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Fruitcake Survives 100 Years In Freezing Antarctica

Kerry Picket Political Reporter
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Have enough fruitcake in case of an emergency?

The infamous Christmas time dessert survived 100 years in one of the harshest, coldest, and driest environments on the planet—Antarctica, National Geographic magazine reported Thursday.

Conservators from the New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust recently discovered the tasty delight wrapped in paper and placed in a tin inside Antarctica‘s oldest building, a hut on Cape Adare.

The Trust claims the fruitcake is in “excellent condition,” and apparently smells practically edible.

According to National Geographic, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott probably brought the dessert to Antarctica during their 1910-1913 Terra Nova expedition, when they took shelter in the Cape Adare hut.

Fast forward to 2016, a team of researchers were excavating for artifacts and found the fruitcake, popular among the British at the turn of the last century.

“Living and working in Antarctica tends to lead to a craving for high-fat, high-sugar food, and fruitcake fits the bill nicely, not to mention going very well with a cup of tea,” said Lizzie Meeks, conservation manager for artifacts at the trust.

According to National Geographic, Scott and his four-person team all managed to get to the South Pole in 1912 but all 5 died on the return trip to the expedition base.

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Tags : antarctica
Kerry Picket