Tuesday, June 10, 2008

In the Harshest Place on Earth, Love Finds a Way

To combat the impending eternal darkness, the US base on Antarctica has been deluged with condoms:
nearly 16,500 condoms were delivered last month and would be made available, free of charge, to staff throughout the year to avoid the potential embarrassment of having to buy them
Something seems wrong to me, and it isn't just my anti-contraception prudishness. Here are the relevant facts from the article: There are about 125 people at the base for the approximately three months of total darkness. The population increases and flights in (presumably carrying more condoms) resume in September. Assuming 90 days, 125 people, and 16,500 condoms. Each person gets 132 condoms, which is about 1.5 per day. And it takes two to tango, so you figure two people per condom. This means each person has sex three times a day, every day, before the prophylactic supply runs out.

Now clearly this is faulty math, but I think I can glean one statistical certainty from these numbers: a bunch of new recruits volunteering to be stationed in Antarctica.

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