Top 5 things NOT to do at the Pole

Again, in reverse order:

5. Do not shop all the neat memorabilia at once! The shop, full with shirts, mugs and caps, opens for one hour each day. Now, it is a tiny thing, so getting what you want is a matter of minutes. But you don’t wanna do that! Let’s face it, besides work, there isn’t much to do here. So, shopping a little bit once in a while, extending that satisfying feeling over a long period of time, makes you happier! And that is a good thing, especially here!

4. Don’t touch metal objects outside with your bare hands. Or any other body parts, for that matter. Two incidents: In the first I picked up a wrench that was lying outside, I didn’t have my gloves on. The instant I touched it, I had a burning sensation as if I had touched a pot boiling water! I dropped the wrench immediately and could prevent freezeburn, but my thumb hurt for a bit longer… Later, I was coming out of the “Ice Palace” (our restrooms) and had slightly wet hands. When I grabbed the outer door knob, my hand almost froze onto it! Nothing bad happened, but just feeling my hand sticking to the handle reminds me of drying my hands properly…

3. Never face forward when being pulled by a snow mobile. The snow mobile have sleds that can also carry passengers. When you have a mad man driving those little toys at 30-40 km/h, two things happen: You get a lot of small ice pieces thrown at you from the tracks. And the exposed parts of your face freeze. Now, neither are good feelings, let me tell you.

2. No urinating outside! That SEVERELY violates the Conservation Act of the Antarctic Treaty! Sure, getting up at night and tunning over to the toilet, or using one of those solar boxes in the field is inconvenient. But if you get caught urinating into the snow, you migt get seriously into trouble, I guess.

And finally, the most important thing NOT to do at the South Pole
1. Never take a 3 min shower! Ok, this sounds a bit ridiculous. But believe it or not, a colleague got yelled at because someone thought he was too long in the shower! In a situation, where everyone gets 2min showers twice a week max, everyone watches everyone else, I guess. So, staying longer in the shower than allowed is a bit foolhardy…