October 5
Tags: statebystate alaska
In clockwise order, from top left: Alaska state flag, designed by a 13-year-old Bennie Benson; state bird Willow Grouse; two horses for sale for $2,000 on Craigslist (as of October 5th, 2008); sled dogs in the annual Iditarod race (more below). Alaska, in bullet points: America’s largest state: 570,380 square mile; more than twice as large as Texas; larger than the combined area of next three largest states: Texas, California, and Montana. In 1867, William H. Seward, the US Secretary of State, purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, or $0.02 per acre. Alaska joined the U.S. on January 3, 1959 and became the 49th state. It’s legal to possess up to one ounce of marijuana in Alaska. In the anual Iditarod sled dog race, teams of 12-16 dogs, along with their ‘mushers’ (humans) race from Anchorange to Nome - covering over 1150 miles through blizzards, mountains and rivers.  The race takes about ten to seventeen days, and the world record holder is a Swiss American named Martin Buser who finished the 2002 race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds (watch an interview with Buser).

In clockwise order, from top left: Alaska state flag, designed by a 13-year-old Bennie Benson; state bird Willow Grouse; two horses for sale for $2,000 on Craigslist (as of October 5th, 2008); sled dogs in the annual Iditarod race (more below).

Alaska, in bullet points:

  • America’s largest state: 570,380 square mile; more than twice as large as Texas; larger than the combined area of next three largest states: Texas, California, and Montana.
  • In 1867, William H. Seward, the US Secretary of State, purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, or $0.02 per acre.
  • Alaska joined the U.S. on January 3, 1959 and became the 49th state.
  • It’s legal to possess up to one ounce of marijuana in Alaska.
  • In the anual Iditarod sled dog race, teams of 12-16 dogs, along with their ‘mushers’ (humans) race from Anchorange to Nome - covering over 1150 miles through blizzards, mountains and rivers.  The race takes about ten to seventeen days, and the world record holder is a Swiss American named Martin Buser who finished the 2002 race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds (watch an interview with Buser).
We're Judy and Shawn. We're designers, we're parents, and we live in New York City.

We're reading the anthology State by State. This week we're reading and thinking about California.