No matter how big the ocean ship is, it is just a small boat on the vast ocean.
Bi Fang tightened his clothes and let out a breath of hot air. The mist was almost invisible, and he took out the thermometer.
Sure enough, the temperature had dropped to minus nineteen degrees.
Once the temperature drops below 20 degrees, the mist emitted by people will instantly turn into ice crystals.
This is a temperature that is almost impossible to reach in Svalbard. Tens of millions of tons of North Atlantic warm current rush through the ocean, bringing astonishing heat.
The westerly drift is the strongest warm current in the entire northern Atlantic Ocean and is also a continuation of the Gulf Stream.
But after half a day of sailing, Bifang had gradually moved away from the influence of the warm current and reached the Fram Strait, where he could clearly feel the loss of body heat.
"This strait is located between Greenland and Svalbard. It is 450 kilometers wide and is the passage from the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea in the Arctic Ocean to Greenland and the Spitsbergen Islands."
"It's named after the Norwegian ship Fram, a Danish-built expedition ship on which the Norwegians became the first people in the world to reach the South Pole."
"This ship can accommodate a six-person expedition. It once sank into the sea, but was raised again in 1936 and is now kept intact in the museum."
Bi Fang holds the map in his hand and conducts simple science popularization to the audience in the live broadcast room.
Beside him, there were also some other tourists and sailors, all gathered around Bifang like students, watching him talk in front of the Arctic Ocean.
And compared to the previous few hours, the number of people gathered around Bifang has decreased by more than half.
Most of them went back to their rooms to rest. On the one hand, it was too cold outside, and on the other hand, they were seasick.
This is an ocean-going fishing vessel converted into a cruise ship.
At the beginning, the tourists were all very excited without exception. Everything started with friendly greetings. There were three main topics: "What is your name?" "Where are you from?" "What did you do before?"
Occasionally, you can hear someone showing off their romantic affair the night before departure.
Then just a few hours later, the atmosphere on the ship was different, and almost everyone collapsed.
As soon as we sailed into the ocean, someone vomited yellow bile. The plastic bag beside them was already empty, and there was nothing to vomit in their stomachs.
Unlike a roller coaster that climaxes in 10 seconds and ends in a few minutes, an ocean-going ship is like a 24-hour roller coaster.
The left and right swaying is okay, but the pitching and heaving will make you play bungee jumping or jumping off a building non-stop.
The most uncomfortable thing is the completely irregular shaking. The people on the boat seem to have turned into a dice in a casino, being put in a jar and shaking randomly up, down, left and right.
The tables and chairs in the room slide from this corner and back again. Coupled with the noise of the turbines roaring 24 hours a day, there is never peace.
Only experienced captains will tell novices personally: Perseverance is the only good medicine for seasickness.
Eat. If you vomit, eat again.
When bumping in big waves, the hull will swing close to 30 degrees. It is very difficult to walk on the deck.
The people gathered around Bifang have changed one after another.
The Arctic Ocean is full of icebergs floating on the sea. In order to maneuver flexibly to avoid these ice caps, the hull of the ship is only about 70 meters long. If there is a slight wind and wave on the sea, it will shake violently. Walking on the ship is like stepping on a steel cable.
At least a few people could remain calm. Apart from the sailors, the only one who didn't look strange was probably Bifang himself.
His excellent core strength and balance allowed him to walk on flat ground, even better than many sailors, as if the waves did not affect him at all.
"What a strange relationship. Danes built it and Norwegians captained it?" a sailor asked.
"Yes." Bi Fang smiled and nodded, "For thousands of years, human beings have been trying to extend the footprints of exploration and discovery to every corner of the earth. Among them, the most fascinating and desirable exploration destination is the mysterious
The ice and snow of the North and South Poles.”
“In the late 15th century, European explorers wanted to find a route to Asia by sailing from the northwest or northeast. At that time, people already knew that there was no ice in northern Norway, so the explorers began their Arctic expedition to find the northwest route.
, and have been fighting for this for centuries."
"In 1845, the central government decided to set up two huge prizes: 20,000 pounds for the first person to open the Northwest Passage, and 5,000 pounds for the first ship to reach 89 degrees north latitude."
"This is quite a huge sum of money, and I even have to thank Mr. Newton for this."
A little girl on the side raised her hand and asked: "Newton? What does this have to do with Newton?"
"Because it was this physicist who established the central government's gold standard system while working at the Mint. In 1717, Newton set the price of gold at 3 pounds, 17 shillings and 10 pence per troy ounce."
"In 1717, the price of the pound was fixed in gold. This price lasted until 1931, with two interruptions, but it was not affected in 1845."
"To put it simply: in the 19th century, 1 pound contained 7.32238 grams of pure gold. The gold price marked on Huaxia coins today is about 330 yuan/gram. In other words, 1 pound is equivalent to more than 2,400 yuan of Huaxia coins. The development of gold mines at that time was far less advanced.
If there are more now, the value will be even higher.”
"During the 80 days around the world, the protagonist and his friends bet 20,000 pounds, and the expenses for traveling around the world are also about 20,000 pounds. According to the tricks the protagonists create along the way, 20 million Chinese coins are not even enough."
Huaxia currency is now one of the world's common currencies. With Bifang's conversion, everyone present can roughly understand its value.
"Such a huge amount of wealth naturally moved people's hearts, and almost all explorers in Europe were mobilized, including Norway and Denmark."
【Holy shit, more than 10 million?】
[More than that, too many to count]
【A lot of small money】
"You are truly a polymath, covering history, geography, and climate. It is no exaggeration to say that you are an all-rounder."
A man took off his hat and paid tribute. He listened here for several hours, watching the young man talk confidently and listening with great interest.
"You're welcome." Bi Fang smiled politely and then changed the topic, "But it was this huge prize that led to the biggest tragedy in the history of Arctic exploration."
"At that time, the Chinese expedition ships 'Terror' and 'Netherworld' were equipped with the most advanced steam engine propellers and were also equipped with heating systems to withstand the severe cold in the polar regions."
"The famous polar explorer John Franklin served as the expedition leader. However, in July of that year, two expedition ships mysteriously disappeared in the Arctic waters under the leadership of Sir Franklin. The 129 elite crew members, including Franklin himself, were never seen again.
News.”
There were whispers from several audience members nearby.
More than a hundred crew members disappeared, which is not a small number.
At this time, the crew members looked at the ice sea around them and even felt a little scared.
They had obviously been there more than ten times, but suddenly there was a chill in their backs, as if there was an invisible evil spirit watching them.
"It wasn't until 1903 that Captain Amundsen appeared and piloted the Fram to the Antarctic, becoming the first explorer to set foot on the Antarctic continent." Bi Fang brought the topic back.
With the lessons learned from the past, Amundsen's actions became even more valuable, and the onlookers nearby burst into admiration.
But Bifang's tone had not been high-spirited for long before it became low again.
"In fact, there was another captain as famous as Amundsen at that time, and that was Scott. He also reached the South Pole just over a month after Amundsen's landing, that is, on January 18, 1912.
"
"Unfortunately, due to their physical exhaustion and the early arrival of the blizzard, Scott and his expedition members collapsed one after another on the way back."
"Six months later, rescuers discovered their bodies and a diary left by Scott. Knowing the details of Scott's last adventure trip, because his diary was written down to the last day, the rescuers will
They were buried on the spot and are now deep under the Antarctic ice."
"The dispute between Amundsen and Scott over the South Pole became a swan song in the history of world exploration."
Scott and his team stayed in that cabin forever, and Amundsen became the first person in human history to reach the South Pole.
"And the end of this hero is inseparable from the Arctic in front of us."
Bi Fang pointed to the sea in front of him, causing the gloomy atmosphere to stir up curiosity again.