British food is awful. They developed one of the most powerful naval forces in history because all the flavorful food was not near them. Sailing all the way around the southern tip of Africa or South America to get lunch got old, and so they came up with the idea of sailing over the top of Canada. Obviously, only the British would solve a problem this way.

Whaling captains had already been sailing into the North (because of another British idea: let's burn whale brains to light our homes) and pretty much knew that a sea-route over the top of Canada was never going to be a cost-effective way to get to good food. However, none of the people in the British navy listened to the whalers because they thought they were blue-collar rednecks. Thus began two centuries of arctic disaster culminating in the woeful search for the lackluster hero Sir John Franklin and the dubious claim that he completed the first circuit of the Northwest Passage (even if it was as a frozen corpse).

Should have listened to the whalers.

Also: thanks for the kind words. It's a rare mirror that shows you the hard to see sides yourself.