Tatooine is the North Dakota of the Star Wars Universe

Yes, Tatooine is a desert planet, and maybe some would say the winters here would make us more like the planet Hoth. However, you will also notice that things here are very flat. Same for Tatooine. North Dakota is the type of place where you could cruise down the interstate in a Landspeeder with Obi-Wan Kenobi, while trying to avoid the Sandpeople and the thrifty Jawas.

In the iconic photo of Luke Skywalker looking out beyond the sand dunes on Tatooine, it's almost like he's seeing the edge of his planet. Since I've been in North Dakota, there have been times I've looked out and thought that I could see the earth's curvature. I've never experienced any other place like that.

Not to mention, the sparse population. North Dakota has one of the smallest populations of any state in the country. Tatooine also has a small population due to its lack of surface water.

If you're not a farmer in North Dakota, you may migrate to a few big cities in North Dakota, like Fargo or Bismarck. The same can be said for Tatooine for both their farms and their big cities, Mos Espa and Mos Eisley. And what do those big cities have? A solid bar scene.

Sure you don't have storm troopers patrolling the parking lots while they look for droids, but on a given weekend, I get a similar feeling when I enter a bar in Bismarck as I do when I watch the bar scene in Star Wars.

I know what you're thinking, there was plenty of violence in that bar. Despite the occasional arm being dismembered by a lightsaber or a misunderstanding between Greedo and Han Solo (Han shot first by the way), I'd like to think that bar was a festive place on any given weekend. Live music and a place where you meet up with some allies who become good friends that you can fight the Empire with. This is how I think of the bars in North Dakota.

In "Star Wars: A New Hope," C-3PO makes the comment, "What a desolate place this is." This, of course, is in reference to Tatooine and how bare it tends to look.

If you've followed any of our past "Not-So-North Dakota Nice" tweet articles, you don't have to look hard for someone on Twitter to give our state a similar description.

Such tweets say:

@SirotniakLucas:

North Dakota at 2:15 in the morning is desolate man

@PaoloSimpson:

@Newsweek *brought to you by the great and desolate state of North Dakota*

@BlueLineNut:

North Dakota is the most desolate place I've ever seen. The stretch between Grand Forks and the Canadian border is pretty bleak.

If you type in "North Dakota" and "desolate" in the search on Twitter, you can easily come up with an endless list of tweets that mention a similar description. I'm thinking that Tatooine would get the same treatment in the Twitter-verse.

Anakin and Luke Skywalker are the most iconic Jedi of all-time and they grew up on Tatooine. You might think that has no relevance to North Dakota, but you would be wrong. We happen to have our very own Jedi, and that is Carson Wentz.

Let's be honest, with the career Wentz had at NDSU, you would think this guy has Jedi powers. His athletic abilities produced a phenomenal collegiate career and his talents are now being showcased in the NFL where he has shown great potential as the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He might as well be training with Yoda at the Dagobah System right now.

As Anakin and Luke Skywalker's home was Tatooine, Carson Wentz's hometown is Bismarck, ND. Yes, our state does have our very own Jedi.