Fly Me To The North Pole, Balloon Man

What this episode covers

In 1897, Swedish engineer and aeronaut Salomon August Andrée led two other men on a hot air balloon expedition to the North Pole that quickly went incredibly awry. After crashing their balloon in a literal no man's land, the three had to fend off the harsh elements, polar bears, and the decay of their own sanity for months before ultimately succumbing to their bitter demise. The entire misfortune was documented through journals and hundreds of photographs that were found decades later and serves as a cautionary tale to never trust a glory chaser.Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.Rob Foxhttps://www.instagram.com/robfoxthree/ https://twitter.com/RobFoxThree https://www.tiktok.com/@robfoxthree Dan Regesterhttps://www.instagram.com/danregester/ https://twitter.com/dan_regester Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Softcore History?

This episode is 1 hour and 10 minutes long.

When was this Softcore History episode published?

This episode was published on January 20, 2025.

What is this episode about?

In 1897, Swedish engineer and aeronaut Salomon August Andrée led two other men on a hot air balloon expedition to the North Pole that quickly went incredibly awry. After crashing their balloon in a literal no man's land, the three had to fend off...

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