May 13, 2005

Curious George: Alaskan products? I like to look at labels and see where stuff is made. OK, granted, I have no life. However I realized today that I've bought items made in virtually every state except Alaska.

Yes, I agree it would be stupid for a corporate entity to start manufacturing in Alaska and pay those shipping costs to the Lower 48. But does this mean there is a complete vacuum of goods? The only noteworthy Alaskan-manufactured product I can think of is Alaskan Brewing Company (love their Oatmeal Stout, which I sampled in Fairbanks). I am guessing this is distributed to the Lower 48. A lot of fish comes from Alaska, but I would have to exclude this as, like oil or lumber, it's more of a natural resource than a crafted Alaskan product. So does anyone have any packaged food, devices, tools, etc that are from an Alaskan company?

posted by rolypolyman 19 years ago
  • Igloos. Dog sleds. Marijuana.
  • They make good salmon, if you're a meat eater.
  • Oh, sorry -- didn't read the end-y bit about that being a natural product. Darn.
  • They make good salmon.. intelligent design, eh?
  • I have relatives in Alaska who are always sending Alaska t-shirts to their family in the real United States. So I have a bunch of shirts with polar bears and eskimos and shit that say "Alaska." This tends to make people ask me when I went to Alaska, to which I always have to reply I've never been, I just have family there. Boy that's a lame anecdote.
  • Sure was, you goddam Alaskan.
  • Well, you might not want to buy packaged food from Alaska...
  • The mighty moose has inspired many Alaskan products including Moose Nuggets and The Poop Moose
  • back in the early 1960s when i was in grade school we had many lessons on alaska/hawaii, seeing as they were america's newest playthings. i remember we learned a song that went: umiak kayak mukluk tupik, umiak kayak mukluk tupik, umiak, a boat for many men; kayak, a boat for one man. umiak, kayak, eskimo words, learn them if you caaaaaaaaan hope that helps.
  • I have a stone carving from Alaska, purchased by my dear grandmother. It's a carving of a penguin. I won't go into how wrong this is. She also gave me a small handthrown pottery vessel from Alaska, decorated with bears and bearprints. It holds pens and pencils in my kitchen.
  • Check this site for lists of products made in Alaska.
  • Somewhere in the clutter of my office is a carved soapstone loon from Alaska. Never been to Alaska, 'twas sent me by a friend.
  • Baked Alaska comes from Alaska. No, wait it comes from Baked.
  • Alaska isn't big on manufacturing. It mostly send out raw materials such as lumber, oil, fish, etc. I have many fine brochures I just had printed up for the Alaska State Library if you care for one! In SE we have a lot of great artisans making a wide variety of stuff in European, Tlingit, and Haida traditions. Alaska Brewing Company is indeed very tasty. Kake Tribal makes a non-perishable salmon jerky that some people dig but I don't. Beware of Alaskan tourist memorabilia. Much of it is manufactured out of country. I could hook you up with a Tlingit language phrase book written, set, and printed locally. I'll keep my eyes open for something a little more normal.
  • Honest to goodness question. Are there blacks in Alaska? (i'm black and always wondered!)
  • SideDish, I think it's evidenc e of Canada's inherent lameness that we never learned songs like that in school even though our artic territory is so much huger. Also I learned recently that the median income in the artic territories is the highest anywhere in Canada. Probably all the oil, diamonds and seals.
  • I lived in Alaska for six year...six looooong years. At the time there was a huge military presence...so yes, there are blacks in Alaska.
  • There is lots of diversity in Alaska. Did you know that Anchorage boasts more languages spoken in the school system than New York? There are blacks. There is also a large Philipino community as well as many other Pacific nationalities. There is a huge Native Alaskan population, of course, and Petersburg is still mostly Norwegians. Diversity drops off when you head to the village but it's still present. The population of Barrow is slowly shifting to Southeast Asian if you can believe it. Who would equate Thailand with one of the coldest towns in Alaska?
  • I was made in Alaska, but I'm not for sale at this time.
  • Please, please, dear Ramix, don't go to Alaska. At least don't go without a gun. There's snow up there and polar bears. Methinks you're lacking in natural camouflage. But if you do, be careful and take a white tuxedo. Hang out with the penguins, walk funny, and confuse the hell outta them.