The Sun has set on a town and won't rise again until next year
While it already feels like it's dark all the time in the UK right now, one town won't see the sun again until 2026 after it set for the last time in 2025 yesterday (18 November).
Seasonal depression always gets worse at this time of year, particularly when Christmas is over, as it's difficult to get the Vitamin D your body needs when you're inside working during the few hours that the sun is actually out.
Even then, if you live somewhere like the UK, you'll probably have to put up with various storms, weather warnings and almost constant rain, wind or snow, and we're all probably wondering when the next time we can go out in a t-shirt is.
But things could be far worse, unless you're a vampire, as there's one town where the sun stays below the horizon for two whole months leading to a prolonged 'polar night'.
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Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, has a population of less than 5,000 people, which sounds like more than enough folks to surprise with a Vitamin D supplement shop or candle business, if someone hasn't already capitalised on that incredible marketing plan.
The town is situated in Alaska and at 1.36pm yesterday, the sun set for the final time in 2025, with local residents unlikely to see sunlight again until 22 January.
While we've probably heard about areas in Iceland living in almost constant darkness, which is somewhat improved by the presence of the northern lights, Utqiagvik has constant darkness for a very specific reason.
Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis which will either lean countries in the Northern Hemisphere towards or away from the sun, depending on the time of year.
However, Utqiagvik is also within 23.5 degrees of the North Pole, which means that during the winter months, it is always leaning away from the sun.
The opposite happens in the summertime, with residents basking in 24 hours of glorious sunshine, which probably still doesn't keep them all that warm, and might even be more annoying when trying to get to sleep.
Still, I'd probably take 24 hours of sun over 24 hours of darkness, particularly as someone who has never really enjoyed carrots.
Users on Reddit were left shocked by the revelation, although some people were more keen on the idea than others.
One account posted: "Utqiagvik gets like 80 days of midnight sun, ending around August, only for the sun to say bye-bye from November to January. I can't imagine how that'd screw with your system (although in a morbid way, I'd be really curious to experience it)."
Another said: "I live in Alaska, it’s the midnight sun that screws with me, not the darkness. I don’t sleep well in the summer, you easily forget what time of night it is and you’re out there doing yard work at 11 at night.
"Winter is dark and cozy and I can easily sleep in until 9 and 10 on the weekends and get up and it’s still dark. Never sleep as well as I do in the winter here."
James Moorhouse