re: In your opinion, who really is the most interesting man in the world?

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Col. Norman Vaughan was the last living member of Admiral Richard E. Byrd's 1928-1930 Antarctic expedition (the first to fly over the South Pole), has also raced a dog-team in the 1932 Olympic Games, led more than 200 rescue dogs in World War II's Battle of the Bulge, and competed in the Iditarod 13 times.

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Colonel Norman Dane Vaughan (December 19, 1905 – December 23, 2005) was an American dogsled driver and explorer whose first claim to fame was participating in Admiral Byrd's first expedition to the South Pole. He also mushed in a professional capacity as part of a search and rescue unit in World War II, in sporting events like the Olympics and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and in three Presidential Inauguration ceremonies.

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In 1994, at the age of 88, Vaughan participated in an expedition to climb the 10,302 ft (3,150 m) Mount Vaughan. His plans to return in December 2005, to celebrate his 100th birthday, were scrapped in August due to lack of funds. A highlight of his publicity push was his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 10, 2005, and a full-page article in the Los Angeles Times. He made plans to return in 2006 but these were halted by his death just six months before the scheduled date.

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in 13 Iditarod races and "crashing" the Presidential Inauguration parade in 1977, bringing sled dogs to represent his adopted state. In 1981 and 1985, he and his Alaskan contingent formally participated in the parade. He also had a mountain named after him in the Antarctic.

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