weather

Does the number 23.5 mean anything to you? It sounds random, but it's a relatively famous number that refers to the degree Earth tilts on its axis as it rotates around the sun. The fact that the Earth is not standing "straight up," so to speak, is responsible for a number of fascinating phenomenon in how we experience the sun's light and warmth.

When our respective portions of the Earth are tilted toward the sun, we receive more heat and longer daylight hours. But some areas of the globe are situated in such a way that Earth's tilt can cause much more dramatic swings. The Arctic, famously, has a "Midnight Sun" where the sun does not fully set for around two months in the summer. The effect can also be experienced to a lesser degree in lower portions of the Northern hemisphere, including Alaska.

One woman recently documented her experience living through North Pole, Alaska's "darkest day of the year," which falls on December 21.

The Winter Solstice has the Northern hemisphere away from the sun, so North Pole, Alaska (not the true North Pole, as in, where Santa Claus lives) receives only a small window of sunlight.

Though it's not the true North Pole, North Pole, Alaska has fun with the whole Santa thing.By Dylan Avery/Wikimedia Commons

Emily, who goes by FBX Foodie on TikTok, shared a video on December 21, 2025 where she begins by standing outside in the pitch black at 7:30 a.m., or about the time the sun should be risen or well on its way in much of the rest of the world.

The self-described "Florida girl," who recently moved to Alaska with her husband who is stationed there on military duty, has been sharing her journey in acclimating to a very different climate. And that's putting it mildly. The couple is currently a year into a four-year assignment.

Not only is the sky pitch black, but the temperatures are frigid. In the morning, when she began filming, the temperature was around -40 degrees Fahrenheit. By 8:40, nothing has changed. Everything is still dark and extremely cold.

About an hour later, a crack of light is just barely visible. "This is kind of what I call blue hour," she says. "It's not pitch black outside but it's not necessarily daylight either. We still have about an hour and a half until sunrise."

By 10:36, the sun is creeping over the horizon, like the early dawn hours anywhere else. Just a few short hours later at 1:25 p.m., the sun is visible in the sky!

But just as soon as it appears, hovering low and orange like a sunset, it's already on its way down. Shortly before 5 p.m., the day is "over" and pitch black returns.

Though many people have heard of Alaska's strange solstices, over five million viewers were stunned to see just how short the day really was in North Pole, Alaska.

"i would be so depressed," one commenter wrote.

"I would have absolutely zero motivation," added another.

"Why are you outside?" someone asked, justly.

"I just wouldn’t get out of bed. A heated blanket would hate to see me coming," one person joked.

Other viewers noted that the conditions seemed prime for sleep and relaxation. If you're someone who needs complete darkness for a good night's sleep, you'd love it in North Pole, Alaska.

In a series of follow-up videos, Emily answered some of the many questions she got after her video went massively viral.

"Why would anyone want to live there?" Emily says that, though she doesn't exactly live there by choice herself, a lot of people who don't mind the cold really love Alaska's wide open spaces and small communities, along with virtually no traffic and a much slower way of life. You have to put up with some wonky winters and maybe a little too much sunlight in the summer, but for many, it's well worth it. There's also a lot of natural beauty, with Alaska being one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights and home to some of the best hiking and adventuring around.

"How do you keep your house warm?" Emily shares that her house has a normal thermostat like you'd find anywhere else, but that her home is heated with oil instead of natural gas. "It's about $3.75 to $4 a gallon and we're burning through about six gallons a day in this really extreme temperature."

"Does society function normally in the dark?" The short answer? Yes. "We don't work around the sun, which would be pretty limiting in the winter." Emily says most businesses and schools are still open even in the extreme cold and snow. She says school didn't even close when her town got over 10 inches of snow overnight.

It's really hard for people in the "lower 48" to imagine what daily life must be like during the winter with extremely limited daylight hours. People who live in Alaska, of course, have found ways to adapt to the extreme conditions.

Some parts of Alaska are in near-compete darkness for about two months in the winter, while the sun rarely and barely sets during the summer.

For starters, buildings and cities are designed to fit the extreme conditions. Insulation is a top-priority so residents can survive -40 degree temperatures, and pipes are buried and insulated as much as possible to keep from freezing. Air conditioners, strangely, are key, too: Even though Alaskan summers don't get that hot, the heavily-insulated buildings and the low angle of the sun can heat up indoor environments in a hurry.

Blackout curtains are a must in the summer for sleeping, but otherwise, Alaskan-based climatologist Dr. Brian Brettschneider tells Fox Weather that residents absolutely love the constant sunlight. "Imagine going fishing at midnight, or playing basketball at 11 p.m., or a hiking traverse through the middle of the night? The only complaints you'll hear are about it not lasting long enough."

The winter is more challenging. Vitamin D supplements and sun lamps help some residents keep their spirits and energy up in the darkness, but Alaskans report that winter is often a time for slower living and "hibernation."

Living in northern Alaska might not be everyone's cup of tea, but whether you're born there, stationed there, or decide to move there by choice, there's a lot of adventure and beauty to be found in the frigid environment.