Where do you Go when you have to Go at the South Pole?

In the early days of Operation Deep Freeze (1950s), there was no official place to Go for those stationed on Antarctica. When the Seabees first arrived to build a permanent U.S. station, all they could see was ice. No trees. No people. No buildings. Just penguins. And mile after mile of ice.

As McMurdo Station began to take shape, yellow snow started appearing.  Everywhere. And, since their drinking water came from melting the local ice and snow, that was a big problem. Until somebody came up with the idea of planting pee poles far away from daily activities. There, they could Go with confidence, knowing their drinking water was harvested far from any pee spots. 

Environmental laws have made Antarctica one of the cleanest places on earth. Today, only distant field camps still use pee poles and pee bottles. Every year,

5.5 million pounds of solid waste plus one million pounds of hazardous waste get packed up and shipped back to the States. The old Scout Rule definitely applies: Leave nothing behind. Just clean, pristine white ... as far as the eye can see.