The Futility Thread

[Howard Treesong]

In the mid-1700's, science was interested in Venus's transit across the sun. As it happens, Venus only does so a couple of times every hundred years, but those two times are about eight years apart. In the 1760s, some number of astronomers (amateur or otherwise) from England and France traveled around the world to view Venus transits.

One of these was Guillaume Le Gentil, who set off from France a year ahead of time for India. A number of setbacks left him at sea on the day of the transit, which sucked because a ship's pitching made measurements impossible.

"Undaunted, Le Gentil continued on to India to await the next transit in 1769. With eight years to prepare, he erected a first-rate viewing station, tested and retested his instruments, and had everything in a state of perfect readiness. On the morning of the second transit, June 4, 1769, he awoke to a fine day, but, just as Venus began its pass, a cloud slid in front of the Sun and remained there for almost exactly the duration of the transit: three hours, fourteen minutes, and seventeen seconds.

Stoically, Le Gentil packed up his instruments had set off for the nearest port, but en route he contracted dysentery and was laid up for nearly a year. Still weakened, he finally made it onto a ship. It was nearly wrecked in a hurricane off the African coast. When at last he reached home, eleven and a half years after setting off, and having achieved nothing, he discovered that his relatives had had him declared dead in his absence and had enthusiastically plundered his estate.

Source: Bill Bryson's "A Short History Of Nearly Everything," at 54-55.

I'd monkey-tilt for life. Discuss.

[ThaSaltCracka]

wow......

[einbert]

I would be killing some relatives.

[Zeno]

Another interesting "futile journey" Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition


Ernest Shackleton's Trans-Antarctica expedition of 1914 - 1917 is one of the most incredible adventure stories of all time. It is remarkable even for an era and region that already has far more than its fair share of incredible tales of heroism and fortitude in the face of appalling hardships.

The intention was to cross the Antarctic continent from one coast to the other via the South Pole. In the event, the expedition never set foot on continental Antarctica. The expedition managed to survive the loss of their ship in the middle of the Antarctic pack ice at a time when there was no chance of contacting the outside world, let alone of being rescued.

--------------------------------------------------------

[ QUOTE ]
I'd monkey-tilt for life. Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]


I was unaware of "monkey-tilt". Is this a known medical condition or disease with any established prescribed drug induced cure or regimen?

Le Gentil had an interesting life segment as described, it is not everyone that gets to be declared dead and enjoy all its benefits. Perhaps his story is a good illustration of how life is devoid of any meaning. And also why humor is necessary for survival.

But if he had accomplished his goals, so what? He still dies and goes to hell or heaven and has to put up with either God or Satan for all eternity. Just another prison. Perhaps he should have just shot himself and avoided the tedious prelude.

Le Misanthrope

[Howard Treesong]

I have the book "South With Endurance," which has some amazing photos of poor Shackleton's expedition.

I heard the expression "monkey-tilt" in a live game at Lucky Chances last month. I thought of the image of a normally stoic Frenchman dealing with a cloud ruining nine years of his life and could imagine him hopping up and down, gibbering like a monkey in frustration. Similarly, I recall Mike Matusow bleating like a cow being slaughtered when some guy made runner-runner full on him when Mike had flopped the nut flush in a tourney in the Bellagio a few years back. Or, I imagine El D heading out for a hot date but finding no clean capes in the closet.

[Zeno]

I read "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing, that uses diaries and first hand accounts of the Shackleton expedition to tell the entire story. I can't think of a more incredible adventure (or misadventure) story. Anyway, sorry for the side track of your thread that should produce some interesting discussion.

-Zeno

[HP]

[ QUOTE ]
I read "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing, that uses diaries and first hand accounts of the Shackleton expedition to tell the entire story. I can't think of a more incredible adventure (or misadventure) story. Anyway, sorry for the side track of your thread that should produce some interesting discussion.

-Zeno

[/ QUOTE ]

oh man what a let down. I see a thread titled "The Futility Thread", and I see

17/05/07 11:48 PM
by Zeno

in the preview thing, and this is all I get. please take this as a compliment Zeno

btw awesome story OP

edit: oh right your other post was ok, just read it now :/

[KotOD]

[ QUOTE ]
I read "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing, that uses diaries and first hand accounts of the Shackleton expedition to tell the entire story.
-Zeno

[/ QUOTE ]

Check out the Darien expedition:

http://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Jungle-Exp...2835&sr=8-1

In 1854, Isaac Strain, an ambitious young U.S. Navy lieutenant, launched an expedition hoping to find a definitive route for a canal across the isthmus of Panama. For hundreds of years, the Dari‚n isthmus had defied explorers; its unmapped wilderness contained some of the world's most torturous jungle. Yet Strain was confident he could complete the crossing. He was wrong. He and his men quickly lost their way and stumbled into ruin. Balf (The Last River) vibrantly recounts their journey, a disaster on a par with the Donner party or the sinking of the whale ship Essex. Using logs kept by Strain and his lieutenants, as well as other period sources, Balf follows the party from their first missteps (their landing boat capsized in roiling surf) to their near-miraculous rescue two months later. Strain and his crew endured exhaustion, heat, starvation and infestations of botfly maggots, which grew under the skin and fattened on human tissue. The men were forced to make heartbreaking life-and-death decisions; e.g., voting to leave behind sick companions who couldn't keep up with the rest (one shrieked after them as they trudged deeper into the jungle). Some men surrendered to despair; two of them quietly conspired to commit cannibalism.

[KotOD]

You might also like the Franklin Expedition:

http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Time-Fate-F...3061&sr=8-2

British expedition sets out to find the Northwest passage, gets caught in the ice, split up, drag tons of unnecessary non-survival personal effects over ice pack and islands, contract "mystery" disease and all go insane. They die scattered around northern Canada, the last of the survivors die 5 years later!

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
and infestations of botfly maggots, which grew under the skin and fattened on human tissue.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bloody hell, bugger that for a joke.