Alaska Facts

Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined at about 34,000 miles (54,563 km). Alaska has more inland water than any other state (20,171 square miles). It is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas: the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea. New Hampshire has the shortest at 131 mi (211 km)

Population Disparity

Rhode Island, the smallest US state has a larger population than the largest US state, Alaska. Rhode Island has 1.055 million and Alaska has 736,732 people.

Alascattalo Day

November 21, 2014 is Alascattalo Day. It is described as a day to honor humor in general and Alaskan humor in particular. The day is named after 'alascattalo', said to be the genetic cross between a moose and a walrus. It has been celebrated in Anchorage for over 25 years.

A mild-mannered moose named Morris met a witty walrus named Wanabelle.  It was love at first sight, and soon the moose and the walrus were wed in the church down the way. Within sixty weeks, Morris and Wannabelle welcomed into the world a wee little weeble who made their love complete, and the first Alascattalo was born.

Ten Crazy US Driving Laws

In Alaska it is illegal to tie a dog to the roof of your car.
In San Francisco it is illegal to dry your car with used underwear.
In Florida, if an elephant is tied to a parking meter, the attendant must deposit money in the meter.
In Nevada it is illegal to ride a camel on the highway.
In Alabama it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
In Illinois it is illegal to change clothes inside a car, except during a fire.
In Montana it is illegal to leave a sheep unescorted in a truck.
In Georgia it is illegal to drive through playgrounds.
In Oklahoma it is illegal to read a comic book while driving.
In Massachusetts it is illegal to drive with a gorilla in the back seat of your car.

Seven Random US Facts

The seven rays on the crown of the Statue of Liberty represent the seven continents. Each measures up to 9 feet in length and weighs as much as 150 pounds.


Broken shackles lie at the feet of the Statue of Liberty, signifying freedom from oppression and tyranny.


More breakfast cereal is made in Battle Creek, Michigan than in any other city in the world.


Montana has three times as many cows as it does people.


Alaska is 429 times larger than Rhode Island, but Rhode Island has a significantly larger population.


Louisiana has 2,482 islands that cover nearly 1.3 million acres.

Although Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S., it is technically 47th because Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit it to the Union until 1953.
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Myth: Earth is Close to Overpopulation

This is a myth has been around since the 18th century, but the world is a really big place with plenty of space.

Let's look at how much land it really takes to hold 6 billion people. To give you an idea, consider the small nation of Japan, which has about 143,000 square miles of land. One square mile has 27.9 million square feet. Japan has a total of about 4 trillion square feet, enough to give each person on earth 670 square feet. If we housed people in families of four in simple two-level buildings (8 people per building, one family of four per level), each building could be on a lot of over 5300 square feet.

Using the American average of 8,000 square feet to house four people, the entire population of the planet would fit into a space the size of Texas and Nevada combined or less than the state of Alaska. That leaves a bunch of unused space for growing crops, sailing, and going on vacations.

Alaska and Calendars

Speaking of days and dates, did you know that Alaska was the last state to adopt our current, Gregorian calendar? Many think our calendar has been around forever, but it is not that old.

In Alaska, the change took place when Friday, 6 October 1867 was followed again by Friday, 18 October after the US purchase of Alaska from Russia. Eleven days were skipped, and the day of the week was repeated on successive days, because the International Date Line was shifted from Alaska's eastern to western boundary along with the change to the Gregorian calendar.

In Russia the Gregorian calendar was accepted Wednesday, 31 January 1918, followed by Thursday, 14 February 1918, thus dropping 13 days from the calendar.

The last country of Eastern Orthodox Europe to adopt the Gregorian calendar was Greece on Thursday, 1 March 1923, which followed Wednesday, 15 February 1923. Korea adopted the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1895. China finally agreed to use the Gregorian calendar 1 January 1929 (Yes, only eighty three years ago).

Many religious sects and countries still use other official calendars, but have unofficially adopted the Gregorian calendar for convenience of doing business. Kind of makes one question the exact dates in many history books. . .

Land of the Free Land

Some communities need residents. Some need jobs. Some need development. In order to get those things, a few communities will give you free land.

For the most part, the places doing this are rural communities without much in the way of work opportunities, but doesn't the whole world work virtually now,

Several small cities in rural Kansas will give you a land lot if you agree to fashion housing of at least 1,000 square feet on it. If one lot isn’t large enough and you’d like to garden, the city of Marquette, Kansas  would be pleased give you a second lot adjacent to the first, also for free. These are developed lots with water, sewer, and electricity.

Muskegon, Michigan is giving away free land for companies that create new industrial jobs. You get five acres for 25 jobs; create 100 jobs and get 30 acres. The free sites have full utilities and easy access to highways, a deep-water port, railroads, and the Muskegon County Airport.

There are opportunities in Nebraska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Alaska, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Alaska

Home of Polar Bears, gold, oil, Eskimos, and Sarah Palin.

• Outsiders first discovered Alaska in 1741 when danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering sighted it on a voyage from Siberia.

• In spring, the melting dome of an igloo is replaced with a covering of animal skins to form a between-season dwelling called a 'qarmaq'.

• Alaska has about 640,000 residents.

• The word 'igloo' comes from the inuit 'iglu', meaning 'house'.

• Russian whalers and fur traders on Kodiak Island established the first settlement in Alaska in 1784.

• In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska. Remember Sewards Folly from Geography lessons? On October 18, 1867 Alaska officially became the property of the United States.

• Joe Juneau's 1880 discovery of gold ushered in the gold rush era.

• In 1943 Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands, which started the One Thousand Mile War.
  

• The Alaska Highway was originally built as a military supply road during World War II.

• Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.

• Alaska accounts for 25% of the oil produced in the United States.

• Alaska is the United State's largest state and is over twice the size of Texas (ouch). Measuring from north to south the state is approximately 1,400 miles long and measuring from east to west it is 2,700 miles wide. It covers 570,374 square miles.

• The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.

• The Trans-Alaska Pipeline moves up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on its 800 mile journey to Valdez.

• Dog mushing is the official state sport.