HAPPY ALASKA DAY!

[underpants]

http://www.earthcalendar.net/_php/lookup.php?mode=date&m=10&d=18&y=2006

I love this recap on "This Day in Radical History"

October 18
Things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school

1867: U.S. buys Alaska from Russia. Inuit and Native Americans living there are oblivious to the transaction, involving two imperial governments over 5,000 miles away in opposite directions. They fare only slightly better years later when the U.S. government, in turn, sells the state to a consortium headed by Exxon, Arco, and British Petroleum.

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=17809#18

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Day

Alaska Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of Alaska, observed on October 18. It is the anniversary of the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States following the Alaska Purchase, which took place at a flag-raising ceremony at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867.

Alaska Day is legally observed statewide, and is a paid holiday for State of Alaska employees. It is generally only celebrated in Sitka, where schools release students early, many businesses close for the day, and events such as a parade and reenactment of the flag raising are held.

It should not be confused with Seward's Day, which marks the signing of the treaty finalizing the purchase.