Did you know that there's a town in Alaska with 220 residents who all live in the same 14-story building? Indeed, the tiny southwestern town of Whittier, which sees roughly 22 feet of snow each year, is like a secluded world of its own. The town's school, hospital, church, city government, and even a grocery store are all housed in the 14-story Begich Towers Incorporated. Rumor has it that some folks have not stepped outside BTI for weeks, months and possibly even years. Interestingly, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links the Seward Highway south of Anchorage with Whittier and is the only land access to the town Residents work in commercial fishing, tourism, and recreation, or for the state ferry and railroad. Most of them have homes in the tower, as though they were occupying separate bedrooms in one huge house. How interesting is that? Picture everyone in your town or city living in the same building. It's hard to fathom, isn't it? I can only imagi...

If you were to pick a U.S. state you think people generally know little to nothing about, which one comes to mind?  If you're like me, Alaska, which became the 49th state in 1959, is a sure contender. Alaska is derived from the Aleut word "alyeska," which stands for "great land." On this day in 1867, the United States formally took possession of what became the largest state in the country after buying the territory from Russia for $7.2 million. Most people assume Texas is the largest U.S. state, but Alaska is roughly twice the size of the Lone Star State in area and about one-fifth the size of the contiguous 48 states combined. So why would Russia want to sell its Alaska territory in the first place? For starters, it was remote, sparsely populated, and hard to defend. Russia preferred selling it to the United States than risk losing it in battle with a rival like Great Britain. Negotiations between secretary of state William Seward and the Russian m...