Newbie

[Alan]

If form had followed function, there wouldn't have been a problem. When the Navy established this base, however, they simply used whatever they had on hand, without much consideration for the fact that they were building in Antarctica. Since then, that tradition has been discarded at times (thankfully), but not always. Rumor says that two of our most recent dormitories were originally intended for use in the Caribbean before being repurposed. Although they are only used in the summer, I've been told that the rooms tend to be cold.

As for the question: Carp is the American shorthand for Carpenter, and the old Carp shop at Pole actually had a Carp (an actual fish) hanging up as a sign. They could do that because it never gets warm enough to thaw out there. In the Commonwealth countries, they call carpenters Chippy - just as electricians (American and Commonwealth) are Sparky.