Finally, something interesting to talk about Alaska other than Sarah Palin. Today Jean McDermott posted 22 terms familiar to Alaskans but not necessarily to other Americans. (Alaska is America, right?) Hey, Mainers would know some of these terms, too.

The first one baffled me, because it’s recognizable: Bunny boots. I should have known what they were, but actually Googled to find out. According to Wikipedia:

Bunny Boots is the widely-used nickname for U.S. Army Extreme Cold Vapor Barrier Boots (Type II). The bulbous rubber boots have no liner but retain warmth by sandwiching up to 1 inch of wool and felt insulation between two layers of rubber. The boots’ appearance is somewhat comical, but they have moved well outside the military to become a staple item of equipment among those who work in extremely cold weather.

As soon as I saw the picture, d`oh, of course I remembered. Other Alaskan terms include camp robber, red poll and blue tarp. Yes, you would have been compelled to learn their meaning had John McCain been elected president instead of Barrack Obama. Surely, there’s one last SNL skit here somewhere. Definitely bunny and boots go oddly together.

Do you have a story about Alaska that you’d like told? Please e-mail Joe Wilcox: oddlytogether at gmail.com.