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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for January 9, 2024
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
January 9, 2024: On January 9, 1909, Ernest Shackleton planted the British flag just 112 miles from the South Pole, the farthest south anyone had traveled up to that point. He had led the Nimrod Expedition, along with three other explorers, for 73 days towards the south pole, and then faced a return journey of roughly 50 miles to their ship. Two of the four men collapsed on the trip back and were rescued days later by the rest of the ship’s crew.[1][2]
The expedition began on August 11, 1907, sailed for over four months to New Zealand, and finally departed for Antarctica on January 1, 1908. After planting the British flag, Shackleton was forced to turn back due to lack of supplies, but he and his three crewmates survived. Roald Amundsen would become the first man to reach the South Pole just under three years later. In the end, the expedition cost £45,000 (equal to roughly $8.4 million today).[1][2]
Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left nearly a decade ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- January 8, 2024-42% of voters believe the U.S. should be supporting Israel in the current war
- January 5, 2024-50% of voters favor transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems
- January 4, 2024-40% of voters believe TikTok is being used to promote divisive content regarding issues like the war between Israel and Hamas
- January 3, 2024-65 years ago, Alaska became the 49th state
- December 22, 2023-55 years ago tomorrow, the crew of Apollo 8 approached orbit around the moon
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
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