A Massive Vehicle Under Ice, Unexplained Radio Signals & Pyramids: 5 Unsolved Antarctica Mysteries

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In the frozen wasteland of Antarctica, a strange sight greeted an international expedition exploring the Little America exploration bases in 1958: a lone bamboo pole protruding from a massive snowdrift.

Intrigued by this anomaly, the team employed a bulldozer to clear the 23-foot-tall drift, revealing something completely unexpected—the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, a behemoth of a vehicle measuring 56 feet long and nearly 17 feet tall.

Inside the cabin, the belongings of the previous occupants lay untouched, with cigarettes, papers, and magazines scattered about. The expedition noted the vehicle's location and moved on, unaware that this would be the last time the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was ever seen.

The story of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser is one of novelty and folly. Designed by Thomas Poulter for the United States Antarctic Service Expedition of 1939-1941, the cruiser was a product of Poulter's experiences as second-in-command on a 1934 Antarctic expedition.

Convinced of the need for a mobile base camp, Poulter created a vehicle ahead of its time. The cruiser boasted a biplane platform, overhangs to prevent crevice falls, adjustable tire heights, and two diesel engines generating over 300 horsepower—a machine seemingly equipped to conquer the glacial challenges of Antarctica.

However, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser's arrival on the continent on January 15, 1940, was met with immediate misfortune. The wooden ramp used to transport the cruiser onto the Ross Ice Shelf buckled under its immense weight, and only Poulter's quick reflexes saved the vehicle from plunging into the sea.

Then, a critical design flaw became apparent: the cruiser's treadless tires, which Poulter believed would prevent the vehicle from getting stuck in snow and ice, rendered it incapable of traversing the deep snow that blanketed Antarctica. It could, however, move short distances but only when driven in reverse.

Stripped of its intended purpose, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was relegated to serving as a base building at Little America III before being abandoned along with the rest of the base on December 22, 1940.

In 1946, explorers from Operation Highjump found the vehicle in excellent condition, needing only air in its tires. It was then left to the mercy of the elements until its rediscovery in 1958, after which it vanished from human sight.

The fate of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser remains a mystery to this day, and few clues have been found. The ice shelf that once housed Little America III fractured in the early 1960s, and in 1963, the USS Edisto encountered an ice flow containing remnants of the camp.

It is possible that the cruiser was on this ice flow, either remaining there or plummeting into the sea when the iceberg inevitably split again. Others speculate that the cruiser fell into the ocean when the Ross ice shelf originally calved and now lies beneath the rebuilt ice shelf, its exact location on the seafloor unknown...

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