Alaska: Public Service Announcement

[ysr_racer]

I post a lot about Alaska because I consider it to be one of America's most beautiful states, and Grouse Ridge Sporting Clays in Wasilla (just outside of Anchorage) to be one of the best sporting clays clubs I've ever visited.

So when an Alaska project opened up at work, I jumped at the chance to be part of it.

Fast forward to last week: We had a bunch of tee shirts printed up with "North to Alaska".

A group of people couldn't understand why we'd use the "North to Alaska" logo. I explained to them that we (the company I work for) are expanding to Alaska. It was met with blank expressions, and scorn.

When I asked them what the problem was, one of them pulled out a map similar to this. Now when I post about Alaska you guys know it's not down by Mexico, right

[essjay]

As someone who's been working heavily with maps for the past decade: Most people are pretty stupid when it come to anything map or geography-related.

[DougJ]

Wow, i could see one poor pathetic idiot, but a whole group? How do these people get through grade school?

As it happens, I'm up (or down?) in Homer right now. I hope I don't get lost on the way back...

[DoddRod]

With Alaska and Hawaii being so close to the mainland, I bet ehyre pissed that they have to pay so much extra for everything and never get the free shipping deals!!

[Rider1k]

Wait a min. So you're saying Alaska isn't just below Arizona? The weather is exactly the same.

[P5Ret]

Wait Alaska is not just off the beach in Arizona? I'm going to have to rethink my vacation plan.

[Click Boom]

That is truly pathetic.

[tmh1]

Watching the tube last week, I learned that Alaska is not only the northern-most U.S. state, but also the western-most and eastern-most

How? Well, the Aleutians cross the 180 deg meridian, putting some of them into the Eastern Hemisphere!

[AKexpat]

I lived in Alaska for 35 years before retiring to WA State.

I had not seen that map before. All of the other ones I've seen show it just offshore of WA/OR as an island.

[CandG]

Wait Alaska is not just off the beach in Arizona? I'm going to have to rethink my vacation plan.

Thanks, I just spit beer all over my keyboard

I've never seen a map where alaska was off the coast of OR/WA, it's always either where it's supposed to be (in a world/north america map), or exactly where the map in the OP shows it... just off the coast of arizona, slightly east of where hawaii is located, in baja california.

Dang, I was always wondering what a fight between a polar bear and a gila moster would look like, I guess I'll never know.

[anti]

As someone who's been working heavily with maps for the past decade: Most people are pretty stupid when it come to anything map or geography-related.

You're telling me. I'm not a cartographer or anything but as a kid I always liked flipping to the back of my schoolbooks to look at the maps. For some reason they always interested me. It's surprising how a lot of people don't know where anything is; makes you wonder how they ever find their way around.

[bigbearbear]

Reminds me of this commercial.

[riceman]

A funny thread. Thanks for the laughs guys.
A song by Johnny Horton in 1960 featured in a movie of the same name with Big John Wayne.
Now you know how old I am, maybe or is it wikipedia.

[Vekid]

[Steve_In_29]

And those were the "smarter" stupid people that actually graduated from High School I bet.