Timbits2Toonies

10,000+ moved to Oz from China, India and the UK in 2017, the hotspot for millionaires.  Real butterscotch never contains milk.  The 14th Dalai Lama is 83 years old. The first animated film appeared in cinemas in 1906. The food served to prison guards can last for sentries.  A walrus has 450 whiskers called vibrissae.  In  A.D. 1489 the book Natural and Unnatural Magic  explained the procedures behind tricks. de Beers mines diamonds in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada. No one ran against George Washington in the presidential race of 1792. Librarians file Tesla’s books on electricity under ‘Current Affairs’.  Women have twice as many pain receptors as men.  The Aztec calendar was divided into 18 months of four, five-day weeks. Exported from Canada to the US are the: Chev Equinox, Impala & Silverado; Chrysler 300 & Pacifica; Cadillac XTS; Dodge Caravan, Challenger, Demon & Charger; F...

The human heart’s outer wall consists of three layers. Argentina is the eighth largest country on Earth. For fluffier pancakes, add buttermilk to the batter. First used in TB sanitariums, the modern electric blanket appeared in 1921. Don’t take life too seriously—you won’t get out alive.  The word ‘vegan’ was coined in 1944. Haphephobes struggle with the irrational fear of being touched. A wheelbarrow-sized cement mixer costs $343 at Canadian Tire.   Hurricanes typically span 600 to 800 kilometres.  The Canada Revenue Agency has what it takes to get what we’ve got.  Sierra Leone does not have old age pensions.  Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota built 2.2 million vehicles  in Canada, in 2017.  Sharks have seven rows of teeth. Women have cast ballots in federal—but not provincial—elections for 100 years.  The Bermuda Triangle has drifted to Greenland; now Santa is missing.  Butter is 80% ...

It’s mango season in Australia. The first fruit arrived in grocery stores yesterday. Adolph Hitler took piano and flute lessons.  In 1846, Michigan became the first of the 29 United States to ban the death penalty.  More than four billion people own cellphones yet only 3.5 billion possess toothbrushes. Veni, Vedi, Velcro —I came, I saw and I stuck around. Two-for-one, the nutmeg tree produces the spices nutmeg and mace.  The median age of residents in St. John’s, NL is 39.4 years. We can thank the Basques for stuffed peppers. A Third Reich expedition reached Antarctica, and declared New Swabia for Germany.  665 and 667 are the next-door neighbours of The Beast of Revelation. There are three types of Samauri swords. The USA operates nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries.  Pour salt on an accidentally dropped egg, for an easy-peasy cleanup. The period, the comma and the semicolon were the earliest standard ...

Cows do not get seasick. In Shenzhen, China, DJI Innovations manufactures 70% of all civilian drones.  A serving of peas contains more fibre than a slice of whole wheat bread. The DVD first bowed in 1995.  Bikers wear leather because chiffon wrinkles far too easily.  The Dutch Royal House does not have a crown. Kids in Australia and France do not celebrate Hallowe’en.  More species of fish are found in the Arctic Ocean than anywhere else in the world. Queen Victoria’s wedding cake weighed 136 kilos.  When pigs lose their voices, they become disgruntled.  In 2014, there were 40,920 women lawyers and 54,153 men lawyers in Canada. The German city of Nuremberg is the Gingerbread Capital of the World.  Bunnies have been bringing Easter eggs to children since 1682. Some 500,000 people and a million animals were slaughtered in Rome’s Coliseum. Remember, traffic lights timed for 35 k/ph are also timed for 110 k/ph....

19,808 physicians practise in Québec—73% of those under 30 are women. Sounds are audible waves of pressure, transmitted through gases, liquids and solids. New & Improved, Sun-dried Georgia Possum sells for USD$2.95 a tin in the Peach State. Colourless and odourless, oxygen (O) has the atomic number of eight. A shark’s two favourite words are ‘Man overboard!’    250 millilitres of asparagus contain 50 calories.  Finland’s Smith and Jones are the Virtanen and Korhonen . The Korhenen rank first. The ratio of antifreeze to water for winter driving one’s Ford Model T in Whitehorse is 9 to 1. China accounts for 95% of Earth's rare minerals. Bees hum when they forget the words.   We owe the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia for cold borscht in summer.  There are an estimated 37.2 trillion cells in the human body.  To date, 5,038 rockets have been fired into space; 92% completed their missions. 10 mill...

Earth advanced more than 8 000 kilometres while you read this sentence.  In 1796, a cupcake recipe appeared for the first time in American Cookery. The word ‘admiral’ comes from the Arabic word amīr al-baḥr , “commander of the fleet”. Today in 1962, Royal Dutch Shell purchased White Rose and its parent for $130 million. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don’t vote.  Pineapples come in six varieties.  In 1939, the Philco Mystery Radio Control took honours as the first digital wireless remote. After 110 years on newsstands, the Montréal Star folded today in 1979.  Plywood was first made in ancient China.  Canadians are guaranteed free speech yet we still get phone bills.  Geothermal power plants produce 30% of Iceland’s hydro needs. It is estimated that there are more than 200 billion stars in the Milky Way.  Cream of Wheat has been a breakfast tradition since 1893. Celebrated througho...

Today is New Caledonia Day in the French Overseas Territory.  Carrots are sweeter when picked in winter.  The planet Venus has more volcanoes than any other in our solar system. In 1985, we earned $15,903 a year, milk sold for 98¢ a litre and eggs cost $1.37 a dozen. If you have a fairy tale life, make sure it’s not grim.  There are 43 species of cotton—some varieties grow on trees.  In 1952, the CBC launched its first TV stations, CBFT in Montréal and CBLT in Toronto. Sugar is produced commercially in more than 100 nations.  The European Union conducts business in 24 official languages.  Bowling: marbles for grownups.  Hard charcoal will fire when heated to 700°C.  At any given time, there are 1,800 thunderstorms on Earth.  The bite-sized Timbit bowed in April of 1976. Beijing boasts 91 universities.  You can’t wake a person who pretends to be asleep.  ~Navajo proverb Founded in...

We ring in a New Year in 100 days. The highest quality embroidery needles are plated with two-thirds platinum and one third titanium alloy.  Canadian farmers produce 220 tonnes of onions each growing season.  The Bahamas, Gabon, Chad and Bermuda have the world’s highest tariffs. A physicist’s favourite meal is fission chips.  There are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States. The number of leaves on a mature oak tree number upwards of 500,00.  Today in 1932, the unification of Saudi Arabia took place; this National Day in the Kingdom. France’s Force de Frappe  stands at 300 nuclear warheads, the third largest on the planet. Illegal refugees sneaking into Stockholm are artificial Swedeners. In Arabic, there are more than 160 words that mean ‘camel’.  Austria, Germany, Japan and  Switzerland are the most difficult countries to gain citizenship.  The many vitamins and antioxidants in hot peppers b...

US-based Pew Research released a poll this week that reveals 74% of Canadians favour taking in refugees. The male watermelon flower has 22 chromosomes; the female 44. More than 200 years after kites first flew, China’s military turned them into weapons of war. British Somalia and the Italian-administered UN Trust of Somaliland united as the Republic of Somalia in 1960. Many people can’t stand being in wheelchairs. Walmart commands 10% of the American retail market.  A group of skunks is called a surfeit.  In 1916, the average male farmhand in Nova Scotia earned $31.77 a month; a female counterpart: $19.11.   A favourite Cypriot summertime treat is grilled halloumi with watermelon. According to his mother, Einstein was relatively happy. The Jewish population in Albania numbers 60 souls, most of whom live in Tirana.  Bon Appetit! Three squares and two snacks a day in an Ontario hospital range from $8 to $15.  Ou...