Facts of the Day ....

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╰❈╮ 13 Things You Didn't Know About Canada Day

Canada is looking pretty good for 146 years old! How well do you know our country? Regardless of your knowledge, here are 13 things you might not know.

1. Canadians Like Beer
Canada Day and a cold one go together like Bob and Doug McKenzie. In British Columbia,
residents guzzle 1.2 million litres
of beer over the country's birthday long weekend-and that's just from government-run liquor stores.

2. It Makes The Perfect Moving Day
As the rest of Canada celebrates with face painting and fireworks, Quebec opts for a mass exodus of apartments. In keeping with a decades-old tradition, most leases in La Belle Province expire July 1. Last year, 80,000 Quebecers-and an unknown number of fridges-took part.

3. The Test is Tough
In 2010, Canada toughened up its citizenship test with more detailed questions and a higher pass mark. As a result, failure rates jumped from between four and eight per cent to 30. It's no wonder: Do you know what year the name "Canada" first began appearing on maps? (It's 1547.)

4. We're Funny
During an interview on Canadian humour, writer Margaret Atwood recounts this gem: "What does a Canadian girl say when you ask her if she'd like some sex? She says, `Only if you're having some yourself.'"

5. ... And Polite
All that politeness may be going to our heads: 86 per cent of
Canadians believe they live in the best country in the world.

6. We Can Be Crafty, Too
To help them design the country's official flag, parliamentarians asked Canadians in 1963 to draft suggestions. Of the 3,541 patriots who responded, nearly 400 thought a beaver should be front and centre, while one trippy submission depicted the disembodied heads of the four Beatles encircling a fleur-de-lys.

7. Beavers Aren't As Sweet As They Look
Think Canada's national animal is cute and cuddly? Beavers have been known to attack humans and, on some occasions, kill them. (A Belarusian angler died in April at the teeth of one of the rodents.)

8. We're A Little Competitive
No wonder Americans joke that Canadians have an inferiority complex-even the composer of our national anthem, Calixa Lavallée, decamped to the United States seeking professional success.

9. We're A Little Odd, Too
To celebrate Canada's big 100, residents of Nanaimo, B.C., transformed bathtubs into motorboats and raced 58 kilometres across the Georgia Strait to Vancouver. The bathtub races are now an annual event.

10. We Like A Good Party
You're more likely to fête Canada's birthday if you're among the seven million citizens whose mother tongue isn't French or English. (There are 200 other languages to choose from.)

11. We've Changed Our Minds
Canadians officially referred to July 1 as Dominion Day until 1982, when 13 sleepy Members of Parliament voted in the name change at 4 p.m. on a Friday, before declaring the rest of the afternoon a holiday and
taking off.

12. We'll Take A Risk
On Canada Day 2006, three revellers relieved themselves on the National War Memorial. Someone snapped a photo, which caused national outrage when it was published in the papers. (One of the men was charged; after 50 hours of community service, a $200 donation and a public letter of apology, he got a reprieve from the court.)

13. Our Delicacies Can Be Found Around The World
If you're keen to celebrate your homeland's holiday but you're one of our 2.8-million-strong diaspora, pick up some poutine at the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Seoul, Korea, a fluffy Beaver Tail in Saudi Arabia or a box of Timbits from one of the 19 Tim Hortons in the United Arab Emirates.
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