Alaska’s long, dark winter nights are infamous, with some Northern towns experiencing zero daylight for weeks on end during the height of winter. But what about the long, sunny Alaskan summer days?
This week, a TikToker in Alaska is going viral for exposing what it’s like to go bar-hopping in Anchorage during summer. In a TikTok captioned “bars in alaska at 11pm,” @jennababyy.1 shows people drinking and hanging out in broad daylight, inspiring shock and fascination from commenters living closer to the equator.
@jennababyy.1 11pm bar hopping in alaska🙃 #alaskalife #anchorage #fyp ♬ Sweet Giirrrrllll face beat x Father Philis – Phil
Located on the Southern coast of Alaska, Anchorage is actually below the Arctic circle. However, it still experiences 24 hours of daylight during the summer months, with the sun just briefly dipping below the horizon during the month of June. This unusual cycle inevitably has an impact on Alaskan culture, with people often staying up much later because it feels like broad daylight until late at “night.”
Showing clear, blue skies and bright sunlight at 11pm, @jennababyy.1’s TikTok went viral to the tune of 5.3 million views in four days, with non-Alaskans wondering how midnight sun affects the drinking culture. “You’re telling me I could be plastered coming out of a club and people could see me in broad daylight?” one of the top replies reads.
“Imagine not knowing when to go home because it’s always light out and you’ve been drinking for days,” another wrote. This was one of the most common types of response, as commenters predicted that they’d just stay out all night if it didn’t get dark.
Others wondered how the 24-hour days impacted Alaskans’ sleep schedules, a common question about living this far North. A lot of Alaskans (and people living in Scandinavia and Northern Russia) use blackout curtains or eyemasks to sleep during the summer, and sun lamps to recharge their circadian rhythms in winter. Unsurprisingly, some find the long winters to be a brutal experience. But humans are adaptable, and going to bars in broad daylight at 11pm basically just a quirky cultural difference, not a major lifestyle change.
Just don’t think too hard about whether this officially counts as day drinking. That debate could go on forever.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @jennababyy.1 via TikTok comment.
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