Alaska has a wild reputation and to so many “outsiders” it is perceived almost as though it is a foreign country. We say this because the questions we repeatedly get about life in the last frontier (from grown adults) are oftentimes utterly flabbergasting. Maybe it’s because we’ve been asked these questions more times than we can count on all of our fingers and toes, but these 15 questions you can only answer if you’re from Alaska are pretty shocking to read. If you find yourself repeating them out loud you will probably engage in multiple LOL bursts.
- I heard there are 10 men to every 1 woman in Alaska. Is that true?
Flickr - Ayleen Gaspar We’ll just say this, “the odds are good but the goods are odd.”
- What is a reindeer sausage?
Flickr - Ayleen Gaspar 100% deliciousness. You’ll never go back to regular dogs again. At least not willingly.
- What’s the bush?
Flickr - b mck Somewhere far, far away from the city lights and the traffic noise that we call PARADISE. Remote Alaska is real Alaska. No question about that.
- What’s a snow-machine?
Flickr - FairbanksMike We think the real question here is: what is a snow mobile? Weirdos.
- Will the sun ever fully set this summer?
Flickr - Calmuziclover Around solstice, don’t count on it. As the summer fades into July and August you’ll get a brief sunset. Quit worrying about it and just enjoy that decadent midnight sun!
- What do you mean you’re going to work a hitch?
Flickr - jweston_40 As in, I don’t do shift work; I do hitch work. 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Hmm, it must just be an Alaska thing. Totally normal up here!
- What time should I plan for the Northern Lights come out?
Flickr - Malcolm Manners Wait, you think they come out on a scheduled timer? On that note, why don’t you just call Mother Nature or Father Time and ask them for the schedule. The truth is that they come out most frequently between midnight and 2 am. And if you have clear weather, your chances are greatly increased.
- Do people in Alaska really live in igloos?
Flickr - MegaBuddy Why yes, they sure do. And the real estate market thrives only when the temperature is consistently well below the freezing mark. Really people? Of course we don’t live in igloos.
- What’s a sloper?
Flickr - NASA HQ PHOTO Someone who goes to the ski slopes? Um, no. Someone who works on the North Slope in the oilfield.
- What are all those boxes for?
Flickr - PunkToad A common find in a state where the official sport is dog mushing. Those are kennels. And yes, they keep the dogs very warm, cozy and happy.
- Don’t all the bears scare you? I heard they outnumber the people.
Flickr - Tim Rains Actually, these cute little critters known as moose scare us way more than bears do. Did you know that they kill more people each year than bears? Well now you do!
- What’s a sledneck?
Flickr - Eric Teela Hardcore winter warrior. We’ll just keep the definition short and sweet since there are many varying ways to describe a sledneck.
- I heard the sun never comes up and it’s dark all winter long. Is that true?
Flickr - Wonderlane The sun peeps. But going to work when it’s pitch black and coming home when it’s pitch black can definitely wear on you. Even more reason to rock the “weekend warrior” status as often as possible!
- Why is the side of the road so dirty?
Flickr - Wonderlane Well in Alaska, we don’t use salt. We use sand. Better for our roads but no one promised that it would look pretty too.
- How do you stay sane living so remotely?
Flickr - Peter Lee It’s easy… we just go to our happy place!
Can you think of any other questions that you can only answer if you’re from (or living in) Alaska?
Flickr - Ayleen Gaspar
We’ll just say this, “the odds are good but the goods are odd.”
100% deliciousness. You’ll never go back to regular dogs again. At least not willingly.
Flickr - b mck
Somewhere far, far away from the city lights and the traffic noise that we call PARADISE. Remote Alaska is real Alaska. No question about that.
Flickr - FairbanksMike
We think the real question here is: what is a snow mobile? Weirdos.
Flickr - Calmuziclover
Around solstice, don’t count on it. As the summer fades into July and August you’ll get a brief sunset. Quit worrying about it and just enjoy that decadent midnight sun!
Flickr - jweston_40
As in, I don’t do shift work; I do hitch work. 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Hmm, it must just be an Alaska thing. Totally normal up here!
Flickr - Malcolm Manners
Wait, you think they come out on a scheduled timer? On that note, why don’t you just call Mother Nature or Father Time and ask them for the schedule. The truth is that they come out most frequently between midnight and 2 am. And if you have clear weather, your chances are greatly increased.
Flickr - MegaBuddy
Why yes, they sure do. And the real estate market thrives only when the temperature is consistently well below the freezing mark. Really people? Of course we don’t live in igloos.
Flickr - NASA HQ PHOTO
Someone who goes to the ski slopes? Um, no. Someone who works on the North Slope in the oilfield.
Flickr - PunkToad
A common find in a state where the official sport is dog mushing. Those are kennels. And yes, they keep the dogs very warm, cozy and happy.
Flickr - Tim Rains
Actually, these cute little critters known as moose scare us way more than bears do. Did you know that they kill more people each year than bears? Well now you do!
Flickr - Eric Teela
Hardcore winter warrior. We’ll just keep the definition short and sweet since there are many varying ways to describe a sledneck.
Flickr - Wonderlane
The sun peeps. But going to work when it’s pitch black and coming home when it’s pitch black can definitely wear on you. Even more reason to rock the “weekend warrior” status as often as possible!
Well in Alaska, we don’t use salt. We use sand. Better for our roads but no one promised that it would look pretty too.
Flickr - Peter Lee
It’s easy… we just go to our happy place!
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