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Wait Until Santa Hears About This! The town of North Pole, Alaska is nowhere near the North Pole. It isn't even north of the Arctic Circle! The name of the town (located just south-east of Fairbanks) was selected to attract the toy industry to products that could be labelled as made in "North Pole". Admittedly, the real North Pole doesn't represent a very stable manufacturing environment - being on a moving ice cap in the middle of a deep ocean and all. As well, global warming seems to be knawing away at the foundations. But the town residents likely underestimated the powerful magic that keeps Santa in business, and going into competition with his elves didn't work out very well.* Nevertheless, North Pole continued to grow and today there is interest in developing a theme town "Where the spirit of Christmas lives year round". Street lights are decorated like candy canes, and some buildings are painted with Christmas colors and designs. North Pole streets have holiday names like Santa Claus Lane, Snowman Lane, Saint Nicholas Drive and Blitzen Street, and a "Santa Claus House" greets visitors who pass through the city. * Maybe this Christmas, instead of bringing toys, Santa will bring his lawyers.
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DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central. |
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ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic. |
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ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature... |
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ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots". |
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GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year? |