the disposable memory project

Leo Laporte and Chris Marquardt talk about The Disposable Memory Project on The Tech Guy on TWiT.TV

Seek forward to about 53:45, or listen to the whole podcast if you’ve got a spare couple of hours.

Leo was sent Camera 349, which travelled from the US to Antarctica in just a matter of a few weeks.

We’ve released our 400th camera!

After almost four years (that’s 100 a year), we’ve reached our 400th camera – which was released by Alex L in Columbus, Ohio, USA – and then quickly picked up by Josh.

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the project since we started, its an amazing achievement to have released this many cameras into the world, and we’re really excited to be continuing on our journey into 2012.

Well, the unbelievable has happened. One of our cameras has made the most remarkable journey. A journey that few humans would have the opportunity to make in their lifetime. Not only has it travelled almost 19,000 miles, but it has travelled to the most extreme parts of our globe. Little Camera 159 is the camera which made its way to the South Pole, and survived the journey home to tell its tale.

It started its journey last year in Swansea, where Sally R. created the camera:

We will fly via Copenhagen to Greenland where we are being airlifted by helicopter to the ice sheets to camp out and do hydrological field work.

The camera then passed on to Sam D in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Two other cameras from the journey returned home at this point, Camera 160 and Camera 162, but our trusty little Camera 159 continued on south, to be found by Paul T. at the British Base at Rothera, Antarctica:

I was handed one of your cameras at a remote field camp called Sky-Blu at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, whilst working for the British Antarctic Survey this summer. I took it with me on a project at the South Pole, and then returned with it to the British Base, Rothera.

If the images of Winnie the Pooh are worrying, don’t worry, polar bears haven’t turned to honey for subsistence:

I took a couple of pics at the South Pole – apologies if there are a couple of spoiled pics, but it was -30c and my gloved fingers were awkward! The giant Pooh Bear is another story altogether, but the image of a giant stuffed bear at the Pole was too good to pass up!

The camera continued on with Matt V.T. and then into the hands of Celine N, who brought it back home via Chile and Ireland.

We’re super excited to have been able to get a camera into the most extreme place on our planet, so thank you to everyone involved in getting the camera safely home. We hope you enjoy the images!

View the Camera 159 page for more details on its journey.