Just today I was reading about a deadly bird flu in Asia. Last month I went for my annual flu shot. Seems that no matter where you turn people are talking about influenza or the flu. Something endemic is native to a particular place or always to be found in
Who is that walking in our lane? This was a common question between the members of many families in the early twentieth century, especially in rural areas. No matter how remote, inaccessible, or sparsely populated, early settlers of rural Canada came to count on visits by the Syrian Peddler. He
Canadian Children do not start their school day with the Canadian pledge of allegiance. In my day we sang O Canada and recited the lord's prayer in the morning and ended the school day by singing God Save the Queen. Those traditions have long since passed into history.However, military and
Canada's system of government is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada and the Head of State. The Governor General is the representative of the Queen in Canada.The duties of the governor general have changed over time, as Canada has become
The Prime Minister of Canada is appointed by the Governor General. The appointee is usually the leader of the majority party. There are no age or citizenship restrictions on becoming the prime minister. There is no legal requirement for the prime minister to be a member of parliament. However, if the
Are you aware that Canada Dry Ginger Ale, as we know it today, is a Canadian development? Ginger ale was first development in Ireland as an alcoholic drink. Recently in London, I asked for ginger ale in a pub and got a dark ginger beer served to me.In the late 1890's
There are many web sites dedicated to Canadian inventions. We know about the paint roller, baby pablum and basketball. But did you know that the most common device hanging on home walls across Canada and most of the developed world... the programmable thermostat... was invented by Jerry Kathnelson, a Canadian? Until
There has been a great deal written over the past 70 years about the birth of the atomic bomb and The Manhattan Project. But how many are aware that Canada played a critical role in the development of the bomb, and in the decision to drop it on Hiroshima, Japan?
At the tender age of 16, David Milgaard was accused of raping and murdering Gail Miller, a young nursing aide in Saskatoon,Saskatchewan. He spent 23 years behind bars while his mother, Joyce, launched a one-woman campaign to free her son. Nicknamed by Homemaker Magazine as the "Gumshoe Mom," Joyce took
Gerhard Herzberg was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 25 December, 1904 and died in Ottawa on March 3, 1999. He was married in 1929 to Luise Herzberg (He was widowed in 1971.) and was the father of two children. I was honored to meet Dr. Herzberg in the 1980s at
