MetaFilter posts tagged with yukon

North America's Hidden Arctic

Avenger — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:28:04 -0800

"I filled my water bottles , fuel bottle and ate some snacks. I reset my altimeter to 1300ft and started shortly past 2pm. The first sign stated 'Eagle Plains 363, Inuvik 735'. The distances were measured in kilometers with green km posts every 2km along the road. A few kilometers down the road, I crossed an old fire burn area with dead trees still standing. The sun was shining and I was eager to get started on the road. The gravel was occasionally soft as the road slowly climbed along the valley." An enterprising man relates his journey up the Dempster Highway on bicycle. The Dempster Highway, a 417 mile road that stretches from Dawson City, Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories is one of only two roads in North America that crosses the Arctic Circle (the other being Alaska Route 11, in case you're wondering). Driving the Dempster in a 1994 Honda Accord: a photo journal. Some incredible vistas. Driving the Dempster in a 1958 VW Bus. [yt] The Dempster in a 1983 VW Bus/Camper. [yt+tears for fears] Explore North America's Hidden Arctic.

Making a Cereal Killing...in Real Estate

jonp72 — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:40:34 -0800

In 1954, the producers of the radio show Sergeant Preston of the Yukon needed a gimmick to make sure its radio audience would watch the TV version of the show. Meanwhile, the show's sponsor, Quaker Oats, needed a follow-up to their ad campaign about how Quaker Puffed Wheat is shot out of guns. So Chicago adman, Bruce Baker (later the creator of Captain Crunch), dreamt up a wildly successful PR stunt for both Sgt. Preston of the Yukon and Quaker Oats by buying up one-inch plots of land in the Yukon (with legal assistance from future British Columbia senator George van Roggen) and giving away deeds to the land for free in copies of Quaker Oats cereal. (For a picture of the deed, click here and here) Although the ad campaign was phenomenally successful in the short term, it also had some long-term blowback. While looking at land in the Yukon, Bruce Baker developed minor frostbite injuries that later led to his leg being amputated. As for the land itself, it reverted back to the Canadian government in 1965 after nonpayment of $37.20 in taxes, but that doesn't stop owners of the Quaker Oats "deeds" from pestering the Yukon government about their land claims. Filmmaker David McDonald made the documentary, Cereal Thriller about the whole bizarre saga, which also raises interesting questions in property law. Ironically, although the Quaker Oats deeds have zero value in terms of property rights, their value as collectibles proved to be several times more than the stock price of Quaker Oats when it was bought by PepsiCo in 2001.

The Klondike Goldrush

MetaMonkey — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 07:16:51 -0800

The Klondike Gold Rush, the last great gold rush of the 19th century.
On August 16, 1896 huge quantities of gold was found in the remote Yukon region of Canada. Word spread slowly, until eleven months later, the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle from Dawson with "more than a ton of gold". Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off on the perilous journey north to the Yukon. Only 30,000 completed the trip.
Resources: Eric A. Hegg's photograph's of the gold rush, stories from the gold rush, women of the gold rush, Klondike Gold Rush Historical Database, info and teaching resources (warning: annoying frames), links, Librarians' Internet Index.

The Sourtoe Cocktail

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 05:33:41 -0800

Do it fast or do it slow, but the lips must touch the toe.

OH! Canada

edgeways — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 22:46:49 -0800

Canada, a 13+ link whistlestop glance at something from all the provinces and territories...Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, NWT, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, PEI, Quebec, Saskatewan, Yukon. Not to mention the talk about Turks and Caicos?

Y2Y

homunculus — Thu, 14 Oct 2004 22:17:45 -0800

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. "Combining science and stewardship, we seek to ensure that the world-renowned wilderness, wildlife, native plants, and natural processes of the Yellowstone to Yukon region continue to function as an interconnected web of life, capable of supporting all of the natural and human communities that reside within it, for now and for future generations."