Timbits2Toonies

132 years ago today, the first transcontinental Canadian Pacific passenger train departed Montréal. It arrived in Port Moody, BC on 4 July. 12.6% of the Bangladeshi work force is made up of child labourers aged five to fourteen. Because they stack and ship easily, Japanese farmers grow cubed watermelon.  Iceland has 2,000 sheep farms. Sherlock Holmes discovered the missing train by following its tracks.  As Canada's #1 circulating paper, The Toronto Star  hit newsstands in 1892. After being a Belgian colony for 52 years-today in 1960-The Congo gained independence. Wearing purple on Saturday brings good luck according to Thai folklore. More than 75% of Canadians gambled in 2017. Edmonton Journal headline: ‘Blind woman gets kidney from dad she hasn’t seen in years’. Founded in Vancouver in 1969, Greenpeace International has offices in 39 countries.  The oldest continuous labour organization in North America is the International Union of Bric

Today in 1534, Jacques Cartier was the first European explorer to set foot on PEI. Buttermilk is an organic antacid.  11,708 New Zealanders were attacked by dogs in 2017.  250 million people in 200 countries play football, a.k.a soccer. When I said to a friend, “Those children are spoiled,” she replied, “All kids smell like that.” Oil and iron ore make up 84.3% of Newfoundland and Labrador’s exports.  France declared Tahiti as a colony on this date in 1880. Violets are blue—all 600 species.   Many of the 59,346 personnel in the Royal Dutch Military are union members. A cannibal will sit down in a restaurant and order the waiter.  If they do, they will die, so most sharks never sleep.  Nauru was visited by 200 tourists in 2011.  An oak tree produces an average of 2,000 acorns each season.  Where it all began, Charlottetown numbers 36,094 souls. The Immaculate Conception may have been a case of spontaneous combustion.  The Tahitian na

90% of people surveyed admit they like to sing in their cars. Today in 1635, Guadeloupe became a colony of France. There are nineteen different types of smiles.  Only 10% of human knowledge is on the Internet. Jesus never charged a leper co-pay.  A penguin can hold its breath underwater for up to 20 minutes. The world record for people stuffed into a Smart Car is nineteen. Humans who experience the least anxiety in life are blood type B. Thursdays and Fridays are the days when Tweeters tweet the most. Bureaucracy is capital punishment.   Babies born on Thursday in Ghana, are given the appellation Yaw for boys and Yaa for girls.  A Canadian kid will eat 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches before completing high school. Israel’s two Chief Rabbis are appointed for ten-year terms.  Holding 150,000 fans, Rungrado May Stadium in Pyongyang is the world’s largest. Hanging is a suspended sentence. In 1974, helmets were introduced into the NHL.

Today is National Multiculturalism Day; 36 million of us embrace the 200+ ethnicities in the Canadian mosaic.  Google has been searched since 1998. Labrador retrievers are the most affectionate of dogs.  This is National PTSD Awareness Day, observed throughout the 50 United States. I prayed for a bike but God doesn't work that way. So, I stole one and asked for forgiveness. The Russian helicopter MIL Mi-12 Homer can lift 40 204 kilos to a height of 2 255 metres. Not everyone is born in the True North; StatsCan says 6,775,800 of us have chosen Canada to be our home and native land. The AAA tows more than 2 million broken-down vehicles, annually.  Laughing stock: Cattle with a sense of humour.  Ranking fifth in productivity, the Dutch work four days a week and put in 29 hours on the job. Black coral is the official gem of Hawaii. For an optimal credit score, 30% is the max one can owe.  Denmark has 11,000 law enforcement officials, includin

Today in 1745, the British seized Louisbourg-the capital of New France-on what now known as Cape Breton Island. Wedgwood has been a purveyor of fine china since 1759. In 1600, Henri IV of France and Marie de’ Medici’s wedding dinner guests unfolded their serviettes, chefs sliced into pies and four-and-twenty songbirds flew out of each. When spelled backward, Won Ton is Not Now. Queen Victoria ascended to the throne of the British Empire, today in 1838. Although formulated in 1874, DDTs propensity to kill insects was not discovered until 1936. It is widely rumoured that—like the lowly copper—the nickel is about to go monetary heaven. Heinz markets two flavours of ketchup in India.  The best thing to put in a pie is one’s teeth. Russo-Balt manufactured automobiles in St. Petersburg between 1909 and 1923. New Zealand, France, Germany and Spain have banned gas and oil fracking. Scientific experiments reveal that jellyfish love to feast on peanut

On this date in 1978, the rainbow flag was first unfurled. There can be a million fine feathered friends in a single flock of redwing blackbirds. 43 years ago today, Mozambique declared independence from Portugal. New Brunswick is the world's second largest exporter of peat.  I wanted to pen a pun about Kleenex here but I was afraid I’d blow it. There are three types of discounts. Kim Campbell was sworn as Canada’s first woman Prime Minister, today in 1993. A rainbow is not a physical object.  The maximum one be awarded in a Michigan Small Claims Court is $5,000. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can’t see. Bayer is the most active stock in the Börse Frankfurt. Three years is the typical lifespan of a hamster. From St. John’s to Victoria, Girl Guides number 75,342 strong. The rainbow trout is a member of the salmon family. A man with rubber pockets will steal soup. Mosquitoes are highly attracted to the colour blue.  Chamoy Thipya

Today in 1497, John Cabot landed in Bonavista, and claimed the New Founde Land for Britain.  No one’s telling, but there may be as many as 1,000 Chinese spies lurking in Canada.  At 23%, Canada and the United States have the lowest rate of domestic violence. In 190 days we will ring in 2019. 7.2 million Francophones celebrate la Féte-de-la-Saint-Jean Baptiste today, a statutory holiday in Québec. Cremation is a person’s last chance for a smokin’ hot body. Bulrushes, a.k.a. cattails, number thirty in variety.  410 years ago today, Samuel de Champlain sailed into the St. John River, site of Saint John, NB. Cremation is forbidden in Islam.  O Canada was performed for the first time on this date in 1880. Unsavoury citrus risk being beaten to a pulp. Canadians buy 40.4 billion litres of gas, annually. Globally, one out of every eleven adults suffer from diabetes. The harpsichord first appeared in 1397. The lifespan of an almond tree is 20 to 2

Today in 1713, Acadians were given a year to pledge fealty to Britain or be expelled. A watermelon is 92% water. Montréal Island is home to twenty off-leash dog parks.  Serbians buy their TV licenses when they pay their hydro bills. Pitbulls are like guns you can pet. In 1980, Ford recalled 21 million defective vehicles, setting an industry record. Bullfighting is legal in eight countries.  Folks have been taking Eno for upset stomachs since 1852. Butterhead, crisphead, looseleaf and romaine are the four types of lettuce. Dogs can’t operate MRI machines but catscan.  Luxembourg ranks first in universal health care. A pig has 44 teeth.  7% of Louisianans speak French. Roller skates were patented in 1760 by Belgian John Joseph Merlin. Happy rabbits are classified as hoptomists. Coriander is the planet's most popular herb and cumin the Number One spice. During The Great War, the Italian Army ate canned pasta packed in thei

Chrysler Canada ceased production of the Fargo truck line in 1972, after a 44-year run. A typical cataract surgery takes ten minutes. With a population of 21 million, Mexico City is the world’s sixth largest urban sprawl.   Potato salad originated in Germany in the 1600s. Couldn’t remember how to fasten my seatbelt. Suddenly, it clicked. At a formal Guamese buffet, potato salad is placed third on the table, after meat and starch.  VA, PA, MA and KY are the Commonwealths granted American statehood. 70% of France’s prisoners are Muslim, though the group represents 10% of the population. StatsCan reports that there are 14.6 million of us who are single—and looking.  Potatoes have skin. Humans have skin; ergo people are potatoes. Today in 1990, Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie was dismantled as Germany reunified. Sailors consider it unlucky to begin a voyage on Friday. 85% of Americans surveyed ranked RNs as the nation’s most trusted professionals