26 Fun facts about Canada

26 Fun Facts About Canada

Happy Canada Day to Canadians around the world.

Today is Canada day, previously called Dominion Day, which has nothing to do with the Federation's victory over the Dominion during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Canada Day celebrates the anniversary of the Constitution Act of 1867 (which was originally called the British North American Act), uniting the three colonies of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswich, into a single Dominion within the British Empire, thereafter known and called Canada. 

Fun Fact #1. It was renamed as Canada Day in 1982.

Fun Fact #2. In 1980, "O Canada" was made the official National anthem of Canada.

Fun Fact #3. Did You Know these people are actually Canadians: Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, Dan Ackroyd, Mike Myers, and William Shatner are all Canadians.

Fun Fact #4: Kiefer Sutherland might be a Canadian as well.

Perhaps, maybe, yeah he is, kinda. I'm sure it still counts.

Kiefer was born in London, then moved to California soon after. His parents were Canadian, though: Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas.

Fun Fact #5. A recent study found, 86% of Canadians felt like they lived in the best country in the world.

Fun Fact #6. After the results of a recent study were published, 14% of Canadians have been deported for treason. ***

Fun Fact #7. A recent study found the letter "A" is a Canadian's favourite letter in the alphabet.***

Fun Fact #8. Since 1998, makers of Alphabetti Spaghetti, Heinz, removed all the letters from their tin, except the letter "A". ***

Fun Fact #9. Canada's national symbol is the Beaver. 

Why not?

Who doesn't like a nice beaver?

Beavers are cute and furry, but can bite if you don't stroke them right. They have been known to attack if aggravated enough.

Fun Fact #10. Canadians call their $1 coin a "Loonie."

Fun Fact #11. Canadians call their $2 coin a "Toonie.

Fun Fact #12. Canada Day is also called "Moving Day."

Although July 1st is known as Canada Day to most Canadians, those in Quebec call it "Moving Day" as this is traditionally the day their leases expire and they have to move.

Fun Fact #13. Canada is colder than Mars.

On February 3rd, 1947, a temperature of -63C was recorded in the village of Snag. That's colder than the surface of Mars.

Fun Fact #14. Canada has 563 lakes larger than 100 square kilometres. 

Fun Fact #15. Canada's great lakes contain 18% of the world's fresh lake water.

Fun Fact #16. Canada has more surface area covered by lakes than any other country in the world.

Fun Fact #17. Canada is huge. It covers 9.98 million square kilometres. That's a lot of miles.

Fun Fact #18. Canada is actually bigger than the whole of the European Union.

Fun Fact #19. Canada is also bigger than Walt Disney World. In fact, it's bigger than nearly 82,000 Walt Disney Worlds put together.

Fun Fact #20. The Capital of Canada is Ottawa. It has a population of about a million people, making it only the 4th largest city in Canada.

Fun Fact #22. Ottawa was founded in 1826. Back then it was called Bytown, though. It didn't become Ottawa until 1855.

Fun Fact #21. The largest city in Canada is Toronto. It has a population of 2,731,571.

Fun Fact #22. Although the second largest country on the planet, 80% of the population of Canada is squeezed into large and medium-sized cities.

Fun Fact #23. The word "Canada" is derived from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word "kanata" which means "village" or "settlement.

Fun Fact #24. On July 1st, 1923, the Chinese Immigration act was enacted by the Canadian Government stopping all immigrations from China.

Fun Fact #25. Canada's national flag became official on February 15th, 1965 (nearly 100 years after becoming a country).

Fun Fact #26. Canada has it's own mythical monster. It's called the Ogopogo and allegedly resides in Lake Okanagan, British Canada.

Note. Those marked with *** are not real facts. They are just for laughs.

Fun Facts About Julius Caesar

Fun Facts About Julius Caesar: The Extraordinary Life of Julius Caesar.


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The Ides of March: 

On the 15th day of the third month in 44BC, Julius Caesar, the Dictator of Rome, was assassinated by Marcus Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and a whole host of other Roman Senators.

Julius Caesar was stabbed to death on the Ides of March by a consortium of Roman Senators led by Caesar's friend, Marcus-I-did-Eat-Two-Brutus.

Julius Caesar had been told to Beware The Ides Of March, but chose to ignore the prophecy.

Just before Caesar passed into the shadowy world of gonna-return-as-a-zombie-and-eat-your-face-off, he looked into the eyes of his friend and whispered, "Et Tu, Brutus." 

This translates into English as, "Your mamma was a snowblower." ***

*** Real translation: "And you, Brutus?"

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE EARLY LIFE OF JULIUS CAESAR

1. Julius Caesar was the most famous Roman General in history, and a Dictator of Rome.

He is not, as some believe, the first Roman Emperor.

That accolade went to his nephew Octavius, who changed his name to Julius Caesar after his uncle's death, and then to Augustus Caesar when he became Emperor.

Julius Caesar, the Julius Caesar we actually know, not the other one, or two, if you read below, was a Roman General, Senator, and Consul of Rome.

He was also awarded the title of Dictator for life. Never was he an Emperor, even though he really, really wanted to be one.

2. Julius Caesar was born Gaius Julius Caesar.

After his father died, he dropped the Gaius. His father was also called Julius Caesar, and who was originally also called Gaius Julius Caesar.

Wowser, that's not confusing at all.

3. All subsequent Emperor's have used the title "Caesar" to denote "Emperor".

It's just a name, and isn't the Latin for Emperor. They used it to continue the belief they are all related to Julius Caesar (the second one, not his father. Although technically his father as well).

4. Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 100 B.C

His parents were Aurelia and Julius Caesar. There is a misconception the baby Julius Caesar was born by caesarean section. There is no evidence of the future General being born this way.

It is unlikely Julius Caesar was born by caesarean, though. Back in the olden days of Rome, it was a dangerous procedure. Most mothers died. However, Caesar's mother didn't. In fact, she lived for almost another 50 years after the birth.

The word caesarean comes from the latin "caesus" which means "cut". Although some historians have hypothesised one of Caesar's ancestors may have had the "cut", hence the name. But no one really knows for sure.

5. Sons of Gods.

The family loved to spill the beans at parties about their links to Iulus, son of Aeneas, a Prince of Troy. He was alleged to be son of the goddess, Venus.

6. Julius Caesar's father was a Governor.

The father of Julius Caesar was a semi-powerful guy in Rome even before the infamous General secured their name in the history books.

His father, also called Julius Caesar, was the Governor of the Province of Asia. Although not rich by ancient Roman standards, the family was reasonably comfortable, nonetheless.

7. Julius Caesar's grandfather was a Consul of Rome.

Julius Caesar would become a Consul of Rome later in his life. A Consul of Rome was the top job you could get back in the day. However, his grandfather on his mother's side, Lucius Aurelius Cotta was also a Consul of Rome. As was his great-grandfather.

8. His uncle was Gaius Marius.

This guy should be more famous than Julius Caesar. But, not so good at using social media to secure his infamy.

The uncle of Julius Caesar, Gaius Marius, was also an extraordinarily successful Roman General, and also held the top job in the Roman Republic, Consul of Rome. In fact, he held it an impressive seven times.

9. His father died when Julius (at the time Gaius Julius) Caesar was 16-years-old.

He immediately dropped the Gaius part of his name becoming the one-and-only Julius Caesar.

As head of his family he now had to take care of his mother, Aurelia, and his sister, Julia.

10. He married Cornelia Cinna.

Out of necessity or love, is up for debate. He needed to secure funds and influence for him and his family after the death of his father. So, after a year in the wilderness, he married Cornelia, the daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna.

Lucius Cornelius Cinna was quite the rich and powerful Roman. He was a Roman Consul four times. As such, he vexed quite a few people. In particular a guy called Sulla, who really hated Cinna. As an aside, Sulla also hated Marius, Julius Caesar's uncle.

11. Julius Caesar found himself in the middle of a power struggle in Rome.

Sulla become Consul of Rome and soon after had to leave to fight a brewing war in Greece.

The Senate had granted him leadership of the Roman armies instead of Marius, who really, really wanted it.

And to say he was vexed by the senate favouring Sulla was an understatement.

Whilst Sulla was away, Marius persuaded (by bribing and killing etc) the Senate to overturn their decision and appoint Marius the commander.

Sulla heard of the news from envoys. And became quite vexed himself. He ordered his soldiers to stone to death the envoys and then ordered six of his most loyal legions to march on Rome.

No Roman army before this had ever crossed the city limits. Ever.

Marius had no army in Rome to counter this aggression. He tried to use gladiators, but they were no match for a fully trained Roman army.

Marius fled the city and Sulla took control again.

Sulla then returned to Greece to finish his other war.

Marius, finding out Sulla was no longer in Rome, returned with his own army and re-took control of the city. He declared Sulla an exile and held fresh elections.

Both Cinna and Marius were elected Consuls again. Cinna for the fourth time and Marius for a record-breaking seventh. All was happy. For a bit.

Five days after the new Consuls took power, they began ordering the killing of anyone who had opposed them.

Seventeen days after Marius became Consul for the seventh time, he died.

12. Julius Caesar went into hiding.

Sulla returned to Rome and went straight to the top. He was awarded the title of Dictator of Rome. A joyous triumph. Not for everyone. His return to power saw an eradication of those who openly opposed him. A bloody eradication.

Julius Caesar's life was spared. However, he was stripped of titles, houses and money. Oh, and Sulla told him to divorce Cornelia, the daughter of his enemy, Cinna.

Caesar refused and went into hiding. Perhaps that marriage was for love.

13. Julius Caesar was a priest.

When his uncle, Marius and father-in-law, Cinna were in control of Rome, they nominated Julius Caesar as the Flamen Dialis, or high priest of Jupiter. 

14. Julius Caesar joined the army.

This is not a big revelation to you. He is famous for being a famous Roman General. However, as a priest, you were not allowed to serve as a soldier.

As an aside: priests were also not allowed to touch a horse, sleep three nights away from his own bed, or spend one night away from Rome.

When Sulla stripped Caesar of his titles, including the High Priest of Jupiter, it opened the door for Caesar to enlist.

He didn't right away. He was still in hiding. It took his mother's family to intervene on his behalf. They were still influential and begged Sulla to lift the conditions on his life.

Sulla reluctantly agreed. He said of Caesar, "I see much of Marius in that one."

Sulla always believed the young Caesar would find power and take retribution on him.

15. Julius Caesar won the Civic Crown.

One of his first campaigns was the Siege of Mytilene. He proved himself so capable, serving with distinction, he won the Civic Crown, the second highest honour a Roman citizen could win.

16. There were rumours Julius Caesar liked men.

He may have had taste of the crown he sought later in life during his early military career.

He was sent to Bithynia to secure assistance of King Nicomedes and his fleet of ships. As he spent so long at the King's court, rumours circulated he had an affair with the king.

Caesar denied the rumours.

17. Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates.

Sulla died and it was safe for Caesar to return to Rome.

He didn't get very far. In 75 B.C, he was kidnapped by pirates in the Aegean Sea.

Lesser men crumbled, but not Caesar. He was Caesar, after all. He was above these lowly men, and made sure the pirates knew it.

The pirates told him they were demanding a ransom of 20 talents of silver. He spat at that and told them he was worth 50 talents.

He also told them, once the ransom was paid, he would build an army and come for them, retaking the ransom, with interest. Oh, and he said he'd kill every last one of them.

They, of course, didn't take him seriously. Why would they? Caesar was not the infamous Caesar back then. Just a low ranking officer in the Roman army.

18. Caesar was Caesar. And Caesar kept his promises.

Even back in the early days, Caesar was Caesar.

The ransom was paid and Caesar was freed.

Instead of returning to Rome in what he considered to be dishonour, he set about building an army of men, raised a fleet of ships, and hunted down the pirates who captured him.

19. You don't mess with Caesar.

He kept the promise he made to the pirates. The promise they believed to be a joke.

He captured their ships and, on his own authority, an authority not granted to him by the Roman senate, or an authority granted to him by way of rank in the army, he crucified the pirates on the beaches as a warning to others -- You don't mess with Caesar.

20. Julius Caesar was lenient with those who wronged him.

He actually was, but we'll get to that in part two tomorrow.

His leniency in regards to those pirates could be questioned, though. However, in his own mind, Julius Caesar was being lenient.

Before being crucified, he cut the their throats.

Caesar is merciful.

Part Two of The Extraordinary Life of Julius Caesar Coming Soon.

Also check out these Fun Facts About Canada: https://jvcullan.blogspot.com/2019/07/26-fun-facts-about-canada.html

History Fun Facts for October 28th

Historical Fun Facts for October 28th

On the 28th of October, 1919, the United States Congress, in their infinite wisdom, passed the Volstead Act, even though the American President, Woodrow Wilson, vetoed it.

 

This act paved the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.

 

Of course, for those who don't know, Prohibition was the banning of Alcohol. Not a great day for, well, pretty much everyone. Because, as everyone knows, the three things humans need for survival and sanity are Alcohol, Bacon, and a decent WiFi signal.

 

On the 28th of October, 1958, John XXIII was elected Pope of the Planet Earth.

 

Legend has it, that when a Pope is elected, he has to sit on a chair which has a hole in the centre, whilst wearing no under-crackers, so that his testicles dangle through the hole.

 

The Cardinals then have to look up as he is carried through the hall to check they do, in fact, dangle.

 

This is due to the unfortunate election of Pope Joan, a woman, as Pope a thousand years ago, who went undiscovered until she gave birth to a child. Soon after, she was stoned to death in the streets, and forever after, the newly elected Pope must prove he has dingily-dangilies.

History Fun Facts for October 4th

HISTORY FUN FACTS - OCTOBER 4th

On this day in history in 23, the Chinese capital, Chang'an, was sacked by rebels during the peasant rebellion. Yes, the peasants were revolting. Unbathed and swearing a lot, they were truly revolting.

 

They captured Wang Mang, the Chinese Emperor, and, in no particular order, promptly killed and decapitated him.

 

On This Day In History in 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte caught a Whiff of Grapeshot, after a night of passion with his wife, who he insisted shouldn't bathe, and suppressed some armed counter-revolutionary rioters with cannon, and just a Whiff of Grapeshot.

 

On This Day In History in 1289, Louis X of France, who kissed a girl ten times and liked it, was born.

 

King Louis X of France, no relation to Malcolm, was called the Quarreller, the Headstrong, or Louis the Stubborn. Mostly by his wife, Margaret of Burgundy, whose face would be red with rage before the end.

 

Louis became King of France in 1305, and was also the King of Navarre and the Count of Champagne. Bet that last one came with some perks.

 

At the age of 16, Louis X was married to Margaret of Burgundy, who was a bit of a party animal. She diddled the fiddle with a lot of men. And the wives of her brothers-in-law. 

 

Louis got wind of her indiscretions by reading her twitter and Instagram and arrested her and the wives of his brothers, Charles and Philip. The three were tried and found guilty. Their lovers were all executed, and the women had their heads shaved, along with their legs and armpits, you-no-French-no-more, and sentenced to life imprisoned in Chateau Gaillard.

 

Margaret was strangled in prison.

 

Louis X enjoyed his tennis, which was his downfall. I've always said tennis was a dangerous sport.

 

After a rigorous game, he downed quite a few barrels of cooled wine, and died.

 

On This Day in 1550, Charles IX of Sweden was born.

 

King Charles IX of Sweden, call me Carl, ruled from 1604 until his death. Weirdly, he was not the ninth king of Sweden to be named Charles.

 

Nope, since the Kings of Sweden couldn't count, they took their numbering from a fictitious account of the History of Sweden. Thus, Charles IX, was not the ninth, he was actually the third.

 

On This Day in 1626, Richard Cromwell was born.

 

Richard Cromwell was the Lord Protector of England after his father, Oliver-Is-A-Git-Cromwell died in 1658.

 

Richard's father, Oliver-Wanted-Some-More, fought King Charles I of England during the English Civil Wars in the 1640s, and won. He then executed the King in an elaborate game of Head-Off.

 

Instead of taking the title of King of England, which parliament did offer him, Oliver Cromwell named himself Lord Protector instead.

 

One problem with the Monarchy, according to Oliver Cromwell, was the hereditary and divine right to rule. To combat that, his son succeeded Oliver to the throne. Oops, I mean, the position of Lord Protector.

 

Richard Cromwell, however, was not quite the ruler and politician his father, or parliament expected. Basically he was crap. So crap that within two years Parliament invited the King in Exile, soon to be King Charles II, back to England to be crowned.

 

Some kids are such a disappointment.

 

On This Day in History in 1874, John Ellis was born.

 

Nope, you probably don't recognise his name.

 

John Ellis was an Englishman who worked as a casual labourer and as a factory worker in and around Manchester, England. He also became a hairdresser and then opened a newsagent's shop.

 

He then had enough of the normal life and became an executioner.

 

Read More About John Ellis here (not if you have a sensitive disposition):

Historical Facts for August 29th

HISTORY FACT - AUGUST 29th

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 29th of AUGUST.

 

29th August, 1350, an English fleet under the command of Edward III, and his son, the Black Prince, who wasn't black, defeated a Castilian fleet at the Battle of Winchelsea.

 

The Castilian fleet was under the command of a soldier of fortune. If you have a problem, and no one else can help, and you can find him, maybe you can hire, Don Carlos de la Cerda.

 

29th August, 1475, the Kingdoms of England and France signed the Treaty of Picquigny, stating there would be an everlasting peace for both kingdoms. Which lasted about five minutes.

29th August, 1484, Pope Innocent VIII, who wasn't entirely innocent, as he approved the hunting and execution of a whole bunch of witches, became Pope.

 

Are you a witch?

 

Yes.

 

BURN YOU WITHCY WITCH WHO DOES WITCHY THINGS.

 

Did You Know: When a new Pope is elected, all the Cardinals have to take a gander at his swing-lows, to make sure he is a dude.

 

29th of August, 1756, Fredrick the Great, king of Prussia, who was totally great, attacked Saxony. It sparked the Seven Years' War, which lasted for approximately seven years, and happened back in the day when they were really bad at naming wars.

29th August, 1831, Michael Faraday, call-me-mike, discovered Electromagnetic induction, for the sole purpose of picking up women at bars.

The first part of his plan was a huge success. The second part, not so much. It wasn't until a few hundred years later that nerds would become cool.

On This Day, 29th August, 1898, the Goodyear tyre company was founded, for the sole purpose of the following joke:

 

What is the difference between a tyre and 365 condoms?

 

One is a Goodyear, the other is a great year.

On This Day, 29th of August, 1923, Richard Attenborough, who spared no expense in building a totally awesome park full of dinosaurs, was born.

Do you have a favourite dinosaur? Leave a comment below.

On This Day facts March 8th

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 8th MARCH

On This Day in 1702, Queen Anne became Queen of England after the death of William III, or William of Orange, or William-Of-The-Evil-Fruit.

 

Queen Anne started out as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, then became Queen of Great Britain when the Kingdoms were officially united. She left no direct heirs, and, as such, was the last monarch of the House of Stewart.

 

Anne was the sister of Mary II, who was the wife of Not-The-First-William-Who-Invaded-England.

 

William-The-Third-Orange-Almost-Killed-Me had invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. It was an almost bloodless coup when James II took a holiday in France, which led Parliament to declare he had abdicated.

 

This was the second time someone called William invaded England to claim the throne. Must be something in the name.

 

If you know someone called William, better watch out for him. He's probably contemplating conquering your ass. Or horse. Whatever one you have.

Also On This Day In History

On This Day in 1775, Thomas Paine published his article "African Slavery in America."

 

Although the article was anonymous, the common consensus is that Thomas Paine was the writer. It was the first published article in the American colonies which called for the emancipation of slaves, and the abolition of slavery.

 

On This Day in 1817, the New York Stock Exchange is founded.

 

On This Day in 1921, Eduardo Dato Iradier, the Spanish Prime Minister, is assassinated as he left the Parliament Building in Madrid.

 

On This Day in 1971, Joe Frazier wins in 15 rounds by a unanimous decision from the judges against his opponent Muhammad Ali, in the Fight of the Century.

 

On This Day in 1978, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a book by Douglas Adams, is transmitted for the first time on BBC Radio 4.

On This Day In History 9th February

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 9th February

 

On This Day, the 9th of February, 1825, John Quincy Adams is elected as President of the United States of America.

 

He didn't actually receive the most electoral votes. That accolade went to future President, Andrew Jackson. But, due to neither getting an overall majority, the House of Representatives decided to swing towards John Quincy Adams.

 

To say Andrew Jackson was miffed would be an understatement. He proclaimed the election of Adams was a corrupt bargain, and that Pepsi Max was better than Coca Cola. He also thought the election of a really bad wig would be a huge mistake.

 

Andrew Jackson is well known for his liking of duels. It's very lucky he decided against challenging Adams to a duel to decide the fate of the Presidency. Jackson never lost a duel. Unless you count that one he had against the parrot. But, in all fairness, the parrot cheated.

 

In Other News On This Day In History

On This Day in 1900, The Davis Cup, a tennis competition for national teams, was established. The current champions and holders of the Davis Cup is Great Britain. Those Murray brothers sure can play tennis. Well done Team GB.

 

On This Day in 1964, America went wild for the British Invasion that was The Beatles, after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. They performed in front of an estimated 73 million viewers.

 

On This Day in 1971, after a successful Moon Landing, NASA's third, the Apollo 14 returned to Earth with the crew all speaking a very outdated Lunar language and insisting on being fed donuts by a trained donut-feeding monkey. What? They do exist. Donut-Feeding Monkeys. You can buy them on Ebay.

 

On This Day in 1986, Halley's Comet ventured into the inner Solar System. The next time it will do this will be in 2061.

 

On This Day in 2001, the USS Greeneville "accidentally" strikes and sinks the Ehume-Maru, a Japanese training vessel. Oops.

 

The USS Greenville, a Los Angeles Class nuclear submarine, was giving a demonstration for VIP civilians. The Captain of the sub took it upon himself to perform an emergency ballast blow, causing the submarine to surface very quickly.

 

And boink. It hit the large fisheries training vessel and sank it within ten minutes. Nine crew were killed, including four high school students.