50 Things You Didn't Know About Sarah Palin

John Mccain's Vice Presidential pick is a relative unknown. Let's take a look at 50 facts about Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and potential Vice President of the United States of America.

50) Sarah Louise Heath Palin was born in February 11, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho, making her 44 years old
49) Sarah's father was a science teacher and track & field coach, while her mother was a school secretary
48) Sarah is of German, Irish and English descent
47) As a child, Sarah and her father would occasionally wake up in the early morning to hunt moose prior to the start of the school day
46) Both her parents were avid marathon runners
45) Sarah moved to Alaska as an infant
44) Sarah played pointguard for her high school basketball team, who were state champions
43) Sarah's nickname was Sarah Barracuda, for her fierce play
42) Sarah led team prayers before games
41) Sarah is a pageant winner. She was named Miss Wasilla (a small Alaskan town), where she played the flute for the talent portion and was named Miss Congeniality as well as the overall winner.
Sarah was first runner up for Miss Alaska in 1984
40) Sarah graduated from the University of Idaho in 1987. She received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a minor in political science
39) Sarah worked as both a sports reporter and commercial fisher in Anchorage, Alaska briefly after getting married
Sarah married Todd Palin on August 29th, 1988
38) Sarah's husband Todd Palin is known as the, "First Dude."
Todd is Sarah's high school sweetheart
37) Todd Palin is a commercial fisherman and a production operator for British Petroleum
36) Todd is a champion snowmobile racer
35) Sarah has five children. Their names are Bristol Palin, Piper Palin, Track Palin, Willow Palin, and Trig Palin.
34) Trig Palin, Sarah's youngest son, was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome
33) Trig's Down's Syndrome had been detected while still in the womb during prenatal screening. Sarah's decision to have Trig was viewed as a significant and high-profile example for the pro-life community.
32) Palin returned to work 3 days after giving birth
31) Track Palin enlisted in the United States Army on September 11th, 2007
30) Sarah's favorite food is moose stew
29) Sarah served two terms on the Wasilla City Council from 1992 to 1996
28) Sarah Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla, Alaska in 1996 for a three year term
27) Wasilla's population is around 9,000 people
26) Sarah was re-elected mayor in 1999
25) Sarah held an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002
24) Sarah is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association
23) Sarah is an avid hunter and ice fisher
22) Sarah Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006, defeating incumbent Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election 48% to 40%
21) Sarah was Alaska's first female governor
20) Sarah is the youngest governor ever elected in Alaskan history, the first born after Alaska was declared a state
19) Republican presidential nominee John McCain elected to choose Sarah Palin to serve as his Vice Presidential running mate on August 29th, 2008
18) Sarah is the first ever female vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party (Geraldine Ferraro was a VP candidate for the Democratic party previously)
17) Sarah is the first Alaskan politician to run for general election on the national American circuit
16) Sarah's husband is not affiliated with any political party
15) Sarah's 19 year old son track has also claimed an 'undeclared' political affiliation
14) Sarah originally supported Mitt Romney for the 2008 Presidential Election
13) Sarah is stridently pro-life, but is viewed as being, 'pro-contraception'
12) Palin opposes gay-marriage rights
11) Sarah is often seen wearing fur, and has a large bear-skin rug adorning her couch
10) Sarah was the subject of a Vogue Magazine pictorial feature in 2007 after becoming governor
9) Sarah is credited with stoppping Alaska's infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere' Gravina Island Bridge Project, once federal funding was cut
8) Sarah's approval ratings for her first year in office were at 90%; they have since dropped to approximately 78%
7) Palin strongly supports increased domestic oil drilling, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for commercial drilling
6) Sarah Palin and John McCain agree on most political points, outside of Artic drilling (which McCain opposes)
5) Palin admitted using marijuana when Alaska had legalized possession of small amounts. She says she didn't like it and does not support legalization fearful of the message it might send to her kids
4) Palin has been wrapped in a controversy around the firing of Public Safety Commission Walter Monegan. Sarah fired him on July 11th, 2008, and Monegan accussed Palin of doing so because Monegan had not wanted to fire Palin's sister's ex-husband, Alaskan State Trooper Mike Wooten. Palin's sister, Molly McCann, and Wooten had been involved in a messy divorce. Palin defended her decision, blaming Wooten's firing on inadequate performance.
3) A bi-partisan panel of the Alaskan legislature has hired an investigator with respect to possible abuse of power in the Monegan case. The investigator has said all parties are cooperating and subpeonas are unnecessary at this time.
2) Sarah is a practicing non-denominational Christian
1) Sarah first met John McCain in Washington at the National Governor's Association in Februrary, 2008. John McCain only called Sarah once to discuss the VP position on Sunday, August 23rd prior ot flying Palin and her husband to Arizona to formally make the offer alongside his wife Cindy McCain. 

Update: Sarah has recently announced that her oldest daughter, who is 17, is pregnant and will both keep the baby and wed the father

Read 50 Things you Didn't Know About John McCain here:

50 Things you Didn't Know About John McCain