Oh, Canada!

It's that time of year again: the 142 birthday of the wonderfully unique, historical, ever peace-loving, and 2nd largest country in the world. For my fellow Canadian bloggers I wish a very happy celebration day to you! Drink a Timmy's ice cap, eat a beavertail and go watch fireworks, and remember why Canada's so darn amazing. For fellow bloggers who aren't Canadian, that's alright; just think well of us today, and have something maple! But on a slightly more serious note, we should also be taking into account the First Nations peoples that were settled here before the Europeans arrived; they are a significant part of Canada's history also, and have been largely ignored, sadly. This clip is great to watch, and is very informative.

Now I present to you 21 random (but fascinating!) facts about Canada in honour of Her's truly:

1. At 3,855,103 square miles, Canada is the second largest country in the world, behind Russia.

2. More than 50% of all the lakes in the world are in Canada

3. Canada has six time zones

4. The east coast of Canada was settled by Vikings around the year A.D. 1000. Archaeological evidence of a settlement has been found at L'anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.

5. Canada is a major producer and consumer of cheese. In 1997, Canadians produced 350,000 tons of at least 32 varieties of cheese and ate an average of 23.4 pounds per person, with cheddar being the most popular.

6. Canadian journalist Sandy Gardiner coined the term "Beatlemania".

7. In its history, six flags have been flown over Canada.

8. There is a 75 percent chance that a public road in Canada will be unpaved.

9. North America's earliest undisputed evidence of human activity, 20,000-year-old stone tools and animal bones have been found in caves on the Bluefish River in northern Yukon.

10. Newfoundland was the first part of Canada to be explored by Europeans. Ironically, it was the last area to become a province, in 1949.

11. There are no skunks in Newfoundland.

12. Stretched in a continuous line, Canada's coastline would circle the earth more than six times.

13. Its population density is 8.6 people per square mile, making Canada the ninth-most sparsely populated nation in the world.

14. Four Canadians have been featured on U.S. postage stamps

15. In 1642, a group of religious mystics from France were inspired by a vision to build a missionary city in the Canadian wilderness. Led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and an Ursuline nun name Jeanne Mance, they founded Montreal.

16. 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.

17. Vancouver Canada is tied with Zurich Switzerland for the highest quality of life of any city in the world.

18. North America's earliest undisputed evidence of human activity, 20,000-year-old stone tools and animal bones have been found in caves on the Bluefish River in northern Yukon.

19. Of all of the world's producers of natural gas, copper, zinc, nickel, aluminum, and gold, Canada is in the top five.

20. Canadians consume more Kraft Dinner (aka Kraft Macaroni & Cheese) per capita than any other nationality on earth

21. Between 1763 and 1867, five constitutions were written for British North America including the Royal Proclamation in 1763, the 1774 Quebec Act, the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Union Act in 1841 and the BNA Act in 1867.

*Facts courtesy of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader of Extraordinary Facts, Random Facts, Canadian Facts and Trivia, CBC Archives

Have a lovely day!

~M.