Have there been more people in space than at the North Pole?
Way more at the North Pole, if you count getting there by air or by sub.
Even if you don’t. The Russians have an icebreaker that takes tourists to the Pole.
However, here is a mind-boggling fact that I recently learned.
The moon is 240,000 miles away, and a dozen men have walked on it, and six more have been near it.
However, the bottom of the Marianas Trench is only about seven miles away, and has been been visited only once. By two men. For 20 minutes. In 1960.
One of those two chaps died just this past November.
Why hasn’t this become more widely known?
Learn something every day!
Let that be a lesson.
Then there is the “end” of Wakulla Springs in Florida. IIRC the back end is at about 18,000+ feet in (linear distance from the entrance)/ back at an average depth of more than 300 feet.
Two cave divers have been there once, in 1998 or so…
In the next year people will laugh at this, because everybody will have been both places in their brand new shiny flying car. I think we can bring back the term flivver to use on a flying car. Doesn’t the name just scream flying car.
to what are you referring?
the fact that there are tourist trips to the N. Pole is advertised. submarines cruise under the ice pack (and presumably reach the N. Pole) every year.
The expedition to the Challenger Deep was funded by the US Navy public relations budget. It was well publisized.
Perhaps you are referring to the difference between the number of visitors? OK, again the numbers are readily available to anyone.
A bit more detail regarding your question is needed.
It’s never been mentioned on the Straight Dope before this thread.
Why is this true? Is there just nothing at the bottom of the Marianas Trench of any particular interest?
Some of the early trips to the North Pole were probably bogus.
The first guy who went there via land for certain was in 1968 via snowmobile.
He’s joking, since the whole Marianas Trench once for twenty minutes in 1960 is a well-known SDMB fun fact.
How long were they there?
Something like 3 to 4 hours to get there
Probably less than 20 minutes there
Another 3 to 4 back out.
4 to 8 hours decompressing.
Actually, a dozen have walked on it and a dozen more have been near it…
A dozen have been near it?
Presuming we’re talking about the Command Module (w/one exception):
Apollo 8: 3
Apollo 10: 3 (noting that the LEM itself never landed on the surface of the moon)
Apollo 13: 3
Apollo 11:1
Apollo 12:1
Apollo 14:1
Apollo 15:1
Apollo 16:1
Apollo 17:1
Never thought about it this way before Santos L Harper; yet another small victory in the fight agains ignorance…
Yep, that was how I was counting it. That’s fifteen, but there were three repeats:
Lovell flew on both 8 and 13, Young flew on 10 and walked on the moon on Apollo 16 and Cernan flew on 10 and walked on the moon on Apollo 17. So a total of 24 different men have flown to the moon and twelve have walked on it.
That 1 being Michael Collins, whose appearance in 1969 bears an almost uncanny resemblance to the current appearance of Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory.