So, You Want to Be Canadian? by Kerry Colburn

Author:Kerry Colburn [Kerry Colburn & Rob Sorensen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780811845354
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC

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Did you know?

Canadian Sarah McLachlan was the driving force behind Lilith Fair, the all-female-performer music festival.

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Invented in Canada

MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

Imagine a world with nothing but buttons. Then, thank goodness for crafty Canadians, who invented the zipper, not to mention a long list of other essentials that would be impossible to live without. Here is but a small sampling of Canuck ingenuity at work.

The Abdominizer

Air hockey: Naturally.

Antigravity suit

Basketball: Invented by James Naismith, of Ontario

Canadarm: Cleverly named to ensure the proper country received credit, this fifteen-meter Remote Manipulator System is an essential tool on the space shuttle and brings the maple leaf logo to alien life forms everywhere.

Chocolate bar: A fishing trip prompted chocolatiers Arthur Ganong and George Ensor to invent a chocolate nut bar, which they began selling in New Brunswick in 1910.

Dental mirror

Documentary film: Canada’s Nanook of the North (1922) was the first film ever termed a “documentary.” And perhaps, the first film that ever offered you a much-need nap in grade school.

Five-pin bowling

Frozen fish fillets: Believe it or not, it took until 1929 before someone—namely Dr. Archibald G. Huntsman—had the brilliant idea to sell “Ice Fillets” to the public. Alberta housewives celebrate by bringing trout in off the back porch.

Fuller Brush Company: Mr. Fuller, the father of door-to-door sales, was born in Nova Scotia.

Ginger Ale: Invented in 1904 by University of Toronto chemist and pharmacist John J. McLaughlin, his “Pale Dry Ginger Ale,” featuring a beaver sitting atop a map of Canada on every can, was the predecessor to Canada Dry, still the “champagne of ginger ales” and the perfect partner to Canadian whisky.

Plastic garbage bags

Goalie mask: Naturally.

Hydrofoil boat

Ice hockey: The first recorded game took place on Christmas Day, 1855, in Kingston, Ontario, when bored members of the Royal Canadian Rifles tied blades to their boots, borrowed field hockey sticks and a lacrosse ball, and hit the frozen harbor. Appropriately, the International Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Kingston.

IMAX movie system

Instant mashed potatoes: As of 1962, spud-loving campers everwhere notice a significant lightening of their backpacks.

Insulin: Isolated by Canadians to treat diabetes.

Java programming language

Jet Ski

Jolly Jumper: An essential parenting tool, this “helpful harness” hooks on a door frame and lets active babies bounce for hours without spilling their parents’ Caesars.

Lacrosse: Originally played by the Algonquian Indian tribes in Canada’s St. Lawrence Valley (who considered it a religious rite and warrior training), lacrosse is North America’s oldest organized sport. The Lacrosse Hall of Fame is in B.C.

Lawn sprinkler

Lightbulb: Contrary to many history lessons, the first electric lightbulb lamp was patented by Toronto med student Henry Woodward, who in 1875 sold a share in the patent to an American (and son of a Canadian ex-pat) named Thomas Edison, who obviously ran with it.

Paint roller

Prosthetic hand

Snowmobile Snowplough: Note the proper spelling

Snowblower

Short-wave radio Square-head (“Robertson”) screwdriver

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