The Disturbing Disappearance of the Franklin Expedition

Summary by Krater

This video details the ill-fated 1845 Franklin's Lost Expedition, tracing the disappearance of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in the Canadian Arctic and the subsequent discovery of their wrecks.

From the video

Answers: What happened to Franklin's lost Arctic expedition?

• Franklin's lost expedition
• HMS Erebus
• HMS Terror
• Northwest Passage
• Arctic exploration
• Lead poisoning in Arctic exploration
• Cannibalism in Franklin's expedition

What it concludes

• The 16,000 tin cans of food brought on the expedition had improper lead soldering, which contaminated the food and poisoned the crew.
• The water distillation equipment brought on the expedition used lead piping that easily corroded when exposed to sea salt, contributing to lead poisoning.
• The crew suffered from a critical lack of zinc in their diets, which caused their bodies to cannibalize their own bones and released even more lead into their bloodstreams.
• Members of the expedition were already suffering from tuberculosis before the ships reached the Canadian Arctic.
• The extreme cold of the 1845-1859 period meant the ice never melted, trapping the ships through multiple summers.
• In 1993, the expedition's final camp site was located, confirming cannibalism through cut marks on human bones.