--- title: "Antarctic Base Seeks Penguin Counter" description: "The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is looking for five people to count penguins and \"sorting mail at the world’s southernmost post office.\"" date: "2024-03-18" modified: "2024-03-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/antarctic-base-seeks-penguin-counter" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "Antarctica" - "penguins" - "the digest" --- # Antarctic Base Seeks Penguin Counter ![The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is looking for five people to count penguins and "sorting mail at the world’s southernmost post office."]() *\Image: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust\* ## On Froze Bored of your old office job? Looking for some excitement in your life? Look no further than a recent job posting for a penguin counter at an Antarctica post office. As [spotted by the *New York* *Post*](), the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is looking for five individuals to engage in [counting penguins]() and "sorting mail at the world’s southernmost post office" — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at an extremely remote location. ## Pen Lings While it sounds like an exceedingly lonely gig some 700 nautical miles south of the tip of Argentina, Goudier Island, where the base is located, is visited by [thousands of cruise ships]() a year. The area was used for whaling in the early 20th century. In February 1944, the base [was built]() as part of a British World War 2-era operation and served as a British research station until 1962. In 1995, the base became a Historic Site and Monument. The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust took over the site in 2006, and has since established a charity gift shop, as well as the British Antarctic Territory Post Office, which operates from November to March. Beyond frequent cruise ship visits, employees at the site will be busy processing over ten thousand pieces of mail over the summer, as [*CBS News* reported]() back in 2015. Anything that's sent from the location takes anywhere from two to six weeks to reach their destination. And of course employees also have to contend with around 2,000 Gentoo penguins that call Goudier Island their home. Some positions are tasked with "penguin, wildlife and environmental monitoring on behalf of the British Antarctic Survey," according to the job posting, and are required to keep updates on the number of penguins on the base's website. Applicants have until today to apply, so you better get cracking. **More on Antarctica:** *[Huge Iceberg Falling Apart as It Drifts Away From Antarctica]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()