I had always assumed that the ice-breaker ships, used for navigating in the extreme north or south oceans that get covered in thick ice, would would try to split the ice like an axe to a log. But you know what happens when you assume… you make a guess based on limited knowledge. (is that how that goes?)
The fact is that these sturdy ice-breaker ships are very rounded on the front end. Trying to ram the ice and break it apart would be the equivalent of running your car into concrete walls all day long. Hard on the car, and not so good for fuel efficiency. With the rounded bow, the idea is that the boat will easily slide up on top of the ice, then due to the massive weight, fall through and continue on. It’s a belly-flop rather than a karate chop.
And with that, LSNED continues to belly-flop it’s way though the frozen wasteland of not-knowingness, cutting a wide path of trivial wisdom.
Bonus Fact: In the winter (which is right now) Antarctica doubles in size, adding the equivalent of one and a half USA’s worth of solid ice to the south pole landmass.
