Chapter 643 Red-haired Eric
【Crowdfunding Games】
【I'll give a piece】
【I'll give you 1.27 yuan】
Bifang's explanation immediately ignited the audience's enthusiasm, but another problem also arose.
[How to make a fire here? ]
Indeed, there was floating ice everywhere, and nothing but water.
Is water flammable?
Of course it is flammable, but it must first be ionized and decomposed .
Looking around, the only truly workable combustible material was the clothes on Bifang's body. Using this to start a fire was undoubtedly drinking poison to quench thirst.
"So we have to cross the entire ice sheet and reach the real Greenland, the Greenland with soil, where there may not be plants, but there will definitely be animals, and with animals, there is the possibility of ignition."
"Animal fat is the only other available source of fuel on the Antarctic continent and on the Arctic glaciers. Driftwood can sometimes be collected on the coast - the Greenlanders used to build houses from logs that drifted from Siberian rivers across the Arctic Ocean."
"If you can find tundra areas, there are low, spreading willow trees. There are also some birch thickets and juniper trees growing in the extension of the forest. Birch trees are oily species and they burn very easily, even if the branches are wet."
“But that’s too difficult because the distance is so far, it’s almost impossible to reach.”
Bifang squatted down, untied the laces on his feet, stretched them, wrapped them around his ankles, and tied them to his calves.
"The only hope is to find another low plant like heather that spreads on the frozen soil. It is an evergreen plant with small leaves and white bell-shaped flowers commonly used by the Inuit. It is only 10 to 30 cm tall. It contains more resin and can burn when wet. It also has a name that is difficult to find in the most complete English dictionary: Casiope."
After adjusting the shoelaces, Bifang tried on the shoes and found them much more comfortable.
"The ice is too slippery and it's easy to sprain your ankle, so we must have good ankle support. To do this, you can untie your shoelaces and wrap them around your ankles, which will prevent you from spraining your ankle easily. Of course, the premise is that your shoelaces must be long enough."
"Don't underestimate the ice. If you reach out and touch it, the surface is covered with frost and looks rough, but in fact it is terribly slippery."
Bifang pointed to the ground and reminded that the ice surface is different from any artificial smooth surface, and it has a layer of natural lubricant on its surface.
"There is a layer of water film on the surface of the ice. It will exist no matter how low the temperature is. I remember talking about this topic when I was climbing Mount Everest and crossing the glacier. This layer of water film is not water in the ordinary sense, but a layer of special molecular structure."
“As for why, no one knows. Perhaps this will be a proposition that can win the Nobel Prize.”
Bifang squinted his eyes, and the audience could no longer see his expression at this time, because Bifang's entire head was wrapped in clothes, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.
At minus forty degrees, any exposed skin is likely to die.
This kind of dressing also helps to avoid snow blindness.
"The good news is that it is just dawn now. Although the day is short, it is still more than six hours long. We still have plenty of time. As the sun shines, the temperature will rise a lot, which will reduce some resistance to our actions."
The further Bifang trudged on the ice, the more the audience could feel the horror of the Arctic.
It's so desolate.
This is literally a white desert.
The power of nature is the most terrifying. No matter how fast your nerve reflexes are or how hard your bones are, you still cannot withstand the cold.
"White Desert is quite appropriate." Bifang smiled as he hurried on his way. "Antarctica is really called this because the average annual precipitation in the Antarctic continent is only 50 mm, and the average annual precipitation in the central region of the continent is only 3-5 mm. It is the driest region on Earth and is called the 'Dry Pole of the Earth'."
"The Arctic is better. The precipitation in the Arctic is generally much higher than that in the interior of Antarctica, but the annual precipitation is generally between 100 and 250 millimeters."
"From the perspective of precipitation alone, the Arctic is actually an arid region, not even semi-arid. The Greenland Sea is better, with precipitation of 500 mm, which can be considered semi-humid."
【Ah this】
[My old friend was shocked]
[It really is a "desert"]
[By the way, why is Greenland called Greenland? Is it the same as Fram Strait? 】
"In fact, there was." Bifang nodded and confirmed this statement, "In 982 AD, a barbaric Norwegian was expelled for killing someone, and from then on he became a Viking pirate."
"Later, this pirate, under the name of 'Eric the Red', rowed a small boat from Iceland to a nearby relatively primitive island and started his settled life there."
That's Greenland.
[Fuck! Red hair! Pirate! Does he wear a straw hat?]
[What are the Four Emperors? ]
"The island was covered in ice and snow, and the living environment was extremely harsh. It was simply a larger version of 'Iceland'. However, because the world was in a warm period at the time, Eric still found a patch of water meadow less than one kilometer long, which was green and full of vitality."
"So, Eric named the island 'Greenland', and the next thing is easy to guess, 'greenland', which is translated as Greenland."
"When the statute of limitations for the murder case ended, Eric returned to Iceland and told everyone he met that he had discovered a green continent. He thus gathered a large number of followers around him."
"Four years later, in 986 AD, Eric led an expedition of 25 ships, but only 14 ships and 500 people reached Greenland."
"After these people arrived on the island, they settled at Bratharid Point and began a fishing and hunting life for nearly 500 years until Greenland became a Norwegian colony in 1261."
[Another day without culture]
[When can I have the same brain as Lao Fang]
[I want it too]
Bifang took out the kettle from his arms and shook it. The water inside had melted. He opened the lid and took a sip. He continued, "This story is nothing special, but one point in it is very interesting."
The audience pricked up their ears.
"From the map, Europe and North America seem to be far apart, but in fact they are ridiculously close. Greenland is located at the junction of North America and Europe, and is only separated from Canada by a strait in the west."
"If the Vikings who settled in Greenland had gone further, reached Canada, or even north, the history of the United States might have been rewritten."
"It is recorded that Eric and his crew encountered a big storm on their way to Greenland. Eric was pushed away from Greenland and saw a huge land covered with forests."
"That land is actually part of the North American continent. If Eric had stopped to explore that new land, then what happened next would be completely different, at least Columbus's claim that he first discovered the New World would not be valid."
"Of course, the interesting thing about history is that the world is full of certainties and uncertainties, and you never know what will happen next."
