At the heart of every individual lies an instinctive urge to explore. Every person possesses a certain degree of curiosity, which is often the sole driving force for their explorations. Why have individuals endeavored to scale Mount Everest, or venture across vast oceans? For many, the reason was simply because they had the capacity to. External factors such as fame and wealth could have been motivating factors too, but at the crux of it all, exploration has always been instrumental in shaping human evolution. In history, we embarked on journeying across continents, then across oceans to discover new landmasses. Today, our explorations span from delving into the depths of the oceans to ascending towards the stars. The endless quest for discovery always presents a novel horizon. There has been evolution in our object of exploration, yet the basic human instinct to satisfy curiosity largely remains unaltered. Now, let’s journey down memory lane and revisit the fascinating narratives of some well-known past explorers. Their journeys weren’t always perfect; mistakes, absurdities and incredible anecdotes abound. Although the era of exploration was tainted with battles, betrayal, and the pursuit of gold (and of course, pirates!), the contemporary situation isn’t far removed. Browse through these 25 Intriguing Facts About the Lives and Journeys of Past Explorers You Might Be Unfamiliar With!
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In 1503 Columbus got stranded in Jamaica while on his way to the new world. Knowing that a lunar eclipse was near, he told the locals that if they didn't take care of his crew the moon would disappear.
Source: space.com, Image: wikipedia Zheng He was a Chinese admiral, diplomat, and explorer who rose to great prominence during the 1300s in spite of being castrated and enslaved earlier in his life
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia The famous British explorer David Livingstone once had all his supplies stolen while he was in Africa. In order to get food from the natives he had to eat his meals in a roped off enclosure which served as entertainment for the locals
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia In 1951, during the Explorer's Club annual dinner, a 250,000 year old piece of wooly mammoth meat was served
Source: mentalfloss, Image: wikipedia In 1911, British explorer George Murray Levick observed necrophilia in penguins around Antarctica. His findings weren't published until 2012 because they were deemed too indecent at the time
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Much to their surprise, the first pilgrims at Plymouth Colony were greeted by a Native American in English (his name was Samoset and he had begun to learn English from fisherman along the coast)
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia When James Cook first arrived in Hawaii the locals thought he was a god. When he came back, however, his boats had been battered by a storm, which apparently offended the natives. They subsequently killed him and ate him.
Source: cracked, Image: pixabay Lawrence Oates, an Antarctic explorer, got gangrene and frostbite during an expedition. Knowing that his mates' lives would be in danger, he walked out into the cold, never to return.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Admiralty Island in Alaska is half the size of Yellowstone Park but with twice the number of grizzly bears. Early Russian explorers named the island Ostrov Kutsnoi, which translates to "fear island".
Source: nps.gov, Image: wikipedia Ibn Fadlan, an Arab explorer, once witnessed a Norse funeral rite where a Viking slave girl had sex with all the warriors of the tribe. She was then sacrificed to serve their fallen chief in the next life.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia During an expedition through Yellowstone, Truman Everts was separated from his group. He ended up losing his horse, his supplies, falling into a geyser, and getting frostbite before being found several months later barely alive
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, discovered New Zealand and Tasmania on his first voyage but completely missed Australia. It wasn't until his second voyage that he realized what he had overlooked.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia During an Arctic expedition in the 50s, Peter Freuchen fashioned a chisel out of his feces in order to free himself after being trapped in an avalanche. He also amputated his own frozen toes.
Source: internationalpolicydigest.com, Image: wikipedia When Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer, captured the Portuguese ship Madre de Deus, it was estimated to carry cargo worth half of England's national treasury.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia David Douglas, a Scottish explorer, died in Hawaii after falling into a pit and being crushed by a bull that had fallen into the same pit
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia The Greek explorer Pytheas was the first person to discover the polar ice caps and the midnight sun. He also was also the first to suggest that the tides were caused by the moon.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia In 1962, Michael Siffre, a French explorer, spent 2 months buried beneath a glacier in total darkness to show that humans have an internal biological clock
Source: bbc.co.uk, Image: wikipedia Mount Disappointment in Australia got its name when the explorers who stumbled across it found the view to be less than stellar
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Venezuela got its name when Amerigo Vespucci saw how the natives had elevated their houses above the water, similar to Venice. Hence "Little Venice", or "Venezuela"
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay Columbus's ship captain, Rodrigo de Triana, was the first to spot land but Columbus claimed he had seen in several hours earlier already. In this way he secured the lifetime pension promised by King Ferdinand for being the first to make the sighting.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia While exploring South Dakota, Hugh Glass was left for dead by his group after being mauled by a grizzly bear. He then crawled 200 miles to the nearest settlement.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia During the 1600s, British explorers came across something called “kê-chiap” in China. It was a blend of pickled fish and spice. It was later brought to the new world and came to be known as ketchup.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Australia is also home to Lake Disappointment. It was named after an explorer followed numerous rivers and creeks to find a source of freshwater only to find that the lake was full of salt water.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Richard Francis Burton was an English explorer who spoke more than 40 languages. He once snuck into Mecca in disguise and also translated the Kama Sutra into English.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia In 1925 British soldier Percival Harrison Fawcett died in the Amazon while looking for El Dorado. Over the past century, more than one hundred people have died trying to find his remains and the last expedition only got out alive after paying a ransom to their native captors
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 
