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Canada Day trivia courtesy of Tabasco and the Bloody Caesar
It's that time of year again. Hats and boots have been put away. Trees are budding and the sun is shining. And Canada Day is just around the corner!
As we look ahead to Canada Day, let's look at some uniquely Canadian inventions. We all know about Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone, but how about some others. Will you be surprised?
Canadian inventions and creations
Anyone for a game of Five-Pin Bowling, invented by Thomas Ryan in 1908? This game features smaller balls and half the number of pins than the original – a Canadian twist to an old game.
How many nights have we sat around the table with family and friends playing Canadian party staples Trivial Pursuit (Chris Haney, John Haney and Scott Abbott, 1982) or Pictionary (Rob Angel, 1986)?
We love our hockey, and in the 1930's Donald Munro created table hockey.
By 1959 Jacques Plante was tired of flying hockey pucks to the face. He teamed up with Fibreglass Canada to create the goalie mask. Just part of our rich hockey history.
And did you know that the instant replay is the work of a Canadian? While working for the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, George Retzlaff developed the first in-game replay.
But what's a game without food and drink? In 1969, Walter Chell concocted a mixture of hand-mashed clams, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and garnished it with a celery stick. The Bloody Ceasar was born.
Click here for our Caesar recipe guide.
Smarties, Coffee Crisp and Crispy Crunch are all Canadian treats. As is Tim Horton's. But is there anything more uniquely Canadian than poutine? When Fernand Lachance, in his small Quebec restaurant, filled a trucker's request for fries and cheese curds, he threw them in a bag and said it would make a ‘bloody mess'. We now have a Canadian classic.
Other classics you may not think of as Canadian, but definitely are, include an ear piercer, walkie-talkies (Donald Hings 1942), the paint roller (Norman Breakly 1940) and the zipper (Gideon Sundback 1913). How long might we take getting dressed in the morning without the invention of the zipper?
And did you know that in 1874 Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans tested the first electric light bulb? They sold their patent to Thomas Edison.
In 1882 Thomas Ahearn invited a group of electrical engineers over for dinner. Only after they had eaten did he inform them that the entire meal had been cooked in an electric oven.
What of the very ordinary and very practical, green garbage bag? It was created in 1950 by Harry Wasylyk and Larry Hansen. Millions of us use it every day. Raccoons everywhere thank us.
From garbage to recycling. The first blue box program began in Kitchener, Ontario in 1981. Parties across Canada can testify to their convenience.
Go for it. Look ahead to Canada Day. Plan the party. Or just bask in the sunshine with that Bloody Caesar and reflect on our varied inventions.
Happy Canada Day!
