Canadian Trivia (all are welcome)

[Tad]

I'll throw out some new ones (same deal--I'll rep the people who get the answers). I'll do what I can to phrase them in a way to make googling the answer more challenging ;-)

A) This westerner was elected to parlement, but later was hanged (perhaps setting the pattern for the succes of western protesters) What was his name?

B) The fur traders who headed west from Montreal originally portaged out of the Great Lake's water shed at Grand Portage. They later moved their portage to Fort William--why? Bonus question: what river in British Columbia is named after a key figure in the decision to move?

C) Why was the canal between Kingston and what is now Ottawa built? Bonus question: How was the leader of the project rewarded?

D) "Only in Canada? Pity!" was the long-time advertising catch-phrase for what product? Bonus question: what collectibles came with the product on and off in the late 60s and the 70s?

E) If I think the joke "Amount of time you can keep a rooster in a sack before it dies: one day" is funny, what kid's show did I probably watch when I was young? Bonus question: what was the name of the other main animal on the show?

F) The winner of quite a few early Stanley Cup's (for hockey supremacy) was a team called "The Ottawa Silver Seven." What was the significance of the number 7 in their team name?

G) Niagra Falls, Hamilton Mountain, the world's largest fresh water island, and the Green Bay Packers are all related by what geological feature?

H) "As it Happens" has been the anchor current affairs show on CBC radio for decades. What child of one of its long serving hosts worked for a while as a speech writer for the Bush (Jr) Whitehouse? Bonus question: what city in England has become a geographical touch-point for many Canadians as a result of As It Happens?

Have fun!

--Ed

 

[olivefun]

D) "Only in Canada? Pity!" was the long-time advertising catch-phrase for what product? Bonus question: what collectibles came with the product on and off in the late 60s and the 70s?

Red Rose Tea and they gave away little ceramic figurines of tiny animals.

E) If I think the joke "Amount of time you can keep a rooster in a sack before it dies: one day" is funny, what kid's show did I probably watch when I was young? Bonus question: what was the name of the other main animal on the show?

F) The winner of quite a few early Stanley Cup's (for hockey supremacy) was a team called "The Ottawa Silver Seven." What was the significance of the number 7 in their team name?

G) Niagra Falls, Hamilton Mountain, the world's largest fresh water island, and the Green Bay Packers are all related by what geological feature?
Hmm this is a guess, but the Niagara Escarpment?

H) "As it Happens" has been the anchor current affairs show on CBC radio for decades. What child of one of its long serving hosts worked for a while as a speech writer for the Bush (Jr) Whitehouse? Bonus question: what city in England has become a geographical touch-point for many Canadians as a result of As It Happens?

Barbara Frum's son is David Frum, a former Bush whitehouse speech writer. I cannot remember why, but I think he left on bad terms.
Oh right, he took credit for something Bush said. He probably did create the phrase, put it into Bush Jr's mouth, but he shouldn't have come out ( from behind the curtain) and take credit.
It was something like "kinder, gentler.." I think that may be it.
Reading, UK is the touch point. It was where Oscar Wild was imprisoned, and it was alegedly the centre of England. Lots of jokes about people trying to determine the distance from anything in UK in relation to Reading.

The CBC questions are easy for me. This is fun.

 

[FreeThinker]

11. What is a two-four?

That is a case of beer (24 beers)
and the May two-four weekend is called that for what reason?

Correct on the 'case of beer'.

May two-four weekend was to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria (May 24th), but is now largely just another drinking holiday.

12. Who is Relic?
Sydney Fox? Tia Carrer?

Sorry. Try again.

13. Whose furniture included a rocking chair, and a big arm chair for two more to curl up in?
The friendly Giant,
a kids show that also included Jerome( Giraffe) and Rusty (rooster).
"Look up waaaaaaaaaaay up.." It was on CBC for years and Bob Homme who starred in and created the series died maybe 4 or 5 years ago.

Another one right!

14. The Canada Bank Note Company prints paper money for many nations, as well as providing their services to one retail chain. What do they do for that chain?
Canadian Tire. They give out coupons that look like money with their own guy on the denominations. I understand they get traded and collected with a great deal of enthusiasm and some of the earlier ones are more valuable than real Canadian Currency. (That should surprise no one...

Yet another one!

15. What is unusual about Canadian milk?
hmmm My american friends visiting me here in Toronto find it amusing that we have HOMO milk. Is this the answer you seek? They find that funny when they try to imagine what that would be...

Sorry, I was referring more to the manner in which it is found...

While we're at it, what is the difference between Margarine that is sold in Quebec and in the rest of the country?[/COLOR]

It has no yellow food colouring in it.

 

[FreeThinker]

I'll throw out some new ones (same deal--I'll rep the people who get the answers). I'll do what I can to phrase them in a way to make googling the answer more challenging ;-)

A) This westerner was elected to parlement, but later was hanged (perhaps setting the pattern for the succes of western protesters) What was his name?

Louis Riel?

If I think the joke "Amount of time you can keep a rooster in a sack before it dies: one day" is funny, what kid's show did I probably watch when I was young? Bonus question: what was the name of the other main animal on the show?

Probably 'The Friendly Giant' which, as olivefun mentioned, also featured Jerome the giraffe (longest vocal chords in show business!).

By the way, Fuzzy, I'll have to disallow that 'Ukrainian Firing Squad' answer. The one I was looking for was 'Newfie Firing squad'.

Some more:

16. What is a 'stubby'?

17. Who played The Count, The Librarian, and The Wolfman? (Bonus: name two co-stars, and four other characters)

...

 

[Janet]

B) The fur traders who headed west from Montreal originally portaged out of the Great Lake's water shed at Grand Portage. They later moved their portage to Fort William--why? Bonus question: what river in British Columbia is named after a key figure in the decision to move?
The Nor'Westers used Grand Portage first, near Pigeon River. However, the establishment of the American border in 1783 and the subsequent threat of customs duties forced the Nor'Westers to find another inland base. They resurrected the old French route at the Kaministiquia River in 1801 and held the Great Rendezvous at Fort Kaministiquia in 1803. The name would change to Fort William in 1807, after William McGillivray, Chief Director of the North West Company from 1804-1821.

Regarding the bonus, Simon Fraser and Alexander MacKenzie were both on the board of the North West Company. Since the Peace River in BC flows to Slave Lake from whence the MacKenzie River actually begins, then you must be referring to the Fraser River.

C) Why was the canal between Kingston and what is now Ottawa built? Bonus question: How was the leader of the project rewarded?

It was designed to provide a secure supply route from Montréal to Kingston, avoiding the vulnerable St. Lawrence River route.

Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers was not commended in any way for overseeing the building of the Rideau Canal, or founding Ottawa, the national capitol.D) "Only in Canada? Pity!" was the long-time advertising catch-phrase for what product? Bonus question: what collectibles came with the product on and off in the late 60s and the 70s?

E) If I think the joke "Amount of time you can keep a rooster in a sack before it dies: one day" is funny, what kid's show did I probably watch when I was young? Bonus question: what was the name of the other main animal on the show?
The Friendly Giant with Gerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster
F) The winner of quite a few early Stanley Cup's (for hockey supremacy) was a team called "The Ottawa Silver Seven." What was the significance of the number 7 in their team name?

Later the Ottawa Senators, they were originally called the Silver Seven in reference to seven-man hockey played at that time--1893-1927


Whew! This is hard work!!

 

[olivefun]

Here is a radio interview from 1990
Gordon Lightfoot with Peter Gzowski, pretty great.

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-68-302-1617-10/arts_entertainment/lightfoot_songwriting/

There is a great bunch of Canadian Quiz questions there too.

 

[SailDude]

Ah, but we all know that the very best-est TV shows from Canada are:

The Red Green Show and

Hammy Hamster!!!!

Red Green is a hoot! I have one of the DVD series, Stuffed and Mounted. It makes me laugh so much...

Ah how about some Canadian music.. My vote goes to Great Big Sea

 

[olivefun]

Ah how about some Canadian music.. My vote goes to Great Big Sea

yeah, that is easy. There are lots of fantastic ones.

I love Feist, Mary Margaret Ohara, Broken Social Scene, Hidden Cameras, Molly Johnson, Ron Sexsmith, Bob Wiseman, Blue Rodeo, Prairie Oyster, Dave Wall, Michael Buble, Jane Bunnett, Be Good Tanyas....

hmmm

 

[fatgirl33]

12. Who is Relic?

He was a character on the Beach Combers, which ran for like, 20-some years on CBC!

15. What is unusual about Canadian milk?

Is it the Vitamin D added (because we get no sunlight)?

16.

A stubbie is a beer bottle from the 70s/early 80s (or on Red Cap, available at the Beer Store!)

Any still unanswered?

Brenda

 

[Janet]

15. What is unusual about Canadian milk?

Is it the Vitamin D added (because we get no sunlight)?

Ok, while HOMO milk and Vitamin D are good answers, Freethinker, I'm going to guess that you're talking about it being sold in bags instead of jugs or cartons.

Am I right?

Huh?

Huh?

 

[fatgirl33]

Ok, while HOMO milk and Vitamin D are good answers, Freethinker, I'm going to guess that you're talking about it being sold in bags instead of jugs or cartons.

D'oh! :doh: I should have got that! I think you're right.

 

[Tad]

D) "Only in Canada? Pity!" was the long-time advertising catch-phrase for what product? Bonus question: what collectibles came with the product on and off in the late 60s and the 70s?

Red Rose Tea and they gave away little ceramic figurines of tiny animals.

Yep!

G) Niagra Falls, Hamilton Mountain, the world's largest fresh water island, and the Green Bay Packers are all related by what geological feature?
Hmm this is a guess, but the Niagara Escarpment?

You got it. Niagra falls has worn its way well back from the escarpment itself, which runs closer to lake Ontario, it hugs the western tip of the lake, forming "Hamilton Mountain". The Bruce penninsula, Manitoulan Island, and that penninsula on the western shore of Lake Michigan are all built around the escarpment (Green Bay is the bay behind the penninsula on Lake Michigan). This one is courtesy of the awesome "geological road map of Ontario" which was one of the best birthday presents I ever received.

H) "As it Happens" has been the anchor current affairs show on CBC radio for decades. What child of one of its long serving hosts worked for a while as a speech writer for the Bush (Jr) Whitehouse? Bonus question: what city in England has become a geographical touch-point for many Canadians as a result of As It Happens?

Barbara Frum's son is David Frum, a former Bush whitehouse speech writer. ....Reading, UK is the touch point. .

Yup and yup!

The CBC questions are easy for me.

Yay for another CBC listener!

-Ed

 

[Tad]

Louis Riel?

Yep, that's the one. He was elected as an MP in the earliest incarnation of Manitoba as a province. He then spent some years in exile in the US, living as a preacher, before being brought back as the figure head of the revolt by the Metis (who had by that point given up on Manitoba, and were based at Batoche, in Sask.).

Probably 'The Friendly Giant' which, as olivefun mentioned, also featured Jerome the giraffe (longest vocal chords in show business!).

Yep!

16. What is a 'stubby'?

One of those old, short, brown beer bottles, from when the breweries worked together to have just one sort of bottle, for greater effeciency.

 

[Tad]

B) The fur traders who headed west from Montreal originally portaged out of the Great Lake's water shed at Grand Portage. They later moved their portage to Fort William--why? Bonus question: what river in British Columbia is named after a key figure in the decision to move?
The Nor'Westers used Grand Portage first, near Pigeon River. However, the establishment of the American border in 1783 and the subsequent threat of customs duties forced the Nor'Westers to find another inland base. They resurrected the old French route at the Kaministiquia River in 1801 and held the Great Rendezvous at Fort Kaministiquia in 1803. The name would change to Fort William in 1807, after William McGillivray, Chief Director of the North West Company from 1804-1821.

Regarding the bonus, Simon Fraser and Alexander MacKenzie were both on the board of the North West Company. Since the Peace River in BC flows to Slave Lake from whence the MacKenzie River actually begins, then you must be referring to the Fraser River.

Good research The dates are surprising to me, so may invalidate the bonus question.....I had recalled the move happening after the war of 1812, when the border was set out as far as the continental divide (the Rockies). After that border was set, David Thompson did a grand survey of all the North West company posts, to determine which were on the British (now Canadian) side of the border. I had thought the move from Grand Portage had also happened at this time, and that he was the surveyor there too, but I think at this earlier date he was probably still with the Hudson Bay Company. So you get the bonus point for coming up with a solution which makes sense. Oh, and of course the Thompson River in BC is named after DAvid Thompson (beside mapping most of western Canada, he was led the second european expedition overland to the arctic, and the third one to the pacific. In the process he found usable passes and navigation routes on the west coast. If he'd made it to the mouth of the Columbia river a couple of weeks earlier, most of Washington State would probably now be Canadian, but an American ship just beat him to setting up a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia.)

C) Why was the canal between Kingston and what is now Ottawa built? Bonus question: How was the leader of the project rewarded?
It was designed to provide a secure supply route from Montréal to Kingston, avoiding the vulnerable St. Lawrence River route.

Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers was not commended in any way for overseeing the building of the Rideau Canal, or founding Ottawa, the national capitol.

Yes--in particular in the War of 1812, if the people of upstate New York had actually cared about the war, a single artilery battery on the south bank of the St. Lawrence could have largely cut off what is now Ontario.

Col. By actually got investigated by a parlementary comittee for the budget overages on the canal, and his reward for a remarkable feat of engineering was to retire in disgrace.

F) The winner of quite a few early Stanley Cup's (for hockey supremacy) was a team called "The Ottawa Silver Seven." What was the significance of the number 7 in their team name?

Later the Ottawa Senators, they were originally called the Silver Seven in reference to seven-man hockey played at that time--1893-1927

Yep!

-Ed

 

[Rosie]

1. Where is 'the bright-red mud', and who is driving from there? (For that matter, what's he taking with him, and who's singing about him?)

PEI, Stompin Tom singing about Bud the Spud driving from there.

3. Who are Casey and Finnegan?

Puppets from Mr. Dressup show

4. Before they were changed to 'God keep our land glorious and free', what were the lyrics?

And stand on guard, Oh Canada we stand on guard for thee (not 100% sure of this one)

6. What is 'pogey'?

Unemployment insurance, now called Employment insurance

7. Over whose name did Rick Mercer propose a referendum?

Stockwell Day

9. What famous singer uses 'bag balm' to keep her facial skin youthful?

Shania Twain

10. Who was the late CBC radio personality now often referred to as 'Saint Peter'?

Peter Gzowski (sp?)

Ok, I'm Canadian so I knew a lot of them lol

 

[olivefun]

Yep!


Yay for another CBC listener!

-Ed

Hey,
I just got a call that I will be on Andy Barrie's CBC Metro Morning tomorrow morning @ 7:45 am talking about the police and bicycle thefts in the city.
CBC Radio One.

 

[EtobicokeFA]

I got a couple:

1) What was the plains of Abraham?

2) Who was the Hudson Bay named after?

3) In what year did the Charter of Rights became law?

4) What does the word "hoser" mean?

5) Why is the maple leaf a national symbol?

 

[olivefun]

5) Why is the maple leaf a national symbol?

Because the fig leaf as already being used?



(sorry, I just had to add a dumb one..)

 

[EtobicokeFA]

Because the fig leaf as already being used?



(sorry, I just had to add a dumb one..)

No problem!

 

[Janet]

I got a couple:

I may not get rep on charm, but I'm willing to work for it!!

1) What was the plains of Abraham?

A site in Quebec City where a historically significant battle was fought.
In 1759, the British, under the command of Major General James Wolfe, advanced into the St. Lawrence River and on September 13th attacked the French, under the command of Lieutenant General the marquis de Montcalm. Wolfe's troops scaled the cliffs below the Plains of Abraham and attacked. The battle was short and the city surrendered a few days later. Both Montcalm and Wolfe were mortally wounded.
2) Who was the Hudson Bay named after?

Hudson Bay was named after Henry Hudson, who explored the bay in 1610 on his ship the Discovery.
3) In what year did the Charter of Rights became law?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982.
4) What does the word "hoser" mean?

Canadian term popularized by the McKenzie brothers referring to someone clumsy or stupid who drinks beer excessivly.

The literal definition of a hoser, according to Bob and Doug, is "What you call your little brother when your mom's in the room."

5) Why is the maple leaf a national symbol? [/QUOTE]

Here's what the Canadian Government has to say about it.

Well before the coming of the first European settlers, Canada's aboriginal peoples had discovered the food properties of maple sap, which they gathered every spring. According to many historians, the maple leaf began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as 1700.
In 1834, the first St. Jean Baptiste Society in North America made the maple leaf its emblem.

In 1836, Le Canadien, a newspaper published in Lower Canada, referred to it as a suitable emblem for Canada.

In 1848, the Toronto literary annual The Maple Leaf referred to it as the chosen emblem of Canada. By 1860, the maple leaf was incorporated into the badge of the 100th Regiment (Royal Canadians) and was used extensively in decorations for the visit of the Prince of Wales that year.

Alexander Muir wrote The Maple Leaf Forever as Canada's confederation song in 1867; it was regarded as the national song for several decades. The coats of arms created the next year for Ontario and Quebec both included the maple leaf.

The maple leaf today appears on the penny. However, between 1876 and 1901, it appeared on all Canadian coins. The modern one-cent piece has two maple leaves on a common twig, a design that has gone almost unchanged since 1937.

During the First World War, the maple leaf was included in the badge of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Since 1921, the Royal Arms of Canada have included three maple leaves as a distinctive Canadian emblem. With the proclamation of Canada's new flag in 1965, the maple leaf has become the most-prominent Canadian symbol.

In 1939, at the time of World War II, many Canadian troops used the maple leaf as a distinctive sign, displaying it on regimental badges and Canadian army and naval equipment.

In 1957, the colour of the maple leaves on the arms of Canada was changed from green to red, one of Canada's official colours.

On February 15, 1965, the red maple leaf flag was inaugurated as the National Flag of Canada.


http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o3_e.cfm