In my ongoing search to find interesting stuff on the Internet, I came across some trivia I thought would be nice to share with my fellow Canadians:
The Longest Street in the World The distinction of the longest street in the world belongs to Yonge Street in the Province of Ontario. Yonge Street starts at Lake Ontario, and runs north through central and northern Ontario to the Ontario – Minnesota border, a distance of over 1178 miles / 1896 kilometres. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized this claim as late as 1998. Most of Yonge Street today exists as Highway 11, north of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Due due the development of the GTA, the old highway lives on as side roads, dead-end roads, or overgrown wooded trails.
The Longest Highway in the World
The Trans-Canada Highway between Victoria, BC and St. John's, NF is the world's longest national highway with a length of 7,821 km / 4,860 miles.
The Longest Coastline
Canada has the world's longest coastline: 202,080 km / 125,566 miles.
North America's Smallest Railway
The Thousand Island Railway, which ran in Gananoque Ontario, is North America ’s shortest railway in history, just 5.43 km / 3.32 miles.
Longest Tunnel on the Continent
CP Rail’s 9 mile / 14.5 km long Mount Macdonald Tunnel, in the Rogers Pass area of British Columbia, is the longest tunnel on the continent.
The World’s Longest Freshwater Beach
Wasaga Beach on Georgian Bay is the world’s longest beach, 8.6 miles / 14 km. Wasaga Beach is located about 2 hours northwest of Toronto, Ontario.
Oldest National Park
Banff National Park, located in the Province of Alberta, is the oldest national park in Canada, established in 1885.
Largest Sony Big Screen
Inside Toronto’s Rogers Centre (formerly known as the Sky Dome) you will find the largest Sony big screen, measuring 33 ft. x 110 ft. (10.0 m x 33.6 m).
The World's Largest Coin
The Big Nickel located in Sudbury Ontario is the world's largest coin. It is a giant reproduction of a 1951 Canadian nickel, measuring 9 meters (30 feet) in diameter.
Only Walled City
The only walled city north of Mexico is Québec City; it was also the first city in North America to be placed on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list.
Canada's Warring Past
The USA has invaded Canada twice—in 1775 and 1812—both times to no avail. Newfoundland was the only place in North America directly attacked by German forces during WWII.
The World's Tallest Tower
- Canada has the tallest tower in the world. Completed in 1975, the CN Tower in Toronto stands 553m (1815' 5") tall.
- CN Tower’s glass paneled elevator floors are the highest in the world.
The Canadarm & The Canadarm 2
The world famous robotic manipulator affectionately known as the “Canadarm”, used aboard the space shuttle and its bigger brother the “Canadarm 2”, an integral part of the International Space Station, were designed and manufactured at Spar Aerospace, based in Brampton Ontario, just northwest of Toronto.
Blackberry Smartphone
The world famous Blackberry Smartphone was developed at Research In Motion's Waterloo Ontario facilities.
Actress- Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny / James Bond 007)
Lois Maxwell (1927 – 2007) was born in Kitchener Ontario, and was a regular columnist of the Toronto Sun newspaper.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
· The 1964 animated TV movie “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was filmed in Japan, but the entire soundtrack was recorded in a studio in Toronto, Ontario.
· Most of the singing and speaking cast were Canadian.
· Billie Mae Richards ("Rudolph") and Paul Soles ("Hermey") are neighbors in an Ontario retirement community. (As referenced from the Internet Movie Database)
Actor - Leslie Nielsen (Police Squad, Spy Hard, Naked Gun, Mr. Magoo)
Actor Leslie Nielsen’s brother Erik, (1926 - 2010) was the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, from 1984 to 1986.
Actor - William Shatner
Actor William Shatner, known as "Captain James T. Kirk" of Star Trek fame, is from Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Musician - Guy Lombardo
Guy (Gaetano) Lombardo (1902- 1977) leader of the big-band era “The Royal Canadians" and known for his yearly rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” which is still played on new years at Times Square in New York City, was born in London, Ontario, Canada.
Gold Medals – Winter Olympics
Canada holds the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Winter Olympics. (2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics - 14 gold medals)
Actor - William Shatner
Actor William Shatner, known as "Captain James T. Kirk" of Star Trek fame, is from Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Musician - Guy Lombardo
Guy (Gaetano) Lombardo (1902- 1977) leader of the big-band era “The Royal Canadians" and known for his yearly rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” which is still played on new years at Times Square in New York City, was born in London, Ontario, Canada.
Gold Medals – Winter Olympics
Canada holds the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Winter Olympics. (2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics - 14 gold medals)