Ernest Shackleton's Can of Sardines

Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Shackleton was an explorer of Antarctica who made several journeys to the seventh continent. He started out as an officer for Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery Expedition, being discharged from it early on for health reasons. To wrinkle out what he saw as a failure, he made his own trip, the Nimrod Expedition. Competing with fellow explorer Roald Amundsen to cross the icy land, he initiated what’s now known as the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
It failed spectacularly, their ship Endurance getting stuck in pack ice and eventually sinking. The 28 man crew spent months in makeshift camps until they left for the uninhabited Elephant Island. From there, six of the original members, including Shackleton, set sail in the James Caird until they reached a whaling station to help them. Then, Shackleton turned around and picked up all his abandoned men back on Elephant Island.

Effects
The tin of sardines was likely after they evacuated the Endurance and were out camping on the ice floe for survival. When eaten, they freeze the person’s internal organs, first affecting the digestive system, then spreading throughout the body. If not stopped in time, it will manifest hypothermia and gangrene and cause the body’s vital systems to shut down.