Happy Canada Day!
Today is Canada Day! A day to celebrate the birthday of our northern neighbor. Particularly special about today is that we now have a Canadian in our immediate family... Rob! About 3 months ago, Canada changed their citizenship rules to include children born during certain years of Canadian parents, not born in Canada. That's Rob.
(You can watch the YouTube video here, it's worth the 2 minutes of your time, trust me, and read the new laws from the government here). So, here are some canadian fun facts...
---The baseball glove was invented in Canada in 1883.
---With only three people per square kilometer, Canada has the fourth lowest population density in the world.
---Vancouver Canada is tied with Zurich Switzerland for the highest quality of life of any city in the world.
---The world's smallest jail is believed to be in Rodney, Ontario, Canada. It is only 24.3 square meters (about 270 square feet).
---Canada has the ninth biggest economy of the world.
---Contrary to popular opinion, Canada does not own the North Pole. In fact, the North Pole is not owned by any country. It is believed, however, that Santa Claus is from Canada.
---Canada is the home of many great inventions, including: basketball, the electric light bulb, the electric range, the electron microscope, standard time, the television, the telephone, and the zipper.
---Canada is the fifth largest energy producer.
(from Vancouver English Centre)
---Canada has a desert, and it’s in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. The 25-kilometre-long desert is part of a system that extends right through the US and into Mexico’s Sonoran Desert. It’s home to over 100 rare plants and 300 rare invertebrates.
---Canada is the largest producer of Icewine — a refreshingly sweet dessert wine with high acidity — in the world. The Icewine industry is centred in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula. Pillitteri Estates Winery and Inniskillin are the top producers.
---Spirit Island on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta is the most photographed island in the world.
---Ottawa, Ontario’s Rideau Canal is the world’s largest skating rink. It’s a 202-kilometre long waterway that links Lake Ontario at Kingston with the Ottawa River. Today, the canal is a playground — for skaters in the winter and for boaters in the summer. But its beauty belies a fascinating history full of struggle and triumph. The oldest continuously operated canal in North America — it celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2007 — it is Canada’s entry to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
(from destination 2010)
#1 Avril Lavigne
#2 Pamela Anderson
#3 Romeo Dallaire
#4 Shania Twain
#5 Nelly Furtado
#6 Estella Warren
#7 Sum41
#8 Shannon Tweed
#9 Barenakedladies
#10 Keanu Reeves
#11 Celine Dion
#12 Alanis Morissette
#13 Peter North
#14 Bryan Adams
#15 Neil Young
#16 Jim Carrey
#17 Natasha Henstridge
#18 Jennifer Tilly
#19 Sarah McLachlan
#20 Leonard Cohen
#21,22,23---these guys...
And how did we celebrate Canada's birthday, eh? With a cake, of course! (pardon the bad icing maple leaf).
