It is July 1st today, and that means it's Canada's birthday!
On July 1st, 1867, Canada was founded. The British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada were formed into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec). Manitoba and the Northwest Territories joined the party in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Yukon Territories in 1898, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, Newfoundland (later renamed Newfoundland and Labrador) in 1949 and the formation of Nunavut in 1999.
So, on occasion of Canada's 143rd birthday, here are some amusing facts about Canada:
1. Smarties, Crispy Crunch & Coffee Crisp are all Canadian.
2. Baseball is Canadian - First game June 4, 1838 - Ingersoll, ON.
3. Lacrosse is Canadian.
4. (Ice) Hockey is Canadian.
5. Basketball is Canadian.
6. Apple pie is Canadian .
7. Tim Hortons beats Dunkin' Donuts.
8. In the war of 1812, started by America, Canadians pushed the Americans back past their White House. Then they burned it, and most of Washington.
9. Canada has the largest French population that never surrendered to Germany.
10. They have the largest English population that never ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone, anywhere. Ever. (They got clobbered in the odd battle but prevailed in all the wars).
11. Canada's civil war was fought in a bar and lasted a little over an hour.
12. The only person who was arrested in the civil war was an American mercenary, he slept in and missed the whole thing. He showed up just in time to get caught.
13. A Canadian invented Standard Time.
14. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth's surface and is still around as the world's oldest company - although an American company (NRDC Equity Partners) purchased them in July 2008.
15. The average dog sled team can kill and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes.
16. They invented ski-doos, jet-skis, Velcro, zippers, insulin, the paint roller, roller skates, duct tape, the jolly-jumper, air conditioned vehicles, the Zamboni, the barcode, short wave radios, the Blackberry and the telephone.
17. The light bulb was actually invented by a Canadian (Henry Woodward patented it in 1874). The patent was bought by an American named Edison who improved upon the design and took credit for inventing it.
18. A Canadian invented Superman.
19. They have coloured money.
20. The handles on their beer cases are big enough to fit your hands with mitts on!
To show that Canadians are not just all about partying, here is a picture of the Canadian War Memorial in Green Park, London (just outside Buckingham Palace):
Over 1,000,000 Canadians came and fought in World War 1 & 2, and 113,663 of them died. The inscription on the memorial reads: "In two world wars one million Canadians came to Britain and joined the fight for freedom. From danger shared, our friendship prospers."
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
le fin.
