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Ever since Tsar Nicholas II, Russians have dreamed of connecting Siberia to North America via a rail tunnel. Now, apparently, the Kremlin has green-lighted the connection, which would be the world's longest, and twice as long as the England-to-France "Chunnel."

Not only would the tunnel allow easy passage of freight from Europe to North America, it could also provide a conduit for electricity, allowing a continent-spanning smart grid.

The project's enormous price tag will no doubt be a barrier, but that hasn't stopped engineers from projecting that the connection could carry up to 3 percent of the world's freight and pay for itself in seven years. For that to happen, I guess they'll mostly be transporting gold bars?

Bonus: now Sarah Palin will be able to say she can drive to Russia from her house.