I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world.
This week's country is...
Canada
It is located in the northern hemisphere and is part of North America. It is north of the United States and East of Russia with Alaska bordering us to Northwest.
Canada is huge – 30% larger than Australia, 5 times as big as Mexico, 3 times as big as India and about the same size as 81,975 Walt Disney Worlds put together.
The United States is Canada's only land bordering country, with which it has the world’s largest land border.
Canada has the fourth lowest population density in the world.
Half of the Canadian population was born in other countries.
Thirty-two per cent of Canadians are reported to be very happy, whereas 55% are quite happy.
Canada has the world’s largest coastline – it would take you four-and-a-half years to walk the length of it, without stopping.
Canada’s lowest recorded temperature is as cold as Mars. In 1947, in a small village known as Snag, a temperature of -63 C (-81.4 F) was recorded.
In Canada, the one-dollar coin is called the ‘loonie’ and the two-dollar coin is called the ‘toonie’.
Canada has 10% of the world’s forests.
There are about 630 bird species in Canada and 11 sub-species of Canada geese alone.
There are about 200 species of mammals in Canada.
Canada is known as the home of large animals like the moose and grizzly bear, but it is also home to about 55,000 species of insects and about 11,000 species of mites and spiders.
Canada’s national animal is the beaver. Why? Because the country was built on the fur trade and the beaver was in high demand for its pelt.
The world's largest concentration of snakes is found in the province called Manitoba. Each May, around 70,000 snakes come out of hibernation there.
The Trans Canada Highway #1 is the longest highway in the world at 4860 miles.
Canada has the longest street in the world – Yonge Street in Ontario 1,178 miles long. It originates in Toronto and goes due north to just shy of Lake Simcoe.
Canada's Wasaga beach and it is the longest freshwater beach in the world.
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined
If you include the small lakes, there are three million lakes in Canada.
Canada has 48 national parks and national park reserves, 970 national historic sites and five marine conservation areas.
National Parks in Canada are bigger than most countries.
The West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, has the world’s largest indoor amusement park.
The Mall of America is the largest mall in the United States, but did you know it’s actually not owned by anyone in the US? Nope, this giant mall is owned by Canadians instead!
The average Canadian watches 30 hours of television each week.
Canada produces 80% of the world’s maple syrup.
Canada has a strategic maple syrup reserve to ensure global supply in case of an emergency.
There are more doughnut shops in Canada per capita than any other country.
The Hawaiian Pizza was invented in Canada.
A Canadian eats an average of 190 eggs each year.
Canada is the World’s Most Educated Country. Over half of its residents have college degrees!
The Telephone Was Invented in Canada – While Alexander Graham Bell wasn’t officially Canadian, he spent most of his time between Brantford Ontario, Boston Massachusetts, and Baddeck Nova Scotia. and much of his work was done at his workshop in Brantford and then later in life in Baddeck.
Canadian Joe Shuster co-created Superman with Jerry Siegel. The Daily Planet is actually based on the Toronto Star and Metropolis was modeled after Toronto.
The snowblower was invented in Canada.
The baseball glove was invented in Canada in 1883.
Basketball was invented in Canada.
There are more than 2,800 hockey rinks in Canada.
Churchill in northern Manitoba is the world’s polar bear capital. Approximately 15,500 of the world’s 25,000 polar bears live in Churchill, because of its access to frozen Hudson Bay, which is where they live in winter. It’s also the only place in the world with a polar bear prison, and sometimes the town is home to more polar bears than people. The few residents who live there also leave their cars and homes unlocked in case they or a visitor need a quick escape from a polar bear.
That being said, polar bears are not allowed to break into your house and steal your food so if you see one rummaging through your fridge you can call the cops and have them arrested! That may be a slight exaggeration but there actually is a jail for polar bears that steal food.
It’s actually against the law in Canada to have a comic book that shows anything to do with crimes.
Smelling bad is illegal in Canada – Anyone offending a public place with an offending smell could face 2 years in jail.
Canada’s Immigration Minister declared in 2012 that Santa Claus was indeed a Canadian citizen. He also suggested that this is why his signature look is a red and white suit – the colors of Canada.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Paper: Cougar 110# White and SU Sahara Sand CS and DP from my scrap file
Dies: MFT Stitched Rectangles, Paper Roses Stitched Circles, and Taylored Expressions Notebook Border
Embellishments: Metallic Red Mini Brads from an unknown vendor
So much I did not know about Canada, Jeanette - thanks for all the odd and not so odd facts - love your card - that's a classic
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Blessings
Maxine
Such a cute holiday card with that fun letter and this great Santa face!
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