Futility Closet

Germany's polar expedition of 1869 took a dramatic turn when 14 men were shipwrecked on an ice floe off the eastern coast of Greenland. As the frozen island carried them slowly toward settlements in the south, it began to break apart beneath them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the crew of the Hansa on their desperate journey toward civilization. We'll also honor a slime mold and puzzle over a reversing sunset. Intro: The yellow-bellied longclaw, Macronyx flavigaster, could produce the long-sought 10×10 word square. Bruckner's seventh symphony has made generations of cymbalists nervous. A ground plan of the "Hansa house," from expedition commander Karl Koldewey's 1874 narrative. Sources for our feature on the Hansa: Fergus Fleming, Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole, 2007. William James Mills, Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, 2003. David Thomas Murphy, German Exploration of the Polar World: A History, 1870-1940, 2002. Karl Koldewey, Th