Truly mundane, but I thought it was worth passing along. At lunch today, I found out that we have two ATMs in Antarctica, specifically, a place called McMurdo Station.
How’d you like to be the poor schlub who has to service them? Apparently, they don’t get a whole lot of use, so they only get refilled about four times a year. but still, it’s a heck of a round-trip to get there!
Are these cvilian-use ATMs, hooked up to regular financial networks? Or are they military pay ATMs?
And, come on, wouldn’t it be fun to be able to get PAID to go to the most inhospitable continent in the world?
Hey, keep in mind that there are ATMs at major U.S. installations in the Middle East that provide ATMs. Imagine stocking that regularly too!
Believe me, credit cards can go a long, long way but cold hard cash simply rules some situations. Also, imagine this: you put your American card into a foreign ATM, and get the local cash. Ain’t that a kick in the pants?
Tripler
Been there, done that.
So, does Antartica’s local currency have penguins on it?
Seriously, what type of currency do the machines give out?
Considering McMurdo is a US Military station (among other things) I would expect it hands out US currency.
Frozen assets.
Usually, if I am in that situation, that is what I want. Good old American greenbacks don’t do much for you in most other countries. Not for day-to-day things like eating and getting laundry done at least.
Has anyone here every been to Antartica?
I’d love to go.
What do you need money in Antarctica for? Playing poker is about the only thing I can think of.
Travel Tip #32: putting a cod in the g-string of a lap dancer at McMurdo is not in the accepted form of currency. In a pinch, herring will do.
Actually considering the “local talent” around the base is mostly penguins, tipping with a cod might get you some serious action. Just make sure to wear protection - you sleep with a penguin, you’re sleeping with every seagull it ever slept with.
Well, maybe you’ll have a party on short notice. You might have to run out for a bag of ice.
In Qatar, there are ATMs that will happily spit out US$s
For those of you who may wish to know about working in Antartica in order to pay for your trip there, I offer this website: Big Dead Place
Of course, that’s just one opinion, but from the site and the book I gather it’s not so much poker folks spend there money on but rather booze.
Beautiful. That remark was just beautiful. Not much can make me laugh that hard at 9:15 in the morning.
I haven’t been, but my mother has. I’m still horribly jealous. She brought me back some penguin feathers, but that’s not quite the same as being there.
I had a chance. I was picked to be worker bee to go to Antarctica 14 years ago. As a civilian. I would have been picking up trash I suppose, general labor. But, what the heck.
I had search and rescue/cold weather experience/construction experience/computer, computer mapping experience/was single…yada…yada yada…
I was out of work at the time. In the same week, I was offered the job that I still hold today. GIS in the Colorado Rockies.
It was a very, very tough call for me. I took the GIS job in the mountains.
VERY happily married now to my Wife that I met at work. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I went to the pole.
I told my detailer that the only way I’d re-up was if he got me a tour to Operation: Deep Freeze. He actually checked, and found there was no openings for my NEC, so I got out instead. (Aw, shucks ;))
Bravo. <applause>
