Timbits2Toonies

Today is All Hallow’s Eve. Onions are 97% water. Sponges do not have organs.  Today in 1952, the Stratford Shakespearean Festival was incorporated.  My neighbours dressed up as almonds for Hallowe’en—I always knew they were nuts. Had the Allies had to drop a third bomb on Japan in 1945, the intended target was Tokyo. There are three main branches of science. Forced to abdicate in 476, Romulus Augustulus was Rome’s last Caesar. Phobos and Deimos are the two moons that orbit Mars. The scariest Hallowe’en costume of all is to dress as a cellphone battery about to die. Americans spend $6 billion on Hallowe’en, the year's second most commercial holiday.  St. Matthew is the patron saint of accountants and bookkeepers. Using a slingshot in a Canadian National Park is illegal.  Oxygen is a pale blue colour in its liquid and solid states. Hallowe’en was once the most frightening day of the year—now it’s election night.  ...

We ring in the New Year in 62 days. The average lifespan of a horse is 25 years. Khoury is the most common surname in Lebanon.  There are 14 basic nose shapes. Trump is nothing like Hitler; there’s no way Trump could write a book. ~Frankie Boyle A bloodhound has 4 billion olfactory receptors. Lefties chew their food on the left side. Today in 1995, voters in Québec narrowly rejected independence in favour of staying in Confederation. Latrophobes suffer from an irrational fear of physicians.  My neighbour is too poor to own a dog so every day he walks the plank.  Folks in British Columbia eat the least red meat.  There are around 2,000 varieties of cacti.  From 1854 to1866, Britain—and her colonies—enjoyed free trade with the United States. The ackee and the lychee are members of the soapberry family.  A transport filled with tortoises hit head on with another carrying terrapins—it was a turtle disaster. ...

Today in 1863, eighteen nations met in Geneva to create the International Red Cross. The Jaguar automobile company is now owned by India’s Tata Motors.  The Faroe Islands has recorded one homicide in the past 26 years. Hair is 50% carbon, 21 % oxygen, 17% nitrogen, 6% hydrogen, and 5% sulphur. When a flash flood hits your campsite, the tent’s rain tarp makes a handy sail for the rubber raft.  Today in 1982, a jury in Darwin, NT  decided the dingo didn’t do it  and found Lindy Chamberlain guilty of the murder of her newborn baby. General Electric employs 330,000 people worldwide. The youngest person to undergo heart surgery was only one minute old. My neighbour just bought a TV  he says was ’made in Antenna’. He has no idea where that country is.  Hammers can be bought in 23 varieties. 20 species of seagulls live on Earth’s seven continents. Still known as Black Friday, the NY Stock Market collaps...

The Cuban missile crisis ended today in 1962 when the USSR agreed to remove its weapons on the Caribbean island. Lactose-free milk is sweeter than regular milk.  Jerusalem boasts 300 synagogues, 33 mosques and more than 50 Christian churches. St. Nicholas of Myra, a.k.a., Santa Claus, is the patron saint of pirates. My neighbour heard that most accidents happen near home, so he moved. 20,000 new words a year enter la langue français.  The Tar Heel State has an official rock and it’s granite.  At 819, China is home to the most billionaires. Today in 1942, the 2 575-kilometre Alcan Highway opened to military traffic.   Don’t be shocked, toasters are not waterproof.  China shares its borders with 14  nations. The botanical term for the three types of grasses is graminoids. The term ‘copycat’ was first used in print in 1896. 43 skyscrapers in The Big Apple warrant their own Zip Codes.  My neighbour accidentall...

The stapler was patented in 1866. Today in 1982, Bill C-201 received Royal Assent; changing the name of Dominion Day to Canada Day.  The grandfather clock has kept time since 1670. Albania’s oil reserves are Europe’s largest.  Those who avoid calligraphy will never have well formed characters. Eight food types are responsible for 90% of all food allergies. A master cabinet maker’s title is ebeniste. On this day in 1967, Man and His World, a.k.a., Expo ’67 closed. The world’s fair played host to 40,300,000 visitors. Honeybees never sleep.  My neighbour thinks that sleeping is so easy that he can do it with his eyes shut.  21 months is the shelf life of molasses. The flintlock musket was invented in Europe; the year was 1550.  Plums are clingstone cultivars while prunes are freestone.  On this date in 1992, the National Post was published for the first time. A lawyer who becomes a cook is a sue chef.  ...

Today in 1775, King George III addressed Parliament to declare the American Colonies in rebellion. There are six days until Hallowe’en. The blindness caused by pepper spray lasts from 15 to 30 minutes. Every winter some 4.9 million tonnes of salt is spread on our roads, from St. John’s to Victoria. Any pumpkin weighing 50 kilos or more is called a pumpkin. Covered by Britian’s health scheme, the cost of a root canal is £59.10. Fewer than 1% of Earth’s population are hechtochromites—have two differently-coloured eyes. The word ‘percent’ comes from the Latin per centum, meaning ‘by the hundred’.   When animals die, veterinarians often perform necropsies.  Witches who live together are broommates. Electrophobes suffer from an irrational fear of electricity.  Polka dot fabric was given its name in 1857. After skin, the liver is the second largest organ in the human body. In 2017, 70 teams from 11 countries took part in th...

Christmas comes in sixty days. We have ten primary aluminum smelters—one in BC and nine in Québec. The lifespan of a pillow is two to four years. The Bermuda Police Service has 468 sworn members. Pakistani politicians are very good at currying favours.  Knorr began selling alphabet soup nearly 130 years ago. Women are twice as likely than men to develop varicose veins.  The official retirement age for Norwegians is 67. Today in 1861, the Toronto Stock Exchange opened—thirteen companies were listed. Alternative facts are aversion of the truth. Kellogg’s manufactures in 18 countries and markets its products in 180 nations.  Bald eagles mate for life and take turns sitting on the eggs until they hatch. 330,000 people walk through Times Square every day.   Rob Ford was elected as His Worship, Mayor of Toronto, today in 2010. Pilot: What one does with wood after cutting and splitting it. Canada Dry was incorporated i...

Canada and 50 other nations founded the United Nations today, in 1945. A dove can fly 870 kilometres in a day.  Today in 1987, the Parti Québecois announced its opposition to Free Trade with the United States. On six continents, there are 53 urban centres named Paris.  Talk is cheap until you hire a lawyer.  At 402 metres, Mount Obama is the highest point in Antigua.  Earthlings can travel on more than 40 million kilometres of highways and byways.  A dozen eggs cost 35¢ at Loblaw’s in 1935; the average income was $313 a year.  70% of Australia’s kangaroo meat is exported to France and Germany.  The RMS Titanic carried 20 lifeboats but we do not know how many were non-smoking. Around 400 AD, bowling was introduced to Germans as a religious cleansing ritual.  The Reuters News Agency was established in 1851. Spinach, Swiss chard and beets are all members of the good foot family. In 2006, Winnie the Pooh w...

There are nine days until Hallowe’en. In Europe, 8 million automobiles are recycled on an annual basis.  The first hypodermic needle was used on humans in 1844. Enacted by Parliament in 1914; the War Measures Act gave broad arrest powers to policing agencies. The world gets better every day—and then worse in the evening.   Romania’s top three export trading partners are Germany, Italy and France. Eyebrows are an important component of communication. An African Bull Elephant’s heart beats 28 times a minute.  The number of Canadians who chose assisted death rose 30% in the past six months.  Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.  Made from fat boiled in acid, the world’s first record of soap was in the Babylonian Empire. Depending upon the individual, humans have between 501 and 700 lymph nodes.  Coconuts are seeds. Switzerland has the best railway infrastructure. History repeats itself; historians re...