on NOVA tonight

[wendyzski]

is the 'Prisoners of the Ice" episode, where they go back to try and find out what happened to the lost Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

It's horrifying but fascinating - the things those men went through, and in many ways how unnecessary it all was. But I love stuff like this - going back to revisit what we thought happened with modern forensic techniques and re-opening the book on a story like this. It's that same part of my brain that watches "Secrets of the Dead" and other similar programs.

I love history because I never outgrew "But WHYYYYY???? And THEN what happened?"

Comments

[mustang-bex1126.livejournal.com]

Never want to get over it...

You can be as smart as you want, but without intellectual curiosity you are just another drone.

[museclio]

I wish I had TV for once. The Franklin expidition is so intereting to me for whatever reason.

[microwench.livejournal.com]

I'm an anatomy geek because I never outgrew "Whyyyyyyyyy??"

[lisagems.livejournal.com]

ooooo. Makes me wish I had cable.

[xirpha.livejournal.com]

Explores as a bunch were very arrogant and many cases acted very stupid. A few years back I read a forensic historical study of failed expeditions. They had an account of a late nineteen century Swedish balloon expedition to the North Pole. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._A._Andr%C3%A9e%27s_Arctic_balloon_expedition_of_1897) This expeditions was high of stupidly, the crew had unrealistic expectation on the ability to sail a balloon over the North Pole and the three man crew lack arctic survival skills and suitable equipment to recover from the eventual crash landing. I was amassed that they almost made it back alive.