27 Reasons Why You Should Ask for the Window Seat

There are plenty of reasons to ask for a window seat. For starters you can lean on the window if you want to sleep, and you never have to get up for someone else! But it’s what’s outside of that window that is most compelling. The world is a wonderful place, one that looks entirely different from above. From sunrises and sunsets to landscapes, cityscapes and all kinds of cloud formations in between; there’s beauty out there as far as the eye can see.

Here are 27 reasons you should always ask for a window seat.



1. You might see Chicago’s skyline reflected in Lake Michigan




2. You could see a rainstorm like this off in the distance




3. Because a solar eclipse at 44,000 ft is pretty cool




4. And seeing the highest point in Africa will take your breath away




5. For the sunrises




6. And the sunsets




7. And the waterfalls you’ll never see from the aisle

Kaieteur Falls, Guyana



8. You could witness a forest fire




9. And finally understand why everyone thinks Norway is so beautiful




10. You could ride an endless sea of clouds




11. Come up with creative ways to frame a shot




12. And appreciate the expanse of a mountain range

The Pyrenees



13. Maybe you’ll see your first frozen lake




14. Or a city enveloped in fog

Warsaw, Poland



15. Cities at night can be mesmerizing too

Los Angeles, USA



16. And you can see history in an entirely different light

Prambanan Temple, Indonesia



17. You can laugh at clouds because they look like cotton balls




18. Or perhaps, see your first volcano

Mount Taranaki, NZ



19. You can find a river through a sea of clouds




20. And nothing beats the view of a city from above

New York City, USA



21. The same can be said for mountains like Fuji




22. And Rainier




23. Forget outside! Even the windows themselves can be interesting




24. And there’s always time for another sunset




25. Now that’s amore




26. It gives you a chance to say a final goodbye to the place you just left



27. And last but not least…
Beverage carts and passengers won’t bump into you on their way by!







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Diomede Islands

The Diomede Islands are a pair of rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia. Though the two islands are only 3.8 km apart and clearly in a single group, they are separated by the International Date line which also marks the international border between Russia and the United States. Big Diomede is owned by Russia and Little Diomede is owned by the USA. Additionally, Big Diomede is 23 hours ahead of Little Diomede owing to the International Date Line that passes between them, because of this they are sometimes called Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Isle, respectively.



Both islands are flat-topped, steep-sided and very isolated by its location, by rough seas, and by the persistent fog that shrouds the islands during the warmer months. During the freezing winter, sometimes moving chunks of ice clog in the open waters forming an ice bridge connecting the two islands. At such times one can practically walk between the United States and Russia. Of course, this is only in theory. Crossing the Bering Strait is not legally permitted.

The islands were originally inhabited by Yupik Eskimos as long as 3,000 years ago. The first European to reach the islands was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnyov in 1648. Eighty years later, it was re-discovered by the Danish navigator Vitus Bering on August 16, 1728, the day on which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the martyr St. Diomede.

When the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, it included the Little Diomede. The new boundary was drawn between the two Diomede Islands and the Big Diomede was left to Russia.

While Little Diomede developed into a small community of about 75 individuals, with a church and school, Big Diomede became a Russian military base. After World War II the native population was driven off the island to avoid contacts across the border, and any Little Diomede inhabitants who strayed across the waters too close to Big Diomede where taken captive by the Russians. Today it has no permanent population but it is the site of a Russian weather station and a base of Russian Border guard troops

Little Diomede Eskimos live a subsistence lifestyle, harvesting fish and crab, hunting beluga whales, walrus, seals and polar bears. Most supplies come from an annual barge delivery from the mainland from stores like Wal-Mart. A few residents work for the local government or school. There has been some commercial fishing and mining on the island, but both industries are in decline.


Big Diomede island on the left. Little Diomede island on the right.




Diomede (Inalik) village on the west coast of Little Diomede Island, Alaska.


The native village of Little Diomede island.











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