Talk:Amundsen's South Pole expedition

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Amundsen's South Pole expedition is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.

This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on December 14, 2011.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
November 9, 2011	Peer review	Reviewed
November 14, 2011	Featured article candidate	Promoted
Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on December 14, 2013, December 14, 2016, and December 14, 2019.
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Vandalism?

The second paragraph reads "Amundsen's initial plans focused on the Arctic and the conquest of thet peole that like to lick him North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.0.95.129 (talk) 16:03, 14 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"Overshadowed"

This sentence appears in the lead section: "Although the expedition's success was widely applauded, the story of Scott's heroic failure overshadowed its achievement."

My impression is that this "overshadowing" was specifically a British aberration and therefore that the sentence "may not represent a worldwide view of the subject". I don't want to tag the whole article with {{globalize}} just for that, particularly when my impression might be wrong, but I do hope someone knowledgeable about how Amundsen and Scott were viewed outside Britain can provide some evidence, and correct the sentence if appropriate.

--142.205.241.254 (talk) 19:05, 14 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A fair point, and no doubt the overshadowing was more apparent and longer-lasting in England than elsewhere. But the tragedy of Scott was felt globally, not just in England. It affected Norway, where there were already some misgivings about the means of Amundsen's achievement; Roland Huntford, who strongly champions Amundsen over Scott, writes of the "chill beneath the cheers". As the article makes clear in its final section, however, Amundsen's achievement has long been fully recognised and honoured worldwide. Brianboulton (talk) 00:03, 15 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A perplexing mirage of dog's droppings

In the third paragraph of the section "March to the Pole", it appears to say that the expedition confused a mirage of dog's droppings for evidence that someone had beaten them to the pole. However, how would dogs have previously been there? My copy of Huntford is a different edition so I'm having difficulty checking the cited reference for this (the paging is different). Could there have been penguins or some other creature so far from the ocean, which I take as the main or only food source? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.198.9.42 (talk) 22:30, 14 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I found the citation: it was their own dogs' turds confused during stopping to camp, not while advancing. May want to clarify this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.198.9.42 (talk) 22:48, 14 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Kuchin addition

Noting the recent addition of a paragraph on Alexander Kuchin. Certainly he and Bjorn Helland-Hansen should be mentioned, but probably not in as much detail and not so prominently. I would rewrite it, but am not quite sure what level of mention is appropriate here. If anything, Kuchin should be mentioned only when the oceanographic cruise is mentioned later in the article. Carcharoth (talk) 06:41, 23 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, perhaps it would be more in place in the other section or in a pair of sections, though "Personnel" seems to be quite relevant (isn't it the section where the info on a notable participants should be included?). But why really he "should be mentioned, but probably not in as much detail and not so prominently"? The mention is quite brief, with all the facts quite important and relevant either to the oceanographic part of the expedition and Kuchin's being the first Russian on Antarctica land, or to his subsequent fate as an Arctic explorer, where his reckless voyage might have been inspired by Amundsen with whom he had sailed. Don't think that those few sentences are too much detail. It's exactly such interesting biographic connections which make good articles even better, more interesting. GreyHood ^Talk 23:05, 10 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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Image caption for use of File:At the South Pole, December 1911.jpg

Is the '16' sourced in the caption "the tent erected at the South Pole on 16 December 1911".? Just Chilling (talk) 21:09, 5 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

He reached the Pole in 1911 not 1901 92.30.74.185 (talk) 19:55, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Says 1901 on page, was actually 1911 92.30.74.185 (talk) 19:55, 26 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Scott's heroic failure?

Firstly, while it is true that in Britain an in English speaking countries Scott gets more press this is not neutral language. Secondly, what exactly is heroic about appalling planning and lack of preparation getting four people killed? This is isn't Shackleton getting ice bound and saving the day. Regardless of what one thinks about Hunford's book it is true that anyone with a watch and a compass would know they were not going to make it.96.240.128.124 (talk) 17:51, 13 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Penguin meat

New research credits the eating of penguin meat as a source of vitamin C: The secret of how Amundsen beat Scott in race to south pole? A diet of raw penguin. --VanBuren (talk) 10:36, 16 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

South pole discovery

South pole was discovered by ancient Indians much before Amundsen. In the temple of Somnath in Gujarat which is more than 2000 years old, there is a clear message written in Sanskrit language that the south pole is exactly in this direction from that point of temple pillar and the precise distance is also mentioned Anprag (talk) 10:07, 24 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]