There's a running joke that one has to sport a beard to conduct scientific research in Antarctica. Except it isn't really a joke, because until the mid-20th century women were widely discouraged from exploring the continent, and the United States didn't allow American women to work in the region until 1969. But history was recently turned on its head when 76 women with backgrounds in science set sail to the bottom of the Earth.There's a running joke that one has to sport a beard to conduct scientific research in Antarctica. Except it isn't really a joke, because until the mid-20th century women were widely discouraged from exploring the continent, and the United States didn't allow American women to work in the region until 1969. But history was recently turned on its head when 76 women with backgrounds in science set sail to the bottom of the Earth.

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