2 percent

I am now 2 percent of the way through the World Book (approximately). Two percent of the way through the 2024 edition falls right between "Alabama" and "Alaska."

My first thought, less than two paragraphs into "Alabama," was "wow, this author is really in love with Alabama." This was a somewhat snide thought, and I immediately regretted it. I hope whoever wrote the entry for my home state is as excited about it as these authors were about Alabama.

Anyway, Today I Learned(TM) that Alabama actually has quite a bit of limestone and iron ore as well as coal - the three primary ingredients for making steel. Northern Michigan only has the first two. There goes my Yooper pride, lol.

I also learned that Alabama is considered a largely "urban" state, as most of its population lives in its urban centers. Like...way more people than I thought were city dwellers.

I will never get used to slavery and its malcontents being such a big part of "Southern history." Like< I know they're a big part of "Southern history," but I'm never going to get used to that. The photos of Jefferson Davis's birthplace hit almost exactly like the time I visited the Mississippi State Capitol on a whim and discovered a giant monument out front to the "Daughters of the Confederacy." Like. Yikes.

(I had a roommate from Missouri once who insisted this was a matter of "pride" rather than racism. I was inclined to believe him until I heard him use the n-word in earnest. We were not roommates for much longer after that - it wasn't the only straw, but it was definitely the final one.)

Alabama's state song is NOT Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's rendition of "Stars Fell on Alabama." What the hell, Alabama? It's RIGHT THERE!

I am interested to see whether the author(s) of "Alaska" are as in love with Alaska as these writers were with Alabama. "Alaska" is longer than "Alabama" by about four pages, which I didn't expect, given how much of Alaska is wilderness compared to Alabama.