Timbits2Toonies

Today in 1877, the University of Manitoba was founded, the first in Western Canada. Music is one of the few activities that engages the entire brain. Happy Birthday to You was first published in 1912. Fortune cookies were invented in California. When laminated, university degrees make excellent placemats.  Green beans are the unripe fruit of the common bean. Today in 1956 a diner in Chatham, ON was fined $50 for refusing to serve black students. Anteaters are close relatives of sloths.  The Int'l Labour Union says 170,000 farm workers die on the job-twice that of other workers. Remember: Do not buy magical beans from strangers.  The Toronto International Airport was opened  by PM Pearson, on this date in 1964. Goldfish belong to the carp family.  The liver pumps 1.5 litres of blood through itself every minute. Today in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI stepped down from office, the first to do so in 599 years. If folk focus...

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...

Saturday’s child works hard for a living.  Since 1825, this is Independence Day for 3.5 million in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The liver is the second largest organ in the human body. Phyllis is a Greek name, meaning green bough or leafy foliage.  Spinal fusion surgeries are performed by lumbar jacks. Uruguay generates 95% of its energy requirements from renewable sources. In Balkan folklore, Saturday is the optimal day to hunt vampires.  Montevideo’s 20,000 Jews worship in any of twelve synagogues. Windsor, Ontario has 259 dedicated firefighters, posted at seven fire stations. Ask yourself—how much clean air do we need? ~Lee Iacocca Today in 1944, Allied forces liberated Paris from the Nazis. 15% of Uruguayans speak Portuguese as their mother tongue. Since 1609, more than 1,000 vessels have disappeared within the Bermuda Triangle. Barn owls are usually monogamous  but 25% of mated couples ‘divorce’. The hat-steal...