On this day in 1909 four Eskimos stood on what they thought was the North Pole. They celebrated with a big guy in dressed in red with a big white beard by eating seal meat and drinking whale ale(please note that no animals where harmed in the writing of this blog). Why did they go to the North Pole... because a guy by the name of Robert Peary had what he considered an "elusive" dream. So he and a assistant by the name of Matthew Henson paid four Eskimos to lead the way.
Of course, as with any dream you have to practice to make perfect. How does one practice to jockey dog sleds across vast icelands to reach an imaginary pole sticking out of the top of the world... well you go to Greenland(why didn't I think of that!!) in 1886 Bob took a little trip down the mighty... no wait.. he took a little bacon and he took a little beads and he farted his way to New Orl... nope that's not it. He jumped a sled dog and rode him all the way to the interior of Greenland or maybe the sled jumped him but he made it to some where inside of Greenland. Being the intelligent Navy Civil Engineer that Bob was he decided he needed assistant and that's where our African-American friend Matt shows up(because all guys stranded on a island need a African-American friend.. I'm sure you'll get it by Friday!). Of course, Bob told Matt they were going to find the equator because nobody in their right mind would sign up to spend months in the ice and snow(wait I live in Northern Michigan, must not be in my right mind). So, Bob and Matt practice some more by taking an "extended" dog sled ride to even further into the interior of Greenland(wouldn't it occur to them that eventually you come out on the other side??) and low and behold they make it to latitude 88 degrees north(fancy civil engineer talk for almost..) oooohhh only 150 miles from hitting that latitude 90 degrees... see practice, it's all about practice.
Well, along comes 1908, Bob and Matt and the four Eskimos who for some reason don't have names start of in Ellesmere Island and then proceed to "race"(yes, according to history.com they "raced") across hundreds of miles of ice until Bob on this fateful day in 1909 stopped, did some calculations, and said this is it. Santa said "What took you so long, Dr. Frederick A. Cook was here last year." Yep, after Bob and Matt returned, Bob's former associate Doc Fred claimed he had done it the year before and a major controversy ensued. I mean "MAJOR" and Congress, because they had nothing better to do discussed the issue for two years and then decided that the Doc lied and Bob, Matt and the Escanaba Eskimos really did do it.(Helps to have Eskimos backing your story).
Here's the twist... studies have shown that neither party actually made it to the North Pole.... Bob was close, he missed it by 30 miles (because the Eskimos knew they wouldn't get any recognition so they duped Bob). Ladies and Gentlemen the first person to ever reach the North Pole was U.S. Lieutenant Colonel (cause he couldn't decide between the two) Joseph O. Fletcher of Oklahoma when he stepped out of a plane and walked to the exact location of the North Pole in 1952. Know that's funny!
Have a Great Day. Ask, Believe, Receive
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