Another one from JSTOR Daily, this time on the unlikely relationship between sports and glaciology (the study of glaciers) thanks to some British scientists from the 1840s:
These men believed that heroic masculinity was a “route to a disciplined perception of the world,” writes historian Bruce Hevly. They took this notion with them into the Alps, as they competed to unravel the mysteries of glacial motion. Hevly argues that these beliefs may have had their roots on the rugby pitches of British schools, and that British sporting culture influenced the practices of field science in this period.
Hevly also noted how “the infusion of sporting masculinity into British science” contributed to the exclusion of women in STEM in that century (a tale as old as time). Interesting in theory but otherwise intangible nonsense and ironic given the state of glaciers due to predominately male greed and ego. But yay, rugby! SPORTS!