Timbits2Toonies

Bon Appetit! becomes Guden Appetit! in Luxembourgish. At the stroke of midnight, tonight in 1949, Newfoundland joined Confederation. 240,000 people are injured by lightning annually; the estimated global death toll is 6,000. More than two million wood-to-gas powered vehicles were built from 1939 to 1945. The trouble isn’t that there too many fools but that lightning is poorly distributed. There are four types of turnstiles.  All soldiers in the Royal Norwegian Army are trained in ski combat. Today in 1821, McGill University received its Royal Charter. Water expands by 9% when it freezes. Never participate in a sport that have ambulances at the bottom of a hill.  The cotton industry employs more than 100 million people. Counting is a universal human activity.  ’The Year with no Summer’ was 1816; it snowed for 12 months in Europe and North America. After a 15-day trek over the Himalayas, today in 1959, the fleeing Dalai Lama got to India.

Today in 1713, France ceded Acadia and Newfoundland to Britain. In continental Europe, robins are a delicacy. The first Women’s Lib organization was established in Toronto in 1967. Weasels whose coats turn white in the winter are called ermines. Parisians eat snails because they dislike fast food. Joan of Arc began hearing voices at the age of twelve. Today in 2008, the Supreme Court ruled the RCMP must serve New Brunswickers in both official languages. Happy Birthday! All racehorses age one year on January 1st. The name of a church in which a Bishop presides is a cathedral. Earthquake humour will crack you up. Anne Frank hid in the attic with her two cats, Tommy and Boche. Today in 1976, the Apple I went on sale.  Galileo calculated the height of the moon’s mountains, by measuring the shadows they cast. The weight of a GMC Sierra 1500 is 3.2 tonnes. My neighbour wrote a book about his cat; it's called Hiss and Tell. Mangrove tree

The leaves on a four-leaf clover represent hope, faith, love and luck. Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and uninvolved are the four types of parenting. From St. John’s to Victoria, we can donate to 86,260 charitable organizations. It is peace for Ireland as the Good Friday Agreement was signed in Belfast, today in 1998. Folk who iron a four-leaf clover are really pressing their luck.  74% of the sun’s mass is hydrogen.  Garlic is a member of of the lily family.  The Library of Canada contains 54 million catalogued items.  Today in 1972, an earthquake killed 4,000 people in Iran. Be wary of on-line articles about health—you could die of a misprint.  The mathematical term ‘fraction’ comes from the Latin ‘fractio’, to break. A newborn baby porcupine is called a porcupette.  Western Union operates more than 500,000 agencies in 200 countries.  Today in 1842, Halifax was incorporated as a city. Three out of every two people struggle with fr

This is Vimy Ridge Remembrance Day, as we reflect on the valour our soldiers in WW1. The iPhone is the most popular personal device on the planet. Fourteen years ago today, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles. Fingerprinting began in India—the year was 1858.  Marriage is between two people who swear only the other snores. Shadows are shorter in the spring and summer. The official religion of Greenland is The Lutheran Church of Denmark. Chromatics are dedicated to the scientific study of colour. Today in 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. A monastery is a consecration camp.  All Belgian school children are fingerprinted.  Botox injections cure lazy eye syndrome. In 1951, the birth control pill was conceived in Mexico. Today in 2007 Her Majesty rededicated the Vimy Memorial--90 years after our troops' victory on the ridge. Birth control is a complete evasion of the issue. People diagnos

The name Susan means graceful lily. The Saskatchewan Credit Unions was first to debut the debit card in 1982. Babylonians attended auctions to buy women for marriage.  Bye-bye whale oil, today in 1855, Abraham Gesner of Saint John patented kerosene. Money isn’t everything but it is handy when you forget your debit card. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal. White leather is the most difficult to produce.  There are 88 cherries in a kilo. Today in 1913, the first issue of Le Droit was published in Ottawa. The cherries went to the chocolate factory because they were cordially invited. There are five parts to a peanut.  There are no moose on PEI. ‘Buying the farm’ is far different from ‘betting the farm’. Today in 1815, the cost of army bills from the War of 1812 was said to be £1,249,996.  Crazy people never was time wondering if they’re nuts.  Springs are elastic objects that store mechanical energy.  Today in 19

Having thrice denied Jesus, Pope Gregory I assigned the rooster to St. Peter. Lethal electric fences separate the two Koreas. 10.4% of our GDP is spent on healthcare.  The word ‘dirt’ is restricted to displaced soil. Stolen yams are hot potatoes.  Lloyd’s of London began insuring people and belongings 333 years ago.  The spinal cord stops growing at the age of five. Hindus pray to Lord Ganesh in order to have obstacles removed. Meyer cookware has been manufactured in PEI for 40 years. A neighbourhood pastry chef was arrested for baking and entering. Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid.  Hair colour darkens with age. Expo 2020 will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Finns and Canadians consume the most ketchup on Earth.  Since ketchup is a fruit, then ketchup is a smoothie. Jupiter is the fastest-spinning planet in the solar system.  Never touch mothballs with bare hands. The Veterans Affairs Department is l

From Nova Scotia to BC, we have 19 operational collieries. Only female horseflies bite. Arizona’s Official State Fossil is petrified wood. This is Genocide Memorial Day in Rwanda.  A new broom sweeps clean but an old one knows all the corners. Queen Victoria survived six assassination attempts during her reign. With a population of 5.3 million, Finns have more two million home saunas. The letters ‘C’, ‘J’ and ‘X’ are the alphabet’s phonetic chameleons. Today in 1869, the last provincial public hanging was executed in Charlottetown. We all know what happens when a steam engine gets filled with holy water. The EU will abandon Daylight Savings Time in 2021. A Cherry Blossom contains 210 calories and four grams of fibre. France granted Syria independence on this date in 1946. According to the folktale, Aladdin was Chinese. It's always darkest after the lights go out.  Today in 1906, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, devastating nearby Naples.

This is Tartan Day, a North American celebration of Scottish heritage. Suitcases were originally made of wool or linen.  The South African Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts in twelve languages.  The words ‘vaccine’ and ‘vaccination’ were coined during the 1798 smallpox epidemic. My neighbour says onions are the only food to make one cry. So, I threw coconuts at him. 100 grams of horseradish provides 48 calories, is high in Vitamin C and dietary fibre. The polygraph was invented in 1921 The domestic gym and health club industry rakes in $4 billion a year. 110 years ago today, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson were first to reach the North Pole. To keep polar bears from charging, take away their VISA cards. Today  in 1968, Pierre Trudeau was elected leader of the Grits. Ombrophobes suffer from the irrational fear of rain.  There are more than 4,000 officially registered Highland Dress tartans.  Finns are the happiest people on Earth. For th

Today in 1908, the first dial telephone system was installed in Calgary. The top hat was invented by George Dunnage in England. The year was 1793. 8% of people around the world suffer from zoophobia, the irrational fear of animals. The Supreme Court’s nine justices represent our four major regions. A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in. ~Frederick the Great Today in 1932, 10,000 seized the Colonial Building in St. John’s, to protest corruption in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The surname Spooner is derived from the occupation of making wooden roof shingles. The term for an elderly horse is a nag.  Smuggling was so prevalent in 1275 that Edward I created English Customs to tax imports. The Canadian Revenue Agency must love the poor—it makes so many of them. Since opening day in 1955, Disneyland has played host to more than 600 million visitors. IBM has been awarded five Nobel Prizes. The Vietnam War is called the American War in Vietnam