Psst! Ahoy, Smarty Pants!
Trusty Narrator here, and as you can hear...
I'm on a ferry headed to the largest state in the United States.
Any guesses what state that is, Smarty Pants?
Is it A. Texas, B. California, or C.
Alaska? Well, it's been said everything is bigger in Texas.
But as big as Texas is, it's not the biggest. And neither is California.
The answer is Alaska.
In fact, Alaska is so big that both Texas and California could fit inside it at the same time.
And you can throw Montana in there as well.
Alaska is big, with a capital B.
Oh, and speaking of big, I'm being joined on my trip to Alaska by my friend, Buoy the beluga whale.
In fact, there's Booey swimming now alongside the ferry Hey, Booey Hey, trustee, welcome back And hey, Smarty Pants If this is your first time in Alaska Welcome to my favorite place in the whole wide world If I remember correctly, Booey I first met you five years ago on this exact ferry And now I look forward to coming back every year to see you and explore Alaska That's right, trustee And one of the great things about Alaska is there's a lot to explore and learn about.
Absolutely. I was just explaining how big Alaska is.
Yeah. Did you tell them how you could fit 19 other states inside Alaska at once?
Including Indiana, Oklahoma, and Florida.
19 other states? Wow.
I don't think I even knew that.
That's what I mean.
There's so much to see in Alaska.
Things like the midnight sun and the northern lights.
There's huge mountains and vast wilderness, great lakes and glaciers, and tons of amazing animals like bears, wolves, moose, and many different species of whales, like me.
Oh boy, I can't wait!
Of course, the Smarty Pants and I also want to know, How, when, and why did Alaska become a state?
What makes Alaska so important?
And what does the name Alaska even mean?
Sounds like we're in for a fantastic episode.
Yep, it's time for another whiff of science and history on Who Smarted?
Who smarted? Who smart?
Is it you? Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone!
We make smarting lots of fun on Who's Smarted.
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You know, Trustee, when I first got to swim to Alaska with my family, my grandma taught me the meaning of the word Alaska.
Alaska? Do you think the Smarty Pants can guess what it means?
Only one way to find out, Bowie.
Smarty Pants, does Alaska mean A.
The Great Land, B. The Land of the Ice and the Snow, or C.
The Land of Cake, Ice Cream, and Brown Meringue?
Huh? Well, if you said C, you're probably thinking of a baked Alaska, which is a dessert made of ice cream, cake, and topped with brown meringue that kind of resembles the mountains of Alaska.
But the actual answer is what, Bowie?
The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word alieska, meaning the great land.
Good job if you got that right, Smarty Pants.
Of course, Alaska wasn't always part of the United States.
Smarty Pants, do you know what country Alaska used to belong to?
Was it Canada, Finland, or Russia?
The answer is Russia.
Believe it or not, the United States bought Alaska from Russia.
Any guesses how much Alaska cost?
Was it just over $1 million, $7 million, or $20 million?
The answer is the United States paid $7 .2 million to buy Alaska from Russia in 1867.
That's about $144 million today.
Which sounds like a lot until you realize that's less than most Marvel movies make in their opening weekends.
now alaskans celebrate seward's day on march 30th to commemorate the sale smarty pants true or false alaska became a state right after the united states bought it the answer is false even though the usa purchased alaska on march 30th 1867 Alaska didn't officially become a state until January 3, 1959.
Whoa. True or false again?
Alaska is the 50th state.
The answer, again, is false.
Alaska is the 49th state, with Hawaii becoming the 50th state just eight months later, in August of 1959.
Even though Alaska is part of the USA, it's actually much closer to Russia.
At its closest point, Alaska is only 50 miles, or 80 .46 kilometers, from Russia.
If you could drive across the ocean, it would take you under an hour.
Of course, I prefer to swim.
Say, Bowie, what is a must -see thing in Alaska?
That's easy. The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis.
It's my favorite thing to see in Alaska, Smarty Pants.
For those of you who haven't seen the Northern Lights before, They are colorful bands of light, usually green, that dance in the dark night sky.
Travelers from all over the world come to Alaska to see this stunning natural light display.
And the good news is the northern lights are not a rare spectacle.
They can be seen on an average of 243 nights a year in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Ooh! Yeppers! And they happen in all four seasons.
Of course, they are harder to see under the midnight sun, The best time to see the northern lights in Alaska is between August and April, when less daylight leads to darker night skies.
Ah, you just mentioned the midnight sun. Smarty Pants, can you figure out what the midnight sun is?
Go ahead, take your best guess.
Here, I'll let Bowie explain.
During the midnight sun season, which runs from April 22nd to August 20th, the sun never seems to set.
Imagine that. For over two and a half months, there is no nighttime.
You can wake up in the middle of the night to find the sun shining brightly and people out and about doing things.
Fairbanks, Alaska has long been known as the land of the midnight sun. Whoa.
While no night might seem fun, it can make it difficult to go to sleep.
And since your body needs sleep, it can be a little tricky.
Speaking of tricky, have I got a funny question for you.
Which of the following is an actual law in Alaska?
A. No waking a sleeping bear to take a selfie.
B. No dropping a moose from an airplane.
C. No building a snowman taller than yourself.
D. Don't tie your dogs to the roof of your car.
Um, are you saying one of those crazy things is an actual law in Alaska?
Nope. I'm not saying one of those is a law in Alaska.
Because the answer is, they're all an actual law in Alaska.
Really? Really? Yepers.
In Alaska, it's illegal to wake a sleeping bear to take a selfie.
This law was put forward to protect hibernating bears, since tourists loved waltzing into their dens and disturbing the slumbering bears.
And moose and their droppings are banned from being flung out of planes and helicopters in the small town of Talkeetna in Alaska.
Which is a good thing.
Because a moose can grow to weigh 1 ,500 pounds.
You wouldn't want one falling on you.
No, I would not. But what about the law against tall snowmen?
As you can imagine, being so far up north, Alaska gets severe snowstorms. And it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between snowmen and actual kids covered in snow.
No. So, children aren't allowed to build snowmen taller than themselves.
And lastly, in Anchorage, Alaska, no dogs or any animals, in fact, can be tied to the roof of a vehicle unless it is protected by a secure container that will prevent it from being hurt.
Wow. Alaska is pretty weird. But it's good to know Alaskans feel strongly about protecting their wildlife, Which also means protecting its wilderness.
Definitely. And speaking of wilderness, did you know Alaska has more than 100 volcanoes, 12 ,000 rivers, and 3 million lakes?
I do now. What other facts do you have, Bowie?
Well, have you ever heard of the annual running of the bulls in Spain?
In Alaska, there's an annual running of the reindeers.
People come from all over the world to see if they can outrun the reindeers on the streets of Anchorage.
Wait, there are reindeer here in Alaska?
There sure are. Next, you'll tell me there's a Santa at a North Pole.
Well, there's no Santa here, but there is a North Pole in Alaska.
What? That can't be right.
The North Pole is in Alaska?
Yepers. Here, I'll tell you all about it.
Actually, hold that thought, Bowie, while we take a quick break.
Be right back. Hi, Smarty Pants.
It's the trusty narrator, the host of Who Smarted?
First, a big welcome to all our new listeners.
Welcome to the Smarty family.
Here's a nice five -star review from one of you.
Hi, Trusty. This is my new favorite podcast. I listen in the car with my sister and even before bed.
I'm telling all my friends too.
Sean P., Ohio. Thanks, Sean.
And that's a great idea.
So, Smarty fam, would you mind doing me a favor?
Tell one friend or another parent or an educator today about Who's Smarted?
Because the only thing that's better than listening to Who's Smarted is listening to Who Smarted with a friend.
Hey guys, it's Trusty.
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Now back to Who Smarted?
Smarty Pants, just a minute ago, our friend Bowie the beluga whale was about to tell us about the North Pole in Alaska.
But that can't be right.
Can it? Perhaps Booey has bumped their head on a few too many icebergs.
Well, while it is true I've bonked my head on a few icebergs, it is also true that there's a small Alaskan city near Fairbanks named North Pole.
Oh, I get it. What's it like, Booey?
Actually, I don't know.
I've always wanted to swim there and see it for myself.
But my grandma said those waters are too shallow and I'd get stuck.
Well, while you were talking, I just used my teleportation app to teleport there and back, and I have this to report.
North Pole, Alaska is known for its year -round Christmas decorations.
It also has a Santa Claus house that's the official home of Santa, and welcomes thousands and thousands of visitors from all over the world.
But it's actually nowhere near the real North Pole.
The real North Pole is actually in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.
Speaking of the Arctic Ocean, did you know Alaska has coastlines on three different seas?
The Arctic Ocean being one of them.
I did, Bowie. But let's see if the smarty pants can guess what the other two seas are.
Is it A, the Red Sea and the Black Sea?
B, the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea?
Or C, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Japan Or D, the North Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean Time's up.
Bowie, you swim these seas.
What's the answer? The answer is B, the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea.
Really great job if you got that one.
Did you hear that? Sounds like the ferry captain just signaled we're about to arrive in Alaska, which means my time out here in the water with Bowie is coming to an end.
It was great seeing you again, Bowie.
Great to see you too, trusty narrator.
And you too, Smarty Pants.
If you ever find yourself taking the ferry to Alaska on the Alaska Marine Highway, be sure to look for me, Bowie the Beluga Whale, or my friends the Humpback Whale, the Gray Whale, the Finn Whale, and the occasional Blue or Sperm Whales.
There's also orcas, but they're less friendly to whales.
Either way, the best time to see us is between May and September.
Bye now! Bye -bye, Bowie, and bye -bye nighttime.
With this midnight sun, I might need a pair of sunglasses to sleep.
I wear my sunglasses at night.
A double dose of shout -out to my smarty pals Nathaniel and Matthew in Uxbridge, Massachusetts.
Juicits. You told us who smart it is fun, makes you laugh and helps you learn all kinds of different things.
Sounds like you two hit the smarty trifecta.
Thanks guys. This episode Alaska was written by Jody Du and voiced by Melissa Del Toro, Max Kamaski and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Who Smart It is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex -Davis.
Whosmarted was created and produced by Adam Tex -Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
