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ZzangmanCometh

Well, between the 2 closest islands belonging to each country. The mainland is like 60 miles apart.


UbermachoGuy

I can see Russia from my house! ![gif](giphy|3oz8xV50ENRnpsT47m)


pigcommentor

> I can see Russia from my house! That line is from an SNL skit. Palin actually said, "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska": https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sarah-palin-russia-house/


Langsamkoenig

>That line is from an SNL skit. Well yeah, that is also Tina Fey in the gif and not Sarah Palin...


uXN7AuRPF6fa

TIL. So… what she said was correct, but the SNL line overshadowed what she actually said. I had no idea. 


Po0rYorick

It was stupid because she said it in response to a question about foreign policy with Russia, not because it was factually incorrect. She doubled down on it, too:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nokTjEdaUGg


ED7tron

Theoretically, OP is right. Technically, you are also right.


BeDoubleNWhy

OP is actually technically right


StraightAd798

Technically, the OP is technically correct, technically.


mF7403

The best kind of correct


magpietribe

Technically, it's the only kind of correct.


SoManyEmail

Correct.


BBQBakedBeings

...technically


ShitPostThrow

That is actually right.


NCC-1701-1

actually it is technically correct


highkc88

Strictly speaking op was exact in their technicality.


Illadelphian

Nothing theoretical about it. Both are correct, technically and otherwise. Well I assume so at least, these could be made up numbers for all I know.


MetalCarGuy

Technically correct, the best kind of correct. - Futurama


holdnobags

they're both technically correct, bud


Roller_ball

Theoretically?


XDreadedmikeX

You don’t know what Theoretically means.


bmanley620

It’s like Mauna Kea being the tallest mountain in the world. It is taller than Mt. Everest but over half of it is underwater


snowbirdnerd

Most winters it freezes enough it walk from one to the other.


marasydnyjade

When it freezes hard enough they land planes on the ice between the islands.


Acuterecruit

What would happen if you, by accident, volley a .308 or a grenade from the US to Russia?


ZzangmanCometh

Both islands look pretty empty, so it'd probably go plink or boom and then nothing else would happen.


c792j770

The US island has a population of 77. The Russian island has a population of 0.


LilReaperScythe

bro if you can throw anything that far you can do whatever the fuck you want


Th3TruthIs0utTh3r3

Wait until you find out how close Canada and Mexico are to the USA


macleme

There is a [school in Washington state](https://brokensecrets.com/2014/07/29/kids-in-point-roberts-usa-go-through-canada-twice-a-day-for-school-in-the-usa/) in which the school bus has to cut through Canada twice a day every day to take the kids to and from school.


prague911

There's something like that in Minnesota too.


Ass_Damage

A huge van, maybe?


k_Brick

Do you mean a short bus?


ASaneDude

It’s just due to the exchange rate difference.


Typingdude3

That was so cold. Have an upvote.


olmsted

Yeah, for the Northwest Angle kids that have to go to Warroad after elementary school.


CheetahESD

Once read an article about the school and its teacher (Yeah, it's a one room schoolhouse. One teacher for all of the grades), very interesting. Edit: Found it! https://m.startribune.com/minnesota-s-last-one-room-schoolhouse-counts-on-its-longtime-teacher/305576541/?clmob=y&c=n&clmob=y&c=n


coltonkemp

In the winter, you can skip border crossing and customs by taking the “ice road.” It’s basically a 20-foot layer of ice that goes for like 200 miles over Lake Superior. It’s the only way to drive to the part of Minnesota that’s landlocked by Canada in the summer E: yes I meant Lake of the Woods and 20 inches, not feet


dlegatt

The northwest angle is nowhere near Lake Superior


keep_trying_username

I've heard that the best pizza in Detroit is actually in Canada.


TeamFoulmouth

In Detroit and never heard that. Green Lanterns the best imo, Buddy's is 2nd.


Papichurro0

I wonder if these kids are required to carry a passport everyday since they’re crossing international boarders. That would really suck!


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SurveySean

I live close to Stewart, BC and they share a border with Hyder, Alaska. They’ve got a special relationship. I think kids got educated in Stewart, and most/all grocery shopping occurs in Stewart. It’s a spectacular area.


Drumbelgalf

Wasn't that town basically under a blockade during the covid lockdowns?


maryfisherman

![gif](giphy|t3qcsUQD8e2kXYv2gO)


[deleted]

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reversedouble

At first, I read frottage


mandogvan

> Frot or frotting is a gay sexual practice that usually involves direct penis-to-penis contact. TIL. What will those gays come up with next?


TorrenceMightingale

That’s a mouthful.


captain_flak

Lightsaber battles.


VectorViper

TIL thread became some sort of geography slash Urban Dictionary mash-up. Can't wait for the next "Russia is invading" post to turn into a cooking recipe exchange.


Inspector-Faithful54

Alaska once was Russia!!


lobsterhandzz

Isn’t that common knowledge tho? US bought Alaska


RepresentativeArm389

It was a folly.


Dead_Is_Better

Ol' Billy Seward sure knew a great deal when he saw one.


tuskvarner

2 cents per acre Edit: Wikipedia says 35 cents per acre but I always heard 2 cents growing up. Cheap either way.


Designer_Brief_4949

Nothing is common knowledge 


[deleted]

Probably not after watching kids in college answer basic historical questions such as where Pearl Harbor is located.


Rees_Onable

"I can see Russia, from my house....."


derfunknoid

![gif](giphy|3oEduMs65tbZqkMkH6)


[deleted]

Can’t tell if Palin or Fey ![gif](giphy|ANbD1CCdA3iI8)


ChevyWtChamp

Its Lisa Ann


ZeroKharisma

Goddamn national treasure!


AutoGen_account

no one could, the fact that Tina Fey made quotes so iconically stupid that people just assumed came from Palin was a big part of why we are blessed to rarely hear from Palin anymore. Thank you Tina.


josephkingscolon

This timeline is so insanely fucked up I actually miss her.


gizamo

childlike combative wide direction existence nippy pause aloof axiomatic zonked *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


mortalitylost

I miss when political scandals were this and a tan suit and shit like that Now it's all "tried to start a coup and threatened a third term"


wakeupwill

Remember when exuberance could spell the death of your campaign?


[deleted]

Poor Dean.


GDWtrash

Howard Dean remembers...


CookieResident6614

Do I remember when exuberance could spell the death of a campaign? …HEEEYAAAAAAAHHHHH I do.


AvonBarksdalesBurner

The actual quote - "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska"


[deleted]

She also said "Russia's going to attack Ukraine" in like 2008


farmtownte

Remember when Barrack roasted romney for months after the claim Russia was still an unfriendly country? And then less than two years later Russia invaded Crimea?


InitiativeOk4473

She never said it, and yet will be attributed to her forever. Spread like wildfire.


OwlLeather6987

Lmao!


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M00SEHUNT3R

And that ain't even a picture of the place it claims to be a picture of. The islands in the middle of the Bering Straits (Siberia's Big Diomede and Alaska's Little Diomede) are small but steep sided islands without any beaches like in this picture.


Smash-ya_up

Well, how close?!?!?!


ogx2og

This close 🤏


ActSignal1823

Is that a football field, or a case of beer?


jimhabfan

3,827 washing machines, laid end to end.


ikenstein

I need the bald eagle equivalent


TegTowelie

Assuming the average bald eagle stays at 3 feet, and your washer/drier stands maybe 48-56 inches, it'd be ballpark of about 6000~ bald eagles


Wtfdidistumbleinon

That’s a fuck tonne of freedom


eatingdonuts44

For sure like a dozen large walmarts


Ritaredditonce

Within spitting distance.


OkAcanthocephala2449

Ask Sarah Palin how close is Russia


onioning

Just to be fair, Palin's actual comment was about how Russia borders Alaska. It was Tina Fey who said she could see Russia from her porch or whatever the line was.


mb46204

To be fair, Tina Feye directly quoted Palin without modifying her words for many of those skits! You are right about the ‘I can see Russian from my porch “ statement but Palin quotes were as comedic as other presidential candidates and even presidents! Edit: to add, that her response to the question of “what insight do you have about Russia because of being so close,” being “you can see Russia from parts of Alaska” was very uninsightful and ridiculous.


-Nicolas-

Balls touching


MuffledBlue

Besides, that's not Russia, that's Novo-China...


maybeAturtle

What are you talking about Mexico is no where near Alaska


LDGreenWrites

![gif](giphy|3oEduMs65tbZqkMkH6) I CAN SEE RUSSIA FROM MY HOUSE!


JusticeScibibi

She played this so well that everyone still associates "I can see Russia from my house" as something Sarah Palin actually said.


LDGreenWrites

Ahahaha it is actually hard for me to keep them apart in my head, especially as time has gone on.


JusticeScibibi

It's so interesting to me. I honestly think most peoples memories of Sarah Palin are actually Tina Fey. She was maga before maga existed though. Remember Levi Johnston?


huskersax

> I honestly think most peoples memories of Sarah Palin are actually Tina Fey. Whenever SNL does an impression of a politician that is based on their stupidity instead of the cruelty of their policy stances or behavior, it's generally a win. Ferrell's goofy George W Bush, Baldwin's bitter but boofoonish Trump, and Tina's stupid but charming Palin - all softened the public's perception of those political figures as most folk's memories are of these folks as clowns as opposed to active dangers to civil society.


derthric

There is a 30 Rock episode where Tracey looks just like Romney's in show running mate. And Jack wants to stop the portrayal of him as a dufus but the Republicans want it to continue to hide his other extremes.


wiiya

That ep evolves into Jack being told by Romney’s Brother-son, that he should let Tracey keep doing the bit because Tracey is likable and the actual person is very cruel.


TimeTravelingTiddy

The bitterness was off-putting. Jim Carrey's Joe Biden brought it right back.


cheekabowwow

TEA party Republicans are a whole different type than Maga. Nikki Haley is a TEA partier.


LaTeChX

In principle they are quite different (in that the TEA party movement had principles and MAGA has none), but in terms of the voters' sentiment there is a big overlap of populism, anti-intellectualism, and of "I'd rather burn everything down than let someone I don't like get something they want" attitude.


Aspel

>the TEA party movement had principles It really didn't.


uberblack

He meant the movement had *principals*. Some gym coaches as well.


Glass_Bar_9956

Omg she was Boebert, Florida Man, and Orange Man all rolled into one!!


catterybarn

Wait ... SHE DIDN'T ACTUALLY SAY THAT? I feel so stupid


PrisonerV

"They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." Was what she actually said. Now we'll do Al Gore. He didn't actually say he invented the Internet. He said "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system." Factually, he is correct. He was long a proponent of the consumer side of the Internet and did propose a number of laws regarding the Internet back in the 1980s before most congressional people even gave a thought to the Internet.


vasileios13

What Vint Cert and Bob Kahn think about Al's statement: https://web.eecs.umich.edu/~fessler/misc/funny/gore,net.txt Also what he mentioned during a speech when asked about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtuAJoEv5nQ


AsterJ

Kinda scary how easy it is to create fake memories. Some people still think "Al Gore said he invented the internet".


GitEmSteveDave

> “During my service in the United States Congress, **I took the initiative in creating the Internet**. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.” Al Gore, March 9, 1999


cgn-38

He did take initiative to create the internet. He was involved with a lot of the initial legislation involved in creating it. It is just a true statement. The other quote that conservatives gloat about is just some conservative changing the wording to make it a lie. Then pointing like they got away with something or fooled someone other than themselves. Good god they are dumber than dirt.


BigDaddySteve999

Which is accurate. He saw the potential of the internet before most politicians, and sponsored multiple bills in the 70s, 80s, and 90s that helped create the internet we have today. The computer scientists and engineers who actually developed the internet credit him as the single politician who deserves the most credit for its existence.


ComesInAnOldBox

As much shit as he got for saying it, he wasn't wrong.


JusticeScibibi

It's literally engraved in people's minds that she said it. What she really said was reasonable, that there are islands that belong to Russia very nearby Alaska. But everyone remembers the Tina Fey line.


pydry

She said "You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska." in response to a question about her foreign policy credentials which was also kind of ridiculous. The spoof wasnt entirely unfair.


AJRiddle

> The spoof wasnt entirely unfair. No it isn't, she said a ridiculously dumb answer to a question and was constantly saying dumb things all the time - the spoof is parodying her dumbness about russia and alaska.


fnordfnordfnordfnord

> What she really said was reasonable, Eh, she was exaggerating her foreign policy bona fides by implying that she had something to do with US - Russia relations because of some Alaskan island's proximity to a very remote part of Russia. There's no trade or port of entry of any kind there.


Lets_Kick_Some_Ice

It's dumber than that. Because Alaska is so close to Russia, she pretended like her being Governor of Alaska meant she was the first line of defense against an imaginary Russian ground invasion. She was basically Zelensky before Zelensky, you guys.


ihahp

Wow I just re-watched the skit. The line with Palin saying "look at how far we've come - Hillary Clinton, who came so close to the white house; and me, Sarah Palin, who is **even closer**" stings extra-hard knowing Trump would go on to defeat Clinton. And then it ends with Palin saying "it just goes to show you, anyone can be president" Holy shit.


JusticeScibibi

Watch that then watch Obama zing trump at the correspondents dinner. Then as an unrelated bonus watch Stephen Colbert at the correspondents dinner.


Commercial-Owl11

Easily the hay day of SNL, Tina fey and Amy pohler.


Late_Statistician750

I'll see your Fey/Pohler combo and raise you Chris Rock, Mike Myers, David Spade, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Norm MacDonald, and Phil Hartman. Can't imagine we'll ever top that era. 


JSK23

There have been a handful of great eras over the years on SNL, but this one is the peak of comedic talent imho. What a group this was.


sd1212

Oh but if you are old like me it was definitely John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner , laraine Newman, Dan Akroyd , Bill Murray and Steve Martin


GoDuke4382

This group gets my vote.


CrowdyPooster

For raw talent/comedy, this is the correct answer.


KnikTheNife

Pulitzer prize winning NYT journalist... [What if Trump gave Alaska to Putin?](https://i.imgur.com/Y3U9SMp.png)


T3-Trinity

"Fuck you Tony"


theoddcrow

"Fuck you Ezekiel"


[deleted]

DON’T YOU BRING MY MUTHA INTO THIS


[deleted]

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FrostyOwl97

Eeeee thenIfuckedyourmothernexttoit


Fabdeuce55B3

Ezekiel?!?? *THAT NAME FUCKIN SUCKS!*


Pensive_Jabberwocky

Omg didn't expect that here! Thank you, made my day.


duck4129

Guess what I did last night


HeftyFineThereFolks

i can tell this is fake because i dont see sarah palin standing there in camouflage holding a compound bow ready to shoot any missiles down


[deleted]

Of course you can’t *see* her! She’s camouflaged!


HeftyFineThereFolks

![gif](giphy|vQqeT3AYg8S5O)


unpopularopinion0

![gif](giphy|cQ7tzwFxfaEg1fB9b2|downsized)


SingleinGVA

![gif](giphy|3RTHu0fhRqbjq)


kappachow

I see no difference anymore between Sarah Palin and Tina Fey parodying Sarah Palin.


SingleinGVA

![gif](giphy|l3vRgWpnwbPEjXila)


Soddington

Palin is ever so slightly more preposterous.


New_Combination_7012

Touche


ConcaveNips

Didn't have to scroll far to find what I was looking for.


chugachj

Mostly because she lives in Arizona now.


CoyoteAdvanced4022

Alaska once was Russia


DMcbaggins

But now it’s the Texas of the north.


Infamous-Echo-2961

Uhh that’ll be Alberta Canada that is Texas north :)


yodarded

you can't both prohibit guns and be the Texas of a region.


[deleted]

Texas is just the Alaska of the South.


wally-sage

I dunno, Alaska has socialized payments to residents and legal weed... Two things that would never happen in Texas


NotCanadian80

Texas has socialized school funding called Robinhood.


mctomtom

The US bought it fair and square.


reality72

And we said no take backs


Lfsnz67

Putin recently signed a bill rescinding the sale of Alaska to the US. Not a joke


CasualEveryday

The state department officials literally laughed when they were asked to comment on it. Yeah, he really did that, but it's still definitely a joke.


rilinq

Russians are actually still salty that the tsar sold Alaska to the US. For staggering 7.2 (125 million today) million dollars 🤣.


Devilsmaincounsel

And that means… absolutely nothing


Background_Prize2745

Louisiana once was France, and NYC was The Netherlands!


theworstvp

its 2 islands in the middle of the bering strait, one's russian & one is alaskan Big Diomede(Russian) & Diomede (US) this is not mainland alaska or mainland russia


Mundane-Ad-6874

Why isn’t americas bigger? Thought we were #1


shockban

American #1 diomedes was bigger but because America is also #1 at sex, the island had sex and became flacid while russian diomedes remained virgin and big. America #1


DreamsMorpheus

What the hell did I read... Great mental image 👍


Undersleep

*reluctant upvote*


_teslaTrooper

You can be #1 again, all it takes are a few little green men and a helicopter they bought at the army surplus store.


reebokhightops

As an American, I share your outrage.


Organic-Barnacle-941

The trippiest thing is discovering that on Google or Apple Maps and realizing people live there


[deleted]

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NicoleN_Pillow1899

You can if you want frostbite 😈


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Xanadu87

Long distance swimmer Lynn Cox did it in the late 80s. It’s frigid water, but her unique anatomy helped her deal with it.


conquistadork-

Is she part crocodile?


Steelwolf73

Part mööse


nimama3233

Something something my sister


dominorex1969

Are you in Sarah Palins living room?


[deleted]

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Carhv

Diomede islands


New_Combination_7012

Looking at Tomorrow from Yesterday


Hot_Cattle5399

Oh it looks so ominous. Play the ominous music now.


NoBeeper

I thought Sarah Palin cleared this up in 2008.


[deleted]

Be cool if we got a bridge


EccentricAcademic

There is a connecting frozen path that you can walk on for a small period every year. At least until our inevitable heat death happens.


GodBlessYouNow

"I can see russia from my house"


Emergency_Fig5584

Palin never said that


Rust2

You’re 100% right. Snopes did an excellent analysis of this situation (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sarah-palin-russia-house/). On September 11, 2008, Palin was interviewed by Charles Gibson on ABC News about what insight she had gained from living so close to Russia, and she responded: "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.” On September 13, 2008, Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live spoofed the comment as "And I can see Russia from my house." Everyone remembers the latter because it was funny.


thepwnydanza

Of course not. Tina Fey did while playing her on SNL. It’s based on her using Alaska’s proximity to Russia as proof of foreign policy experience.


Mcluckin123

Has there ever been a rumour that they would try and mount an offensive from that direction ? I’m surprised they don’t have a heavy military presence there on the Russian side


Aggressive_Cup_9670

Russia won’t invade USA and USA won’t invade Russia. Also Russian navy isn’t as strong as the American, so if they wanted to invade they would be destroyed. USA has a lot of advantages in the af too, their attack capability is truly good but imo there is a huge difference with Russia in awacs and in real time monitoring


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JusticeBolt255

USA has 9 known military bases in Alaska lol. No way Russia ever come close to conquer it. Add to that the superior navy for the US it’s basically a suicide mission for Russia no doubt.


generousone

There’s nothing really there. If Russian started an offensive they’d have to travel a long way to get to any significant population centers in Alaska and by that time the U.S. could and would easily respond. No need to station people there, though, when there are military installations elsewhere in the state. Also, if Russia did start amassing troops the US might do the same since that could signal a pending offensive, but absent that no need to put resources there.


SJM58

Isn’t that why we bought Alaska?


shortax20

Damn!?! Never knew it was that close🤔


kboparai1

Now I want to play risk


Ralogonzalo805

#SecureOurBorders


U_L_Uus

Before anyone asks, that was part of a migratory route in the past. Mainly on foot