The Spirit of the Explorer

We at Sandwich Theories would like to salute three great adventurers/explorers of our times:

Andrew Macauley, Kayakist: http://boneinitsteeth.blogspot.com/2010/12/natgeo-solo-lost-at-sea.html
Timothy Treadwell, Bear enthusiast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Treadwell
and Steve Irwin, Animal annoyer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riYogY1PXe0&feature=related

These three men are united by various factors-

1. An enjoyment of dangerous thrills
2. An over-arching sense of egotism
3. Being dead

For those not acquainted with the stories of the three men Andrew Macauley attempted to Kayak, solo, across at least 1000Km of dangerous sea between Australia and New Zealand. He actually made it to within 30Km of his destination, surviving huge storms along the 1 month journey, before falling out of his canoe and drowning only a day away from dry land. He left behind a wife and a young son. In fairness to Andrew, while he was obviously an IT specialist/office bound mentalist, the documentary suggests that he was let down by his equipment, and preparation, rather than physical or mental stress per se.

Timothy Treadwell was a bear enthusiast who had made a name for himself by annoying Park Rangers summer camping in Bear spots in a National Park in Alaska. He 'got to know' different Bears over 13 summers, and took few of the usual precautions against bear attack. His luck ran out on the 13th trip, partly it seems because he was later in the season, and so the bears were hungrier. He and his girlfriend were eaten alive by a hungry bear, the first half of the process being caught as audio on a video camera, although the footage apparently has not been made public.

Steven Irwin was a serial animal annoyer in Australia, famous for wrestling with crocodiles and such like. He got a barb in the chest while annoying a Sting-Ray, and died shortly afterwards.

We at Sandwich Theories would see the lives, and deaths, of these three men as indicative of a failure of exploratory/adventuring imagination. In search of thrills, attention, and a sense of purpose and meaning beyond office work all three set out into the natural world to do battle with, or tickle, the elements. All three of them lost, eventually, and for seemingly nothing other than entertainment, sensation. Their mistake was a failure to realise that the natural world no longer holds any adventures- there is nothing to explore. Our ancestors crossed every ocean for us, and we have been into space, and to the bottom of the ocean, with Carl Sagan, or David Attenborough. One can explore the entire world now, and beyond, from one's laptop or television. There is absolutely no need for anyone to walk naked across the Sahara Desert fuelled only on yoghurt, to live for a whole month inside the stomach of a Blue Whale, or to fly to the Moon strapped to a Wombat.

Each of these mad men would still be alive today if they had realised that the New Adventure is to be had from one's laptop- for example the Exploration of the Sandwich. If it were not for Sandwich Theories we might, like them, be out there trying to climb Mount Everest dressed as a Womble, or Sky-diving into Volcanoes whilst DJ-ing Happy Hardcore. But we aren't- we are going where no-one has gone before- Into the Sandwich. We aren't sure if we'll come out alive, symbolically at least- every thought leads onto another thought, over every horizon there is another horizon etc. But we are on a Journey, into the Unknown.