Ten things you never knew about...

Alaska

Today is Alaska Day in the US state of Alaska, marking the transfer of the Territory of Alaska from Russia to the United States on October 18, 1867. 1. The United States paid Russia $7.2million for Alaska, which is just under twice the budget for the 1960 film North To Alaska.

2. Alaska is the only US state whose name can be typed on a single row of a standard keyboard.

3. The state land mammal of Alaska is the moose.

4. Under Alaskan law, wanton waste of a moose carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Taking the antlers without salvaging all the edible meat constitutes “wanton waste”.

5. Waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is also prohibited in Alaska.

6. The state sport of Alaska is dog mushing, which is racing on sleds pulled by dogs.

7. Of the 20 highest mountains in the US, 17 are in Alaska.

8. The Alaskan coastline is 6,640 miles long, which is longer than all the other US coastlines together.

9. Alaska is about 55 miles from mainland Russia and about 500 miles from the rest of the US.

10. The town of Talkeetna, Alaska, used to hold a Moose Dropping Festival, dropping pieces of moose poo by crane onto a target. It became too popular for the town and was last held in 2009.