Did you know you must have your wisdom teeth and appendix removed if you wish to stay in Antarctica?

I became interested in this during my reading of “Where’d you go, Bernadette?” as Bernadette mentions she had to get her four wisdom teeth removed to stay in Antarctica. So, I researched and found out it is true! The same goes to be deployed, according to my brother that is in the Air Force. He had to have all four wisdom teeth removed before deployment.

According to Werner Herzog’s Antarctica these must be removed even if you are healthy. The article is really interesting:

There are some peculiarly unpleasant penalties if you do stay on. Your wisdom teeth and appendix have to be removed, even if they are perfectly healthy, because you can’t be evacuated and they couldn’t be operated on at the station. From March to the end of September McMurdo is completely isolated.

Works Cited:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsandculture/6103788/Werner-Herzogs-Antarctica.html