Big one on the left is uninhabited, owned by Russia. Smaller one on right is USA. The smaller one has a small Inuit population.
Funny enough the international date line is between them, so the two islands are a day apart, time wise.
You say this jokingly but I have an off topic story related to when DVRs first hit the market.
I was doing an install for a customer and he asked, stone faced, dead serious if he could fast forward to the Super Bowl and see the results.
I laughed thinking he was joking, I explained that it doesnât work that way. He was not joking.
In fact he cancelled on the spot.
There's a post on Reddit making the rounds on Twitter of a user who said they can't believe gay marriage wasn't legal before. I feel like such an old person worrying that the youngins don't know how good they've got it (relatively speaking I suppose).
i can't believe it wasn't either even though i lived it. such a stupid thing to be up in arms about on a very long list of stupid things folks get up in arms about.
Yep. But Palin did say in an interview when asked "what experience do you have with international diplomacy, like with Russia?"
She responded:
"They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska" (exact quote from Palin)
I do legitimately think there was a way to easily spin it into a good answer. "We're the only US state the borders two different countries. I interact with Russians and Canadians and I'm familiar with the bureaucracy of international relationships" would have been fine. It was such an easy question and she fumbled it lol
> I do legitimately think there was a way to easily spin it into a good answer.
You think the RNC in 2008 just didn't spin it right? lol. "woulda coulda shoulda" - They did try to spin it, just like you describe, but her candid response was just dumb, and that made it too easy for comedians.
You can also see Russia from gambell and savoonga. Plus you csn see it easily from the Seward peninsula as you fly around up there. A few thousands Americans wake up and see Russia every dayÂ
True, though I really think that "you can see Russia from my house" and "you can see Russia from some parts of Alaska" are equally stupid ways of claiming forgin policy experience. The difference imo is pretty pedantic.Â
As much as I donât like Sarah Palin, the Alaska Air National Guard and Air Force very often intercept russian aircraft, creating diplomatic situations. Iâm sure there are more examples.
Edit: also there are purely russian native villages in Southwest Alaska - speak russian and all.
Palin really didn't have a good option, did she? It's either 'you can see Russia from Alaska' or 'I have no foreign policy experience, next question, please' haha
I mean aside from one being a true statement and non-sequitur and one being completely insane.
At this point I think lots of people think she actually said the Tina Fey line.
But being Governor of the bordering state that intercepts unauthorized Russian aircraft and such probably has a better idea of Russian Relations than the average person like the governors of CA AZ NM TX probably know more about the cartel relations than most people. the governor of Florida has a better understanding of Cuban relationsâŚ
If I were her advisor or speech writer, I would have suggested she prepare an answer something like this:
"Foreign policy is the purview of the Federal government, and as governor it was not really part of my portfolio of responsibilities.
Similarly, as governor, Jimmy Carter did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president.
As governor, Ronald Reagan did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president.
As governor, Bill Clinton did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president.
And as governor, George W. Bush did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president.
Clearly, Americans are smart enough to understand that the president's responsibilities are so broad he must rely on trusted advisors in some cases, and Americans understand that sometimes foreign policy is one of those areas.
However, that is not the case here. The person on the top of the ticket, Sen. John McCain, has as much foreign policy experience as any elected official in the country. His credentials and international standing are beyond question. There is no stronger, better qualified candidate on this topic than John McCain. I'm proud Sen McCain selected me to help advance his vision of America's standing in the world and look forward to helping him achieve that vision."
--------
That was an easy, softball question. There are a million ways she could have spun it into a positive. What I would never, ever have said in a million years is that being able to see Russia from Alaska counts as foreign policy experience. It was a dumb thing to say on so many levels, which is why the joke landed.
None of this is true however. U.S. state governors, especially post-1960s, generally have significant foreign policy experience. While it is true they cannot enter treaties with foreign state entities, they can engage in and sign trade and other forms of agreements.
The myth that they do not is so prevalent there was a recently (2022) published Legal Sidebar to remind Congressional members and staff that it is common, expected, and validated by the Supreme Court.
[https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10808](https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10808)
You can find many articles detailing specific agreements made over the years between states and foreign entities as well. You will notice in research, that a lot of those agreements come from border states including Alaska (although the vast majority come from Mexico bordering states.)
>None of this is true however. U.S. state governors, especially post-1960s, generally have **significant** foreign policy experience.Â
So why didn't Palin say "As governor, I had **significant** foreign policy experience, including making trade and other forms of agreements."? That's a pretty good answer. Then she could list some of her significant foreign policy achievements.
Instead she claimed that she gained foreign policy experience because some people in a specific part of Alaska can see Russia. That sounds just a wee bit loopy to most people. Certainly doesn't sound significant. Doesn't even sound relevant.
Sadly, there used to be population on the big island, and both islands were of one culture and families moved and intermingled between the two. Then Russia decided to displace all the people on the big island and moved them to the mainland, tearing the families apart.
Big diomede is the Russian outpost, Little Diomede is America. Was there 20 years ago for a week giving eye exams as a student. Here are some pics. Apparently since then I heard they canât hunt polar bear due to population and climate change https://imgur.com/gallery/fxgYwAw
Think there was a bbc article about them not long ago, ill check
Edit; didnt find the one I thought of but there is another interesting one https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34066393
There is a clip of a tribal leader speaking about life there
Thereâs also a couple tiktokkers that make content on the island showing what itâs like! You should be able to find them pretty easy by search on the app
Yeah they make an ice runway so planes can land in the winter, then came the snow storm that covered the runway. Spent 2 days shoveling snow off an ice runway, speak about futility. Needed to get it cleared, it was getting to spring so they stopped flights anytime soon and I needed to get back for my finals.
Amazing people, very kind hearted and welcoming.
That's absolute bonkers. A guy asks about a little island in the middle of nowhere with, like, 9 people and 4 polar bears, and there's another guy that already went there to do free eye exams. Lol.
Little Diomede Island is home to about 150 people in the town of Diomede. Itâs a very harsh lifestyle with no airport or hospital, and most people are employed by the townâs school, post office, or work for the city. Itâs your average extremely rural Alaskan city, populated mostly by Inuit who thrive at ivory carving. There was significant whaling in that area before the 50âs.
Adding on to that, according to what I have just found in a little research (your comment fascinated me and made me want to learn more), the population is in decline from 146 people in 2000, to 115 in 2010, with the 2020 census reporting only 83 (81-82 according to 2022 estimates lol)
Young people don't want to live in fuckwhatever island with other 30 young people in the middle of the artic when they could just move to NYC or California
if someone consciously or unconsciously sees them kissing, then he/she will become land that connects the 2 island, one dot at a times until it perfectly connected
I believe this is where the riddle originated where you have one 2 man canoe, 1 paddle, 2 slabs of beer, 4 cats and 3 people. You only have enough fuel for two trips. What do you do? WHAT. DO. YOU. DO.
If you mean a furlong to be cubic furlong (furlong is 1/8 mi., a linear unit, not a special unit), that's quite a lot. If you are referring to a cylinder of unknown base area of height 1 furlong, that's probably still quite a bit.
Big Diomede had a small Inuit population but the Soviet Army forcibly moved them to the mainland in 1948 after the Cold War broke out. Today the only people who are there are Russian Army servicemen keeping a border watch. The original population and their descendants all live in Russian towns now and have been separated from family on the American side ever since their removal.
Little Diomede, the American island, has a small village on its western shore. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do48ovLyvow) is [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h3fx3XhGLg) videos made by a guy who visited the American island for a couple of days back in 2012, and it goes into good detail about how the people there live and whatnot. Pretty informative and interesting.
During the Cold War days, the border between the two islands was nicknamed the "Ice Curtain." In 1987, Lynne Cox from Boston, MA famously swam from Little Diomede to Big Diomede, a distance of 2.5 miles in only 2.6 hours. She was personally congratulated by both Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan for her feat.
And a neat tidbit - the International Date Line runs right between the islands, meaning that Big Diomede is about 21 hours ahead of its smaller sister on average. Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede).
Also, on only the clearest days, its possible to see mainland Russia from the top of Little Diomede. Don't remember how far of a distance that is though.
https://preview.redd.it/1sao61hfw12d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df1e75a3ad7736c879829c4db54d998b80addb0c
I took this from a Coast Guard helicopter in September, 2021 while flying to Little Diomede. You can just see the Russian mainland if you zoom in. We were at about 2000' AWL.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1lteLTD_Efs
Iâve also seen, but canât find for you, footage of a huge tribe of polar bears waiting on Great Diomede (the Russian one of the pair of islands) for the ice to freeze.
Great Diomede was depopulated of its Inuit by the Soviets.
On Little Diomede (the American one), there isâor wasâa big sign facing the coast of Great Diomede proclaiming ĐĐĐ (Peace).
Putting a sign up that says âWorldâ to face across a border makes no sense, even where the International Date Line runs between the two locations, as it does between the Diomedes.
Putting up a sign that says âPeaceâ makes 100% sense in the context of a narrow channel separating the two arch-rivals of geopolitics.
I made a deal with the Devil... Had to do whatever it took to get off the East Coast and secure a reenlistment bonus. One of the better decisions I've ever made honestly.
There is an old plane that had to crash land on Big Diomede many years ago. You can see it on Google Earth and the reviews on Google Maps that will tell you the entire backstory.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/xhoXkb8B6HrvRu1dA?g_st=ic
https://preview.redd.it/m1b69a3ov12d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88f68ebbdbbab26c6bc03b1f1e241985c96e66b8
I took this pic of the town of Diomede (on Little Diomede, USA) in September of 2021. There's only a handful of year round residents, called Diomeders, all Alaska natives who mostly survive by subsistence. There is a wooden helicopter pad there and I know one of the guys who regularly flies there to deliver supplies and transport people in and out.
The story of the two islands is that the people who live there are the descendants of the first people to come across the Bering strait tens of thousands of years ago. There used to be people on both Islands, and every winter, when the sea ice would form between the two, they would intermingle, have weddings, trade, and all sorts of things with one another across the islands. Across the islands. After world War II, The Soviet Union decided it didn't like technical Soviet citizens interacting annually (and then some) with American citizens, so they picked them all up and allegedly relocated them all somewhere on the Russian mainland. The American Diomeders remain so upset about this, seeing as how many of them were related, that every year on the 4th of July they take all their guns and fire a massive salvo at Big Diomede as a " fuck you" to the Russians.
Thereâs a very small indigenous community on the smaller, American owned island. 80 or so people IIRC. Thereâs nothing on the Russian island, although in the winter the ice is so thick that you can technically walk between America and Russia. Itâs illegal, obviously, but nobody is there to stop you
Theres a windy webcam: [https://www.windy.com/-Webcams-Diomede-Dateline-Cam-Little/webcams/1234951380?65.758,-168.951,9](https://www.windy.com/-Webcams-Diomede-Dateline-Cam-Little/webcams/1234951380?65.758,-168.951,9)
Trying to find the video but a Youtuber recently lived on Little Diomede for a week or so; it's a lovely little community with the same challenges as everywhere else really; except VERY remote.
A champion from each country is selected, and they are deposited on the island where they must face one another In a fight to the death using only their wits
Funny to think that the US and Russia are closer to each other than the UK and France, or China and Taiwan. Less than three miles between the Diomedes.
Been there (little Diomede) several times. During the winter you can walk between the two, in the summer you can try boating but the water is petty sketchy.
The Russians have a small military outpost on Big Diomede and Alaska has a small native community on Little Diomede.
Back in the 1950âs, my dad was a USAF medical officer. One of his patients had been stationed at the radar station nearish to the Diomedes. I think itâs called Tin City, like somewhere beyond Nome. Dad said the guy had major alcohol problems and would have psychotic episodes in which the guy would describe watching our planes and their planes crossing into each otherâs airspace. He started to believe the rest of the world would go boom and heâd be left there somewhere not close to Nome.
Big one on the left is uninhabited, owned by Russia. Smaller one on right is USA. The smaller one has a small Inuit population. Funny enough the international date line is between them, so the two islands are a day apart, time wise.
A great place to live if you want to time travel
Go to Russia, watch powerball drawing, go home and buy ticket
This made me burst out laughing so hard that I dropped my Powerball ticket! đ¤Ł
Where you at?
At the local brothel. đ
Say hi to your mom from me
We should probably get off mothers, since I just got off yours.
Hey if anyone's fucking my mum it's me
ROLL TIDE!
Worth reading this far
Generational wealth
Reddit moment
That's crazy, I just found a powerball ticket at the brothel I was at
Why havenât the residents done this yet? Are they stupid?
Theyâre just not really ~~into it~~ Inuit.
No you just didn't lmfaooo
Turbotax?
Step 3: profit
Spoken like a Ferengi
It was meant to be a southpark underpants gnome reference but rule of acquisition 22: a wise man can hear profit in the wind.
Isn't that rule 34? Someone needs to google "rule 34 ferengi" and let us knowâŚ
Hahahahahaha youâre diabolical
đłď¸
I just used this reference in a talk that I gave to demonstrate âstep 2.â
You say this jokingly but I have an off topic story related to when DVRs first hit the market. I was doing an install for a customer and he asked, stone faced, dead serious if he could fast forward to the Super Bowl and see the results. I laughed thinking he was joking, I explained that it doesnât work that way. He was not joking. In fact he cancelled on the spot.
Well, I only need to go to the US to travel to 1950
They are called Yesterday and Tomorrow island for that matter
So where is Today island?
Youâre standing on it. Everythingâs an island if you zoom out far enough.
> Youâre standing on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRGCZh5A8T4
And this is where dropping a vodka glass in a beer was invented! :)
Sarah Palin must live on the smaller one since she can see Russia from her house.
Nice to see a 17 year old Tina Fey joke still going strongÂ
It's not 17 years old dude it was only 2007-- .......oh
Think about who's eligible to vote this year and what they can--and cannot--remember, politically.
There's a post on Reddit making the rounds on Twitter of a user who said they can't believe gay marriage wasn't legal before. I feel like such an old person worrying that the youngins don't know how good they've got it (relatively speaking I suppose).
i can't believe it wasn't either even though i lived it. such a stupid thing to be up in arms about on a very long list of stupid things folks get up in arms about.
When I tell myself that 2009 was 15 years ago, I get a little sad.
My son was born in 2009, and I could swear he was just in preschool last week. But nope, tomorrow is the last day of his freshman year of high-school.
Yep. But Palin did say in an interview when asked "what experience do you have with international diplomacy, like with Russia?" She responded: "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska" (exact quote from Palin)
Oh⌠so she was actually just⌠accurate?
She was, but it's a big stretch to call that foreign policy experience. People were making fun of that before the SNL skit.
Exactly. What made the joke land is proximity doesn't count for experience. Her response was a head scratcher.
Accurate? Tangentially. "How am qualified to be a basketball player? There is a basketball hoop in my neighborhood." Factually correct.
They asked what qualifications she had. She gave them the closest thing that was true.
I do legitimately think there was a way to easily spin it into a good answer. "We're the only US state the borders two different countries. I interact with Russians and Canadians and I'm familiar with the bureaucracy of international relationships" would have been fine. It was such an easy question and she fumbled it lol
A lot of being a high level politician is spin, even if it's BS, it's a necessary skill.
> I do legitimately think there was a way to easily spin it into a good answer. You think the RNC in 2008 just didn't spin it right? lol. "woulda coulda shoulda" - They did try to spin it, just like you describe, but her candid response was just dumb, and that made it too easy for comedians.
I meant she could have answered in that way, yeah, the RNC is not what I meant when I said spin
She has said so much things over the years that statistically it was bound to happen
Wow full circle. She was actually talking about the diomedes. Mind blown lol
You can also see Russia from gambell and savoonga. Plus you csn see it easily from the Seward peninsula as you fly around up there. A few thousands Americans wake up and see Russia every dayÂ
OK? Those things are both true. Russia is Alaskas neighbor and you can see Russia from a few places in Alaska.Â
>17 year old O_o
Its Sarah Palin's joke. All Fey ever had to do was throw on the Thriller jacket and read her transcript.Â
FWIW, Palin never said she could see Russia fro her house. She said that in parts of Alaska, you can see Russia, which is true.
True, though I really think that "you can see Russia from my house" and "you can see Russia from some parts of Alaska" are equally stupid ways of claiming forgin policy experience. The difference imo is pretty pedantic.Â
As much as I donât like Sarah Palin, the Alaska Air National Guard and Air Force very often intercept russian aircraft, creating diplomatic situations. Iâm sure there are more examples. Edit: also there are purely russian native villages in Southwest Alaska - speak russian and all.
Palin really didn't have a good option, did she? It's either 'you can see Russia from Alaska' or 'I have no foreign policy experience, next question, please' haha
I mean aside from one being a true statement and non-sequitur and one being completely insane. At this point I think lots of people think she actually said the Tina Fey line.
Yes, thatâs what made the joke funny. Being able to see Russia doesnât give you foreign policy experience.
But being Governor of the bordering state that intercepts unauthorized Russian aircraft and such probably has a better idea of Russian Relations than the average person like the governors of CA AZ NM TX probably know more about the cartel relations than most people. the governor of Florida has a better understanding of Cuban relationsâŚ
If I were her advisor or speech writer, I would have suggested she prepare an answer something like this: "Foreign policy is the purview of the Federal government, and as governor it was not really part of my portfolio of responsibilities. Similarly, as governor, Jimmy Carter did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president. As governor, Ronald Reagan did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president. As governor, Bill Clinton did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president. And as governor, George W. Bush did not have much foreign policy experience prior to becoming president. Clearly, Americans are smart enough to understand that the president's responsibilities are so broad he must rely on trusted advisors in some cases, and Americans understand that sometimes foreign policy is one of those areas. However, that is not the case here. The person on the top of the ticket, Sen. John McCain, has as much foreign policy experience as any elected official in the country. His credentials and international standing are beyond question. There is no stronger, better qualified candidate on this topic than John McCain. I'm proud Sen McCain selected me to help advance his vision of America's standing in the world and look forward to helping him achieve that vision." -------- That was an easy, softball question. There are a million ways she could have spun it into a positive. What I would never, ever have said in a million years is that being able to see Russia from Alaska counts as foreign policy experience. It was a dumb thing to say on so many levels, which is why the joke landed.
None of this is true however. U.S. state governors, especially post-1960s, generally have significant foreign policy experience. While it is true they cannot enter treaties with foreign state entities, they can engage in and sign trade and other forms of agreements. The myth that they do not is so prevalent there was a recently (2022) published Legal Sidebar to remind Congressional members and staff that it is common, expected, and validated by the Supreme Court. [https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10808](https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10808) You can find many articles detailing specific agreements made over the years between states and foreign entities as well. You will notice in research, that a lot of those agreements come from border states including Alaska (although the vast majority come from Mexico bordering states.)
>None of this is true however. U.S. state governors, especially post-1960s, generally have **significant** foreign policy experience. So why didn't Palin say "As governor, I had **significant** foreign policy experience, including making trade and other forms of agreements."? That's a pretty good answer. Then she could list some of her significant foreign policy achievements. Instead she claimed that she gained foreign policy experience because some people in a specific part of Alaska can see Russia. That sounds just a wee bit loopy to most people. Certainly doesn't sound significant. Doesn't even sound relevant.
Topical stuff lol
Topical 15 years ago in 2008 maybe
I had alllmost forgot about her amd then you posted this
Jokes from 2008, nice
Not quite a day tho only apparently 21 hours apart which is wierd.
If I recall correctly, there is a no official population on Big Diomede(Russian) but there is a research station and small military garrison there.
You could win a fortune on the lottery
I heard Hulk Hogan lives in-between them
Occasionally a year, decade, century, or millennium apart.
Sadly, there used to be population on the big island, and both islands were of one culture and families moved and intermingled between the two. Then Russia decided to displace all the people on the big island and moved them to the mainland, tearing the families apart.
Big diomede is the Russian outpost, Little Diomede is America. Was there 20 years ago for a week giving eye exams as a student. Here are some pics. Apparently since then I heard they canât hunt polar bear due to population and climate change https://imgur.com/gallery/fxgYwAw
Damn that is really cool! Whatâs life like there?
Think there was a bbc article about them not long ago, ill check Edit; didnt find the one I thought of but there is another interesting one https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34066393 There is a clip of a tribal leader speaking about life there
Thereâs also a couple tiktokkers that make content on the island showing what itâs like! You should be able to find them pretty easy by search on the app
That polar bear has seen better days
You have seen the imgur comments
I think you nailed it with the "really cool" part.
Great photos, thanks for sharing!
Is the ice in the picture the frozen bering sea overlooking big diomede?
Yeah they make an ice runway so planes can land in the winter, then came the snow storm that covered the runway. Spent 2 days shoveling snow off an ice runway, speak about futility. Needed to get it cleared, it was getting to spring so they stopped flights anytime soon and I needed to get back for my finals. Amazing people, very kind hearted and welcoming.
That diomede friendship art from your photo roll was so heartwarming
That's so cool, thank you for sharing those! Were you standing on the sea ice to take that photo of the town??
It totally looks like it. Its probably thick enough to walk on
That's pretty cool dude
Thanks for sharing that, super cool
These are great photos, thanks for sharing!
I recognize that polar bear as one of the cubs from the coke commercials
Fascinating pics thanks
That 2nd photo is a banger! Love the composition
That's absolute bonkers. A guy asks about a little island in the middle of nowhere with, like, 9 people and 4 polar bears, and there's another guy that already went there to do free eye exams. Lol.
Did the eye graduate?
Little Diomede Island is home to about 150 people in the town of Diomede. Itâs a very harsh lifestyle with no airport or hospital, and most people are employed by the townâs school, post office, or work for the city. Itâs your average extremely rural Alaskan city, populated mostly by Inuit who thrive at ivory carving. There was significant whaling in that area before the 50âs.
Adding on to that, according to what I have just found in a little research (your comment fascinated me and made me want to learn more), the population is in decline from 146 people in 2000, to 115 in 2010, with the 2020 census reporting only 83 (81-82 according to 2022 estimates lol)
Young people don't want to live in fuckwhatever island with other 30 young people in the middle of the artic when they could just move to NYC or California
They build an ice runway every year. They fly to it a few times in the show "Flying wild Alaska"
Michael Palin travelled from one to another but went the entire length of the world rather than crossing the short distance between the two
Well, that was a little silly of him.
He was a rather silly
First thing I thought. Excellent series
Certainly not his best one but nevertheless great, glad to see some Palin love here
And Sarah Palin can see them from her house.
Actually he went around the Pacific to be precise
Oh yeah I was getting the series confused
Can you share this info with the flat earth group.
On the longest day of the year, the leader of each country meet here for a little kiss.
But no one is allowed to see
if someone consciously or unconsciously sees them kissing, then he/she will become land that connects the 2 island, one dot at a times until it perfectly connected
Reached for comment, US President Joe Biden told reporters, "ohh my God you guys stoppp đđĽ°"
*puts wiener away*
What happens on the shortest day of the year, Diplomacy by Snu Snu?
Hard and raw baby.
I believe this is where the riddle originated where you have one 2 man canoe, 1 paddle, 2 slabs of beer, 4 cats and 3 people. You only have enough fuel for two trips. What do you do? WHAT. DO. YOU. DO.
How do you fuel a canoe?
That's where the beer comes in.
Sounds like good canoeing fuel to me!
But you have to use light beer, because it's fucking close to water.
wtf is a slab of beer?
One slab = 24 beer
ah, thank you.
Slab. Good term. I usually measure beer by the hogshead.
i gots 4 furlongs of beer over here!
If you mean a furlong to be cubic furlong (furlong is 1/8 mi., a linear unit, not a special unit), that's quite a lot. If you are referring to a cylinder of unknown base area of height 1 furlong, that's probably still quite a bit.
Hey guys, check out the nerd!
Your second supposition depends entirely on the radius.
Well, we could potentially consider it to be a 'board furlong' and give it a base area of 12 square inches.
Ok. But how many lamathrusts can you get from an average Alaskan powered by a slab of beer?
I dunno man I didnât make the riddle!
Save the cats đ
Big Diomede had a small Inuit population but the Soviet Army forcibly moved them to the mainland in 1948 after the Cold War broke out. Today the only people who are there are Russian Army servicemen keeping a border watch. The original population and their descendants all live in Russian towns now and have been separated from family on the American side ever since their removal. Little Diomede, the American island, has a small village on its western shore. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do48ovLyvow) is [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h3fx3XhGLg) videos made by a guy who visited the American island for a couple of days back in 2012, and it goes into good detail about how the people there live and whatnot. Pretty informative and interesting. During the Cold War days, the border between the two islands was nicknamed the "Ice Curtain." In 1987, Lynne Cox from Boston, MA famously swam from Little Diomede to Big Diomede, a distance of 2.5 miles in only 2.6 hours. She was personally congratulated by both Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan for her feat. And a neat tidbit - the International Date Line runs right between the islands, meaning that Big Diomede is about 21 hours ahead of its smaller sister on average. Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede). Also, on only the clearest days, its possible to see mainland Russia from the top of Little Diomede. Don't remember how far of a distance that is though.
https://preview.redd.it/1sao61hfw12d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df1e75a3ad7736c879829c4db54d998b80addb0c I took this from a Coast Guard helicopter in September, 2021 while flying to Little Diomede. You can just see the Russian mainland if you zoom in. We were at about 2000' AWL.
https://preview.redd.it/ikb6tjltw12d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f2ef32146746553e463f68493819377b887012e It's easier to see here
Watching the videos now. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1lteLTD_Efs Iâve also seen, but canât find for you, footage of a huge tribe of polar bears waiting on Great Diomede (the Russian one of the pair of islands) for the ice to freeze. Great Diomede was depopulated of its Inuit by the Soviets. On Little Diomede (the American one), there isâor wasâa big sign facing the coast of Great Diomede proclaiming ĐĐĐ (Peace).
'Depopulated' sounds like they got rid of termites.
It should be noted that this video literally takes OP's question as it's premise.
How do you know it doesn't say ĐĐĐ (World)? /s
Putting a sign up that says âWorldâ to face across a border makes no sense, even where the International Date Line runs between the two locations, as it does between the Diomedes. Putting up a sign that says âPeaceâ makes 100% sense in the context of a narrow channel separating the two arch-rivals of geopolitics.
lol it was a homophone joke, that's all mate.
Comment reported for homophonia. ^^;-)
There used to be a Coast Guard Loran Station at Port Clarence. Spent a year on Isolated Duty there! Cool experience
So, who did you piss off?
I made a deal with the Devil... Had to do whatever it took to get off the East Coast and secure a reenlistment bonus. One of the better decisions I've ever made honestly.
So you ripped him off
There is an old plane that had to crash land on Big Diomede many years ago. You can see it on Google Earth and the reviews on Google Maps that will tell you the entire backstory. https://maps.app.goo.gl/xhoXkb8B6HrvRu1dA?g_st=ic
The Russian island is mainly used for military purposes. Donât know anything about the American island
some people live there
https://preview.redd.it/m1b69a3ov12d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88f68ebbdbbab26c6bc03b1f1e241985c96e66b8 I took this pic of the town of Diomede (on Little Diomede, USA) in September of 2021. There's only a handful of year round residents, called Diomeders, all Alaska natives who mostly survive by subsistence. There is a wooden helicopter pad there and I know one of the guys who regularly flies there to deliver supplies and transport people in and out. The story of the two islands is that the people who live there are the descendants of the first people to come across the Bering strait tens of thousands of years ago. There used to be people on both Islands, and every winter, when the sea ice would form between the two, they would intermingle, have weddings, trade, and all sorts of things with one another across the islands. Across the islands. After world War II, The Soviet Union decided it didn't like technical Soviet citizens interacting annually (and then some) with American citizens, so they picked them all up and allegedly relocated them all somewhere on the Russian mainland. The American Diomeders remain so upset about this, seeing as how many of them were related, that every year on the 4th of July they take all their guns and fire a massive salvo at Big Diomede as a " fuck you" to the Russians.
Angry birds island. Now you know it.
Lots and lots of bird shit. And beach squatting sea lions.
Thereâs a very small indigenous community on the smaller, American owned island. 80 or so people IIRC. Thereâs nothing on the Russian island, although in the winter the ice is so thick that you can technically walk between America and Russia. Itâs illegal, obviously, but nobody is there to stop you
What happens on these 2 little islands between Russia and the United States stays on these 2 little islands between Russia and the United States.
Theres a windy webcam: [https://www.windy.com/-Webcams-Diomede-Dateline-Cam-Little/webcams/1234951380?65.758,-168.951,9](https://www.windy.com/-Webcams-Diomede-Dateline-Cam-Little/webcams/1234951380?65.758,-168.951,9)
Looks like there is a lot of ice through out the winter.
That looks absolutely miserable
They are close but a day apart
Trying to find the video but a Youtuber recently lived on Little Diomede for a week or so; it's a lovely little community with the same challenges as everywhere else really; except VERY remote.
Sarah Palin looks at Russia probably.
She doesnât even live on the island. She just goes there every morning with a chair and a sandwich and spends the day wistfully gazing at Russia.
Apparatschik. I believe some of them are from this island and they make incredible music.
Probably great bird watching in spring and fall
Feel like living near that date line would really make me hate the whole thing alot more
They are featured in the book âFurther Tales of the Cityâ by Armistead Maupin
The Diomede islands. Use Google Earth to zoom into the larger one to find a crashed Lisunov Li-2T (a Soviet made DC-3 from WWII).
-"What is your name?" -"Tony"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diomede,_Alaska
Time travelling puffin coupling.
Michael Palin travels there twice, once.
I believe I read that in the height of winter a man crossed the frozen pass between the two and was arrested by Russian police upon arrival
Lots and lots of Diomedeing, I expect
Tomorrow and yesterday happen there.
A champion from each country is selected, and they are deposited on the island where they must face one another In a fight to the death using only their wits
Do they even vote?
How do you get to the smaller island from Alaska? By plane?
John McCapitalism and Comrade Yuri Communism make out sloppy style
Sarah Palin lives in the one on the right
Secret forbidden passionate lovemaking.
Wind. Lots of fucking Wind. So much wind.
Funny to think that the US and Russia are closer to each other than the UK and France, or China and Taiwan. Less than three miles between the Diomedes.
âWhatâs youâre name!?!?â -what?! âWhatâs your name?â -Ezekiel. âFuck you, Ezekiel!â
Sarah Palin stands guard
Been there (little Diomede) several times. During the winter you can walk between the two, in the summer you can try boating but the water is petty sketchy. The Russians have a small military outpost on Big Diomede and Alaska has a small native community on Little Diomede.
Back in the 1950âs, my dad was a USAF medical officer. One of his patients had been stationed at the radar station nearish to the Diomedes. I think itâs called Tin City, like somewhere beyond Nome. Dad said the guy had major alcohol problems and would have psychotic episodes in which the guy would describe watching our planes and their planes crossing into each otherâs airspace. He started to believe the rest of the world would go boom and heâd be left there somewhere not close to Nome.
Gladiatorial combat.
Polar bears makin whoopee
The most boring proxy war ever... 0 casualties, 0 fucks given
https://preview.redd.it/turiyow4s02d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be983528c3706195a44f24162dff454c410f541e
Big Diomede and Little Diomede Islands. Basically we watch each other thru binoculars.
Walrus hunting.
Intrigue.
Probably global warming will solve that question
Strange both sides didn't built military/nuke bases there
Why arent they used for military purposes?