The Coolest Letter Evah

Posted by Greg Laden on November 14, 2008
(11)
More »

From the commenter known as Elle…

Front:
i-e7e19261bfacd287ec9afceeadb34d4d-LetterFromElle.jpg

Back:
i-48acf5fb39f3947a6697860346281e66-LetterFromElleBack.jpg

What could be in this mysterious envelope?

I don’t know yet, but here is some evidence as to how cool it is. The weather conditions from the South Pole, where Elle now languishes with the penguins on the ice floes:


Daily Climate Summary for 10 November 2008 UTC
South Pole Station, Antarctica

Temperature:
Average temp… -43.9°C / -47.0°F
Maximum temp… -42.6°C / -44.7°F
Minimum temp… -45.3°C / -49.5°F

Wind:
Average wind speed………. 7.6 mph or 6.6 knots
Prevailing wind direction… Grid Northeast
Maximum wind speed………. 13 mph or 11 knots
Maximum wind direction…… Grid Northeast

Station Pressure:
Average pressure… 671.7 mb
Highest pressure… 672.9 mb
Lowest pressure…. 671.1 mb

Physio-altitude:
Average physio-alt = 10943 ft/ 3335 m
Highest physio-alt = 10966 ft/ 3342 m
Lowest physio-alt = 10897 ft/ 3321 m

Sky Cover:
Average cloud cover (8ths)… 5

Sunshine:
Sunset on 22 March 2009
Hours of sunshine….. 24.0
Percent of possible… 100

Visibility:
Visibility of 1/4 mile or less: No
Weather: Ice Crystals

**RECORDS**
No records were tied or broken.

(11)
More »

Comments

  1. #1 Stephanie Z
    November 14, 2008

    I want one of those. Just sayin’, L.

  2. #2 Mike
    November 14, 2008

    Technically, records were tied: 24.0 hours of sun. Very cool regardless.

  3. #3 Jeff Darcy
    November 14, 2008

    Damn, I would pay good money to get something with that postmark, and I’m probably not alone. I think those guys are overlooking a good research-funding opportunity.

  4. #4 David Lee
    November 14, 2008

    Way cool.

  5. #5 Greg Laden
    November 14, 2008

    How much do you think it is worth?

  6. #6 SimonG
    November 14, 2008

    There are some covers on eBay,(.co.uk). I only noticed one over USD20, and the ones for sale are all quite old – ’60s and ’70s.
    So don’t expect to be able to retire early. :-)

  7. #7 Iain
    November 15, 2008

    Really nice that the 24 hour day so nearly coincides with the convergence of Celsius and Farenheit there.

  8. #8 ...tom...
    November 15, 2008

    …

    Wow. Hand-addressed snail-mail. I want some..!! Way cool, no pun intended.

    As Jeff D. noted above, I wonder if there ever has been a First Day Issue. Surely there has been some suitable stamp(s) over the years. (Ahh. A link to a historical PO there. And to the stamp mentioned there. Interesting.)

    …tom…
    .

  9. #9 elle
    November 15, 2008

    wow! that sure does look familiar.

    I used all the stamps i gathered from McMurdo, and here at the Pole, everything is a little bit harder to come by. The food is great, though, and the people are outstanding. We now have 244 people on site. Winter is still scheduled for the 48 of us.

    i’m well. very different from the social harshness of nigeria, but the environment can kill me just as easily. all very strange reasoning for a Safety Engineer!

  10. #10 sdrDusty
    November 18, 2008

    That’s so great! what’s the stamp?
    I think it’s worth more keeping than selling!

  11. #11 DDeden
    November 18, 2008

    sooooo cooool! 1st thing I’d do: build a huge igloo & invite the penguins inside for a sushi banquet!

    antarctica vid & aria de amor