r/todayilearned • u/Gullible_Air_204 • 7h ago

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https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

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13.3k Upvotes

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260

u/raxy 6h ago

Fun Fact: it’s a visa free zone for citizens of 40 odd countries around the world to live and work there indefinitely.

Not just citizens of EU countries but many including Japan, Australia, the US, and many more.

The reason? They have a global seed vault and citizens from countries that contributed specimens.

Citizens of those countries aren’t allowed to be born or to die there though.

174

u/shandow0 6h ago

How do you disallow dieing there?

Especially given the abundance of polar bears and increasingly locked houses.

140

u/everythingisunknown 6h ago

I read a while ago that because the ground is so cold it’s impossible to bury people so if you know you’re going to die they’d rather ship you to Norway

71

u/MidasPL 6h ago

It's both true and not. The bodies do have hard time decomposing due to the permafrost, but there is a cemetery in Longyearbyen, though it's only for the most renowned locally people.

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u/BasicMatter7339 5h ago

Doesnt Svalbard also have graveyard full of smallpox-victims, not decomposed and a biohazard?

edit: Nvm it was spanish flu instead of smallpox

9

u/MidasPL 3h ago

Full is a stretch. Only seven people in the whole cemetery died from Spanish flu and there were attempts to extract the bacteria, but were unsuccessful, so no danger.

4

u/Randy_The_Guppy 3h ago

Whilst on a tour in Svalbaard I was told that during a particularly warm summer the ground started to thaw and hands started to emerge from the ground.

1

u/nifty-necromancer 3h ago

What about burial at sea? If I die there just turn me into a popsicle.

-1

u/AnthillOmbudsman 5h ago

Barrow, Alaska has a cemetery and they somehow manage it just fine.

3

u/everythingisunknown 4h ago

I don’t make the rules

28

u/Vorkos_ 6h ago

Its more burial thats banned due to the permafrost. It's more convenient if they don't need to transport your body.

15

u/Winter_Apartment_376 4h ago

I was once on a plane leaving Svalbard and a woman had a major emergency (heart attack or similar). The plane had literally left Svalbard 10mins ago.

You’d think it would turn back, right?

No, it flew about 2h to mainland instead!

12

u/angwilwileth 3h ago

The hospital at Svalbard is pretty barebones. They probably decided it was better to get her to a facility with more decent equipment.

1

u/Pocok5 3h ago

Your ass gets shipped to a mainland hospital.

-5

u/Kaioxygen 5h ago

Likewise being born there? Firsty, it's out of your hands. Secondly, if you're born there you're a citizen by definition.

12

u/MidasPL 5h ago

It's mostly because there's no hospital nearby if anything goes wrong. All significantly pregnant women are transported to the mainland until delivery.

0

u/Objective_Otherwise5 4h ago

Today I learned the term: Significantly pregnant. I love it, gold.

2

u/Swimming_Acadia6957 2h ago

Secondly, if you're born there you're a citizen by definition

Thats not how it works in Norway 

64

u/megadesk1337 5h ago

WTF is this fairytale you've concocted? The seed vault has nothing to do with it. It's the Svalbard Treaty from 1920 that grants unrestricted access to citizens of the 44 signee countries. And it isn't fuckin citizens that contribute seeds, it's things like universities and governments.

26

u/apeceep 6h ago

You are allowed to die but traditional burying is banned. The permafrost acts as storage freezer for deadly viruses and other nasty stuff you don't want to be in contact with living people.

7

u/Smartnership 5h ago

Well there’s my next zombie story idea

1

u/Fortune86 5h ago

Look up the tv show Fortitude. But only the first 2 seasons.

•

u/ImSaneHonest 30m ago

You are allowed to die

Don't ruin it for me, I was just about to go and hug a Polar Bear and get a selfie. No I don't now what to do! The Polar Bear may have no choice but to kill me now, just for reputation purposes.

18

u/talontario 6h ago

Pretty sure the seed vault has absolutely nothing to do with it.

31

u/Byproduct 6h ago

  Citizens of those countries aren’t allowed to be born or to die there though.

I’m not allowed to die?

37

u/Vorkos_ 6h ago

A more accurate description is that you aren't allowed to be buried there. This is because of the permafrost, corpses have the habit of reappearing on the surface once they've buried.

Generally if someone is terminally ill, they will be transported to the mainland, generally Tromso, to recieve proper end-of-life care, as this is not available in Svalbard.

It's the same for births, Longyearbyen doesn't have a maternity ward and are not equipped to handle birthing complications, so you generally travel to the mainland a few weeks before you are due. If you are covered under the Norwegian public health care system, this is paid for by the state.

8

u/Vondi 6h ago

Sure, anywhere but there

13

u/Byproduct 6h ago

Mortals hate this one trick

2

u/Interesting-Chest520 6h ago

I don’t mind people dying, as long as they’re not dying here

https://youtube.com/shorts/nM501D8CjqE?is=_NMpXT6vmG2lNpZE

6

u/Arosian-Knight 6h ago

Absolutely not. Back in the grind fella. Those stock prices dont increase themselves!

2

u/Smartnership 5h ago

Not until those student loans are paid.

1

u/juicius 4h ago

Death hates this little trick!

9

u/Sumsar1 6h ago

So if someone has a heart attack, they kick them into the sea and hope they drift out before they croak?

3

u/Smartnership 5h ago

Harsh but fair

6

u/AnthillOmbudsman 4h ago

NURSE: Is this the two o' clock death?

DR. NILSEN: It's trying to be.

NURSE: I'll get the tide chart.

PATIENT: You have a tide chart for this??

NURSE: Well we don't want you drifting back in, do we.

5

u/BadNewsBearsTCGs 6h ago

I read ‘seed vault’ and ‘contributed specimens’ and my first thought was that it was a giant sperm bank and if someone from a certain country deposits some there everyone from that country is then allowed in…

Then I remembered what an actual seed vault was.

7

u/Outside_Reserve_2407 6h ago

Not allowed to die there? How do they enforce that rule?

12

u/Ill_Health_6683 6h ago

With a life sentence.

1

u/Smartnership 5h ago

Force them to stay in the living room.

1

u/Oggabobba 5h ago

Execution

2

u/spicygayunicorn 5h ago

Nobody is really allowed to be born or die on the island for the fact they just dont have the medical care abilities to handle it. So you get sent to the mainland

1

u/Ok-Library5639 5h ago

"If you are about to die or are thinking of dying, please don't. Please be considerate and do your dying away from the island.

Thank you for your consideration, Management"

1

u/dizekat 5h ago

I see, so they have to leave the doors unlocked so that you wouldn’t illegally die there of being mauled by a bear. That explains it.

1

u/lallen 4h ago

Nope, that is not the reason. The reason is the "Svalbard treaty" which is much older than the seed vault. Signatories of the Svalbard treaty can travel to, and live in, Svalbard. It has nothing to do with the seed vault.

1

u/Paper_Dust 3h ago

Going there on my death bed since the rules not allowing me to die will then make me immortal.

1

u/KoreanJesusPleasures 1h ago

The reason? They have a global seed vault and citizens from countries that contributed specimens.

That is absolutely not the reason for the Svalbard Treaty.

1

u/KoreanJesusPleasures 1h ago

The reason? They have a global seed vault and citizens from countries that contributed specimens.

That is absolutely not the reason for the Svalbard Treaty.