SenorTron t1_isn7cl7 wrote
Reply to comment by TocTheEternal in TIL that before the invention of regfrigeration in 1851, ice had to be imported to Australia from Boston, Massachusetts. The ice blocks travelled through the tropics inside ships insulated with timber, straw, peat, and sawdust by stumcm
Sounds like a whole lot of costs, when the alternative is to buy it from a company in Boston already producing ice and just pay for a few extra weeks of shipping time.
TocTheEternal t1_isn9z5h wrote
Months. Of fuel and losses. And the production/gathering itself, which had to happen on some scale in one place or another.
PublicSeverance t1_isnlhg7 wrote
The cost of ice was roughly equivalent to the cost of cotton, even at the furthest destination (east USA -> Australia).
The journey was 110-120 days, the boats carried 400 tons and the goods sold for not really all that much profit.
The chilled apples on the boats sold for more than the ice.
The ice was a convenient partner because it was also used as ballast.
SenorTron t1_isnb317 wrote
Yeah but the people and equipment to gather it were already there in Boston. Are you factoring in the time and cost to transport people down to and back from Antarctica, house them, and the higher wages they'd need?
Someone elsewhere in the comments used the analogy of modern supply chains and it's entirely accurate. It's the same reason it's usually cheaper to buy a household item produced on the other side of the planet than one produced locally.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments