Fun Facts about North America!

[wackycashew]

Hey y'all, I thought that it'd be interesting to share some fun facts with each other on our province or state or even our country in general. I'll start off with some Canadian fun facts. :)

( source: http://www.geocities.com/snowyssillyfacts/canada.html )

1) It is illegal to ride a street car on Sunday if you have been eating garlic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

2) The city Halifax has more bars per capita then any other city in North America.

3) In the province of Saskatchewan, Canada there are towns by the name of Elbow (source (http://hotelroomsplus.com/canada/saskatchewan/elbow.htm)) and Eyebrow (source (http://www.becquet.com/director/maps/Eyebrow.htm)).

4) Canada has more donut shops per-capita than any other country in the world.

5) Canada beat Denmark 47-0 at the 1949 world hockey championships.

I didn't know about the Elbow and Eyebrow one. I thought that was hilarious! :D

[Viv]

oh wow! #5 is hilarious! no offence to anyone from denmark but wow! 47?? thats so crazy! and cities called eyebrow and elbow? ...i never knew that...but its cool!

Thanks for sharing wacky! :happy:

[Seltsi]

lol, wow some of these are kinda far-fetched...here's my contribution, inspired by cashew's #3: the capital of MN used to be called "Pig's Eye" *shrugs* I don't know why though, but I learned it in American History last year, lol.

[shouling]

HA HA~! those are good~!
i got some too....

- Canadian groundhogs are right 30% of the time.
- all Polar bears are left handed.(tee hee. i am too)
- about 67% of Canadians read while in the bathroom.

those are from memory, so that is all i got for now.
kinda sad that i rememberd them from like 5 years ago. even the percentages...

[vunsin]

Oh... This is "fun," really. :whistle: I've highlighted my favorites. :wink2:

George W. Bush Fun Facts

In exchange for an air base in Uzbekistan, Bush gave 500 million dollars to a dictator who boils his enemies alive.

Bush is the first President since Herbert Hoover to preside over a net job loss.

Bush shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in history.

Bush set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

In Bush's first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

Bush cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.

Bush cut health care benefits for war veterans.

Bush set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.

Bush set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history.

George W. Bush is the first president since Jimmy Carter NOT to fully disclose his tax form.

Bush is the first president in US history to enter office with a criminal record. George W. Bush has been arrested for drunk driving, for stealing a Christmas wreath, and for disorderly conduct at a football game. Where's "3 Strikes and You're Out" when you need it? (See the citation!) (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdui1.html)

Bush refused to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

Bush was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.

Bush appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.

Bush presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

The biggest lifetime contributor to Bush's campaign, who is also one of Bush's best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

Bush is the all-time U.S. (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

Bush entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years every single economic category headed straight down.

Bush spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

Bush presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

Bush signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history.

Bush dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

Bush withdrew from the World Court of Law.

Bush is the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.

Bush refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abides by the Geneva Convention.

Bush set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president since the advent of television.

On April 2001 Bush proposed cutting federal spending on libraries by $39 million, a 19% decrease. The week before, Laura Bush kicked off a national campaign for America's libraries, calling them "community treasure chests, loaded with a wealth of information available to everyone, equally."

"Sometimes when I sleep at night I think of 'Hop on Pop.'" George W. Bush

[wackycashew]

:lolabove: haha... vunsin, i had a good chuckle over those bush ones. i really liked that library one towards the end. and all those ones on the records that's been set by bush... *shakes head* he's quite something, eh? *sigh*

[vunsin]

Yeah, Lisa, George W. Bush is a joke. Everyone I know, and I mean everyone, thinks he's an idiot. Most people who voted for him were from the South anyways, so he's not exactly popular up here. :dry:

[lattae]

but it's sure entertaining to watch him clown around and supplying us with a constant stream of humor ain't it... :laughing:

[JianDan[Ai]]

but it's sure entertaining to watch him clown around and supplying us with a constant stream of humor ain't it... :laughing:

its not that funny when u live here -_-;; cuz u are affected by all this stuff

u forgot one btw

he was the first president to cheat to win...cough cough FLORIDA cough cough

[Seltsi]

lol, yeah indeed I remember the whole Florida affair...it's true, it's not so fun when it's your own country under his ruling. -_-, it's hilarious how Vinsun's just happened to be all Bush, hahah.

[vunsin]

lol, yeah indeed I remember the whole Florida affair...it's true, it's not so fun when it's your own country under his ruling. -_-, it's hilarious how Vinsun's just happened to be all Bush, hahah.

First of all, you got my name wrong. It's vunsin. :wink2:

Second of all, I do have tons of other stuffs about other people. It's just that the Bush one really stands out. It's too difficult to ignore. :whistle: Besides, since there are so much on each person, I couldn't possibly have put them all in one post. I don't think anyone would care to read through everything anyways...

[Seltsi]

lol, yeah indeed I remember the whole Florida affair...it's true, it's not so fun when it's your own country under his ruling. -_-, it's hilarious how Vinsun's just happened to be all Bush, hahah.

First of all, you got my name wrong. It's vunsin. :wink2:

Second of all, I do have tons of other stuffs about other people. It's just that the Bush one really stands out. It's too difficult to ignore. :whistle: Besides, since there are so much on each person, I couldn't possibly have put them all in one post. I don't think anyone would care to read through everything anyways...Hahah, yah I see now, sorry Vunsin~ ^^...and really, i don't blame you for making it all Bush-focused...

[vunsin]

Okay, here are more fun facts about the U.S.

Excellent Country's Fun Facts

Each month the United States spends an estimated $1 billion on military operations in Afghanistan and only $25 million on aid.

Each year the United Stated imports $19 billion worth of crude oil from the Persian Gulf. To protect the Persian Gulf's oil we spend $50 billion.

Of the top 20 industrialized nations, the US is #1 in: millionaires, billionaires, military spending, firearm deaths, beef production, calorie consumption, energy use, oil consumption, C02 emissions, municipal waste, hazardous waste, rapes, and births to mothers under 20. (Congressional Budget Office, Children's Defense Fund, Energy Information Administration, Amnesty International, U.S. Vital Statistics tables # 1356, 1361, 1390, 1398)

As a proportion of national wealth, American foreign aid is the skimpiest among rich countries.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines fascism as "a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism."

49% of the American people consider themselves born-again evangelical Christians.

48% of the American people deny as heresy the theory of evolution.

68% believe they have met or seen the Devil.

Attorney General John Ashcroft: "In the United States we have no king but Jesus."

House Republican Leader Tom Delay: "Only Christianity offers a way to live in response to the realities that we find in this world--only Christianity.

[wackycashew]

haha... thanks for the new facts, vunsin. :happy:

some other canadian facts...


The names of communities and geographical features attest to Newfoundlanders' sense of humour. You'll laugh all the way from Bumble Bee Bight to Ha Ha Bay to Chase Me Further Pond. At Heart's Content you'll find just that, plus the cable station from where telegraph messages traversed the first Trans-Atlantic cable.

Canadians eat more Kraft macaroni and cheese packaged dinners than any nationality in the world.

Canada is an Indian word meaning "village of huts." When the first explorers of Canada asked the Indians what the land was called, the Indians thought they were being asked the name of their village, which was "Kanata." The name stuck.

Canada has more automobiles per person than any other country with at least one car for every two Canadians.

Canada is home to the invention of ice beer. It is produced by freezing the brew and filtering the ice crystals, increasing the alcohol content.

Canadian scientists originally developed anthrax and other biological weapons that were eventually taken over by the U.S. government.

More than 75% of the world's supply of maple syrup comes from Canada.

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving the second Monday of October, while the U.S. celebrates the fourth Thursday of November. Parliament set the date in Canada, and Lincoln set the date in the U.S., but they do make sense. The growing season is generally shorter in Canada, and Thanksgiving is a holiday to mark the end of harvest, so it should come earlier to the neighbor in the north.

Americans did not invent the Thanksgiving we celebrate in North America. It began in Canada. Frobisher's celebration in 1578 was 43 years before the pilgrims gave thanks in 1621 for the bounty that ended a year of hardships and death.

Ontario is the wealthiest province in Canada, and has about one third of the country's population.

According to official Statistics Canada figures, 83% of Canadians identified themselves as Christians.

In a 1997 survey by Durex condoms, the French were found to be the best lovers, then Italians, Americans, South Africans, Brits, Australians, and Canadians. Hong Kong came in last.

[Seltsi]

hey, usa-ers...i heard once that the US is like 17th in being the best in academics/intelligence or something like that...and China and Japan and Soputh korea were like in the top 3 or something...anyone else heard this? If it's true, I'd have to say thats pretty bad...pathetic actually.
?_?

[Vant]

One thing I know is that Chinese education involved seven days a week, and about 12 hours a day...(For Wuhan at least) Compared to US's five days a week, six-eight hours a day... Only downside is that you must pay for school no matter what...

[Seltsi]

yeah, that's kind of what I meant...I know the Asian countries attend school longer and work harder than the US, so then its no surprise that we would be so low, righT?

[vunsin]

In Malaysia, high school students have 10 classes a day continuously. And they have all those extra classes or schools that their parents send them to. I guess they're forced into absorbing more...

[roche]

In Malaysia, high school students have 10 classes a day continuously. And they have all those extra classes or schools that their parents send them to. I guess they're forced into absorbing more...

Hm....perhaps
I think Asian countries generally place more emphasis on math and science, and schools in asia drill the kids especially in math
the other day i went to talk to my dean (cursory meeting.....a hi how are you thing that's required each semester)
and we were discussing the credits I had....adding them up...
and she went " whats 17+8? my math isn't good..."
I FLIPPED!!!!! MAJORLY FLIPPED!!!!!!
we're talking about a DEAN in a university, and on her wall there were 2 diplomas displayed -- BA and PhD in Psychology from UCLA!!!!!

[vunsin]

Ah... roche, don't be so surprised. I'm a graduate student, and I totally suck at math. :blush: Since I'm majoring in Student Affairs in Higher Education, eventually I'll be applying for the position of some sort of Dean. And hey, I won't be able to do math either! I like to work with people - my students, not numbers. :wink2:

[crusty-applepie]

hey wackycashew!

:laughing: i actually heard about that donut thing from my canadian classmate and i thought that was hilarious! she told me that quebec actually has the most donuts per capita and that they were trying to stop dunkin donuts from sprouting everywhere. hehehe. :? i mean, who makes surveys on this kind of things? haha... :D