20 Amazing Facts You Never Knew About Antarctica

 You probably never realized how amazing this big block of ice at the bottom of the world is. Here we have gathered 20 cool facts about the continent, most of which will leave you speechless!

1. You cannot work in Antarctica unless your wisdom teeth and appendix are removed.

2. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest continent on the planet.

3. Like some countries (Germany, .de) Antarctica has its own domain .aq.

4. About 53 million years ago, there were palm trees growing along its shores.

5. Metallica played a gig in Antarctica called Freeze Em All, making them the first band to have played on every continent.

6. There used to be a nuclear power station in Antarctica. McMurdo station is the largest community in McMurdo Antarctica.

7. Antarctica has a Fire Department, which belongs to McMurdo station .

8. Despite the extreme conditions, there are 1150 different species of fungi identified surviving in Antarctica.

9. Antarctica (technically) contains every timezone on the planet.

10. No polar bears live in Antarctica. You may see them in Arctica or Canada, if you wish.

11. There is a bar in Antarctica. It is the world's southernmost bar.

12. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -89.2 C. on July 21, 1983.

13. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, it's bigger than Europe and Australia.

14. 99% of Antarctica is covered by ice, but there is actual land under it.

15. Antarctica approximately has 70% of all fresh water on Earth.

16. The Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica divide the continent into East Antarctica and West Antarctica.

17. The existence of Antarctica was completely unknown until the continent was first spotted in 1820.

18. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first human to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911.

19. Following the secret negotiations twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty to dedicate the continent to peaceful activities in 1959.

20. In January 1979 Emilio Palma was considered to be the first child born in Antarctica.

Source: buzzfond.com