Timbits2Toonies

The wind cannot make a sound until it blows up against an object. After 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge opened today in 1883. A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 times more acute than that of its human owner.  Canadair builds aircraft in here at home, the US, the UK, Morocco and Mexico. To stop the wind from blowing away your newspaper, use a news anchor. The Amur Leopard is Earth’s most endangered animal; fewer than 70 remain. Duct tape must be replaced every 12 months.  Today in 1918, MPs voted to give women the right to vote in federal elections.  Urban geographers  know that avenues are required to run perpendicular to streets.  My neighbour took the road out of town; the Mounties made him put it back.  This is the Fête de St-Jean-Baptiste--Québec's national holiday.  Many mammals eat their newborn babies, if they are deformed. Refugees like our warm attitude, inclusiveness , world-class educatio...

Today in 1770, Captain James Cook and crew docked in Botany Bay, Australia. Tin does not corrode in water. The western end of Northumberland Strait has only one tide a day. Ford is the world’s largest family-owned business. The new speed limit is 60kph—Fords, just do the best you can. The world’s first teddy bear museum opened in England in 1984. Mondays, crew on the HMS Endeavour ate 8  oz. of butter, 10 oz. of cheese and all the porridge or boiled wheat they wanted. Today in 1903, a 30 million cubic-metre landslide killed 70 people in Frank, Alberta. The proper depth of a bird bath is three to nine centimetres. Scientists have successfully crossed a pig with a teddy bear; the result is a teddy boar. Cook’s HMS Endeavour carried 94 people: 71 ship’s company, 12 marines and 11 civilians. From St. John’s to Victoria we have more than 1,700 YMCAs.  Since 1905, Vick’s VapoRub has been used to treat mosquito bites. 200 grams of kangaro...

Today in 1957, M. Lachance—owner of Café Ideal in Warwick, QC—served the first poutine. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, began in 1883. The garn is a unit of measure NASA uses, to gauge how quickly astronauts develop nausea. The harmonica is a free reed wind instrument.  When astronauts crash into the moon they are required to Apollo-gize. Since 1791, little Jack Horner has sat in the corner, pulling out plums from his Christmas pie. The average length of a New Zealand couple’s marriage is 12.2 years. Today in 1911, Parks Canada came into existence—the world’s first national park ministry.  The letter ‘B’ is a voiced bilabial stop in many languages. 100% of all caves are located underground. 11.5% of us live in common-law relationships. The world’s most massive wedding cake weighed in at 6.8 tonnes.  Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.  We have pounded out  Chops...

Today is World AIDS Vaccine Day. Kelp forests do not have roots.  Mr. Christie reports that 50% of all Oreo eaters pull their cookies apart before eating. The standard tuba has 4.8 metres of tubing. Unhealthy citrus trees require lemon aid.  A savoury mousse includes chicken, liver, seafood and vegetable. There are than 330 species of marsupials.  85% of consumers report a distaste for telephone sales calls. Today in 1783, 7,000 refugees landed in Saint John, NB, having escaped war in the 13 rebellious colonies. Trust the Elmer’s Glue sales people. They stick to their word. As an objet d’art, a 1970 Range Rover is on permanent display in the Louvre. Top speed for a moose is 56 km/h. Legislators adopted the Newfoundland Red Ensign as the Dominion flag, today in 1902. Limoges china is made of hard-paste porcelain.  The hills are alive with the sound of Moosezak.  Colonial authorities in South America banned ...

Convection, radiation and conduction are the three kinds of heat. From St. John’s to Victoria we can take our pets to any of 14,000 veterinarians. Currently there are 70,000 LDS (Mormon) Missionaries serving around the globe. Today in 1986, the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Plant exploded, killing 31. My neighbour’s computer mouse stopped working so he rushed it to the vet.  Finnish road graders are equipped with a second blade, located ahead of the front axle. Ashes are a natural disinfectant and an excellent alternative to soap—if not available. Today in 1783, 7,000  war refugees landed in Nova Scotia—escaping the 13 rebellious Colonies.  Experts warn that the African penguin will be extinct by the year 2026. The primary cause of road rage is cross walks.  Cuba is the only Caribbean nation with a railway system. Female squid are twice the size of their male counterparts. Today in 1887, religious refugees from the Utah Terr...

A magnum measures 1.5 litres. Spread over 25 years, today's 5-year mortgage rate at the Royal Bank is 3.97%. The traditional cheese to top off French onion soup is Comté. ‘Gobbledygook’ entered into the language in 1944. Scotia bank offered me a VISA with no interest. I asked, “Why do you bother, then?” One out of every three people in Ireland believe in leprechauns. Time seems to pass more quickly as we age, because many experiences are familiar. It’s called the ‘oddball effect’. Per capita, we eat 10.5 kilos of fresh apples a year.  In Spanish, the surname Cervantes indicates someone of Jewish origin. The easiest way to make an apple turnover is to push it downhill.   Deep and wide, the Jordan River measures 60 metres in depth and 3 000 metres in width. Ig-pay Atin-lay is unique to the English language.  Despite its reputation for endless rain, British Columbia is the driest province. A pod of dolphins can contain up to a doze...

Today in 1965, Cross Country Checkup debuted on CBC Radio. Scots consider May to be an unlucky month. The phrase ‘when pigs fly’ is an adynaton, an extreme hyperbolic figure of speech. 34 muscles move the fingers and thumb. Spotted a one-armed man at the second-hand shop.  Pain, nausea and flu-like symptoms are results of sugar withdrawal. Limestone is often added to paint as a thickening agent.  Today in 1990, a fire broke out in Québec. It took four days to snuff the 3 million-tire inferno. One horsepower equals 735.5 watts. Glucose guardian is the gender-neutral term for ‘sugar daddy’. We have been shopping at amazon.ca since 2002. Ranking as Earth’s third least-indebted nation, Estonia’s national debt is 9.5%. Samurai were divided into twelve ranks. According to biblical account, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 mistresses. Bargain: A transaction in which each party thinks he has cheated the other. 53% of Michigan i...

This the International Day of Families. The Reader’s Digest version of the Ten Commandments is: DON’T! Between 30,000 to 40,000 Canadians work in the United States. Eat six prunes for 4 grams of fibre. No matter how young a prune may be, it’s always full of wrinkles. 92% of iPhone users are brand loyal.  In a pinch, grits can double as kitty litter.  161,000 people work for Unilever, worldwide. Today in 1894 Nova Scotia banned alcohol sales.  My neighbour's cellphone plan is unlimited. There’s no limit as to how much Bell can charge. The platypus secretes 80 poisonous toxins. From St. John’s to Victoria, we have 525,757 Registered Nurses. Folks have been wishing others to ‘Have a nice day’  since 1948. The main ingredients in cola are citrus oils, cinnamon, vanilla and an acidic flavouring. Hôtel-Dieu has a maternity nurse shortage; it’s a mid-wife crisis.  White burgundy is made from chardonnay grapes; red...

Children began driving Tonka Trucks in 1946. This is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand; in honour of all soldiers fallen in war. The gooseberry is a member of the currant family.  Fredericton was named as the capital of New Brunswick by Queen Victoria, today in 1845. A transport full of Marmite crashed on the #1 Highway; it happened in the yeast-bound lane.  This is World Malaria Day. A regulation CFL football must weigh 425.243 grams. 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled. There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes. Football is a great way to get rid of aggression without having to go to jail. Today in 1950, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON and PEI and Ottawa inked a deal to build the Trans-Canada Highway. 10 millilitres of carob powder has five grams of fibre. PayPal employs 18,700 people worldwide to provide service to 254 million subscribers. The average person opens the fridge between 15 to 20 times a day. My neighbour made a fortun...