hey you got here too huh wow yeah you finally got here huh be my little delivery boy hold on to my pocket hold on to my pocket understandably this was a blow to the Brit's morale Scott left a note of his own in the norwegian's tent to confirm they'd made it quote we built a Cairn put up our poor slighted Union Jack and photographed ourselves mighty cold work all of it in his own journal Scott was only slightly

more candid writing great God this is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have labored to it without the reward of priority maybe this guy shouldn't be an adventurer yeah it's like it's sort of like you know I feel like for some people it's like you know the journey is the the prize I think clearly if you're willing to endanger this many lives you're clearly in it for the glory not for like I'm gonna feed my adventurous Spirit the next day the team started their long bitter Trek Back frostbite and hypothermia were starting

to set in by February 16th one of Scott's men had fallen behind he was found on his knees clothing and disarray hands bare and irreparably frosted shortly after midnight he died on March 5th another of Scots men left their shelter in his socks as Scott wrote quote we knew that poor oats was walking to his death but though we tried to dissuade him we knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman sure maybe he just he went out really quickly to take out the trash and thought he'd get back into

the tent in time and oh yeah maybe he had to pee really bad yeah he's like I'll do this no need to put on my shoes I'll be out there in a second oh my feet are frozen must have tough to to poop and pee out there huh you know what's tough to freeze to death and get second place oh yeah you would not want to be booping and peeing out there definitely yeah by the end of March the surviving members of the party could see the writing on the wall in one of his final

journal entries Scott wrote quote had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the Hardy Hood endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman these rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale he died [ __ ] died yeah well Scott's last entry was made March 29 1912 but it would not be read until November 12th when the tent with the bodies of the last remaining men was found rip to those men I can't believe he died out there damn dude yeah that's a

tough way for a falcon to go born a falcon died of frozen turkey I guess the moral of the story is even if you have a cool name it doesn't mean you can do anything that's right on March 8 1912 while Scott was mere weeks away from a frozen death amundsen reached Australia with news that he had won the race he forced Scott into he immediately began touring the lecture circuit though not everyone was a fan viewing amundsen's secrecy at the outset as unsportsmanlike I think it definitely is but it's also like he would have

died anyway I think he didn't have the equipment or the Personnel to make this a successful Journey regardless so it's not like amundsen was like put on the tracks are like you know sponge out some Nails yeah of Scott's fate finally on February 10 19 13 News reached the world that Scott too had made it to the South Pole but had died on the return trip Scott was immediately heralded as a hero and the public kick-started what would be over 6 million dollars today for his widow and son for the rest of his life amundsen

was deeply upset by the fact that Scott hadn't made it back from the poll probably regretting the dick letter he'd left a doomed man amundsen would eventually make it to the North Pole as well becoming the first to reach both amundsen's reputation remained stained until the 1960s when Scott's family published the captain's journals showing the public that uh well frankly Scott was uh pretty bad at his job apart from the mistakes with the motorized sledges and ponies Scott hadn't planned for the amount of calories he and his men would burn and had outfitted the Expedition

with the wrong kind of clothing in short he was doomed from the outset he beefed it on every level yeah he was like what do we need uh flip-flops seriously he spent so long making snowshoes for horses yeah he forgot to pack uh some some salt pork don't forget to pack a cardigan your's gonna be pretty chilly down there shut up I'm working on these horses these horses shoes and how did things turn out for almondson well in June of 1928 he set out to attempt and rescue a plane that had crashed in the North

Pole and he never returned his body was never recovered finally claimed by the ice he'd spent his entire life conquering this happens a lot poetic yeah kind of a noble end that's kind of how they want to go so you know yeah do you think as he was freezing to death he was like oh hell yeah yeah maybe well he was honestly this kind of kicks ass part of me is like exploration is cool and I think it's important but I also am like too much free time it's fun to race fun to race you

know until it's not well that concludes our history lesson after our dutiful scorekeeper finishes up her tabulations we'll find out who earns the Covenant cap and title of History wizard but in the meantime enjoy this special performance from the continent of Antarctica whoa wow that's really cool oh that they got the continent of Antarctica it's a bigot foreign I've added a little I hope to the knowledge gleaned by Captain Cook Sir James Ross and other explorers before me but I've only touched The Fringe of things we're down at the bottom of the world there's a

desert where the Penguins roam Breeze sweeps crossy I see sheets it's a lonely place to call you home and Frigidaire the Arctic hand sits and listens to the orcas cries tuck going in Albatross float flat across a cobalt sky and not only anymore what I got and won't you please send my regards to Captain's come cause he's still the foot upon my shoulders [Music] to the bottom of the world I hope he found what he was looking for the whole continent past mysterious inhospitable and still to all intents and purposes unknown pitch southwesterly swell Birds

on the starboard hands and shielding blinding Skies fixed upon the looming land slip Swift Pastor crochet Cliffs wondering what Glory awaits boost down on the Burwood crowd slow and steady pull of faith not only [Music] [Applause] ones no more to drag out races to the bottom of the world I hope he found what he was against [Music] into nothing [ __ ] good he's having trouble sending my regards to Captain Robert [Music] [Music] [Applause] s to the bottom of the world [Music] Captain this Antarctic of yours is cool cool place oh man oh that was

really moving yeah it was really kind of somber and touching I'm so sad it's the last song of the season I can't believe it wow that was really good oh my God uh Hey Ma according to your tabulations who receives the Covenant cap and title of History wizard I can't believe it's already the season finale I know what a chill season yeah well after all that commotion last year I think we all deserve a little peace and quiet for a change Peril is compelling but also pretty exhausting that's true that's true well hey it's not

like nothing happened I mean your mother got a degree in math and I'm depending on Doom 2. and then he's got me flying out the Abu Dhabi on Monday wow wow cool that's crazy well congrats to you both man it's so weird this is usually the point where a false sense of security gives way to some shocking turn of events that's true that is that's that's true [Music] anyway who won Sarah yeah hey congratulations Sarah come collect your coveted cap which you have so rightly earned thank you in your face okay you know could have

been gracious and there's one for oh mom made one for Beef Boy too oh you get ahead too oh look the letters are finally back oh you're a big Beef Boy and you deserve that [Music] look I think that about wraps it up Sarah thank you so much for joining us today Ryan thanks for being a friend and to all of you at home thanks for watching puppet history where the details are always a little fuzzy we'll see you next season deuces [Music] [Music]