It was back in 1959 — 60 years ago — that Alaska became a state (#49 overall). Here’s some trivia about what makes “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” a.k.a. “The Last Frontier” one of a kind.
That will pay you to live there.
The Alaskan state government makes so much money off of the local oil deposits that it in 1976 it created the Permanent Dividend Fund. Annually, every legal Alaskan resident gets a nice chunk of change — in recent years, it’s been about $2,000. (It helps offset Alaska’s relatively high cost of living.)
Without poisonous plants.
Well, at least ones that are poisonous to the touch. Roam freely in Alaska without fear of getting a rash from some nasty vegetation, because the state is the only one without native plants toxic to human skin.
That borders three seas.
Alaska is positioned up there in the far northwest corner of North America, such that its coastline meets up with three different waterways: the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.
From the 20th century to the Old West, from the Age of Enlightenment to the Dark Ages, Strange History is overflowing with mysterious artifacts, macabre legends, kooky inventions, reality-challenged rulers, boneheaded blunders, and mind-blowing facts.
Without a major college sports team.
Every other state has at least one institution of higher learning with a sports team that competes at the country’s highest level, NCAA’s Division I. Not Alaska.
With all the bears.
Alaska is well known for its volume and variety of wildlife, especially bears. All three bears native to North America live in Alaska — the Black Bear, the Grizzly Bear, and the Polar Bear.
Not in the West.
At least not entirely. The vast majority of the state is located on the North American continent. But some of its outlaying islands sit so far to the west that they’re actually part of the Eastern Hemisphere.
Where World War II was fought.
While Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor was bombed, there were actual Japanese troops on the ground in Alaska. Japan’s military invaded Alaska’s Aleutian Islands in 1942, and a year later, American forces expelled them.
That’s super easy to type.
Only one state’s name can be typed on just one row of a keyboard. (Yep, it’s Alaska.)