This is the ad that legend says Ernest Shackleton set in 1913 looking for volunteers for his expedition to be the first to cross the antarctic continent.
Legend has it that Ernest Shackleton set this ad in “The Times” in London on the 29th of December, 1913 for his planned expedition to be the first to the cross the Antarctic continent. Legend goes on to say that more than 5000 men answered the ad to be a member of his 27 man crew. You can read about this amazing story here.
People have one of two responses when they find out that I’m going to Antarctica to be part of a real scientific research team.
Response #1: “That’s Awesome! I would love to do that!”
Response #2: “Are you nuts!? Why would you want to do something like that?”
And I suspect that regardless of what response they give, they are thinking that I’m just a little bit crazy. Maybe I am a little bit crazy because not only am I going but I can’t wait to be on the Ice with my researchers!
My safe return is all but assured. In Antarctica today, every effort is made by the United State Antarctic Program to ensure that everyone is safe at all times. But it wasn’t always like that. And yet Shackleton had volunteers to go on an expedition where their “safe return” was “doubtful.”
"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success."
Would you volunteer to be on Shackleton's crew based on this advertisement?
For me, there is something daring, exciting, unique, intrepid and …really…just plain cool about this. Maybe I’m the only one, but if I wasn’t a husband and father and teacher and had to…you know…work for a living, I’d be the kind of guy to answer an ad like this. Or, at least, I would have had I been in London in 1913. I think Robert Frost had it right in his poem The Road Not Taken. 'Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.'
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