A few years ago I published random facts arranged chronologically about the progress of women through the years. In anticipation of International Women’s Day on Monday, today’s post offers fun facts about women’s firsts. The year 2020 gave cause for celebration as Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President in the USA. The daughter […]

One night our son Brandon asked about the origin of ‘a needle in a haystack’ and also wondered why we feel happy on ‘cloud nine’ rather than on seven or three. He reminded me it’s been a long while since FFF posted a list of idioms and proverbs, so I found the answers to his […]

On July 1, 1867, four founding provinces officially became the Dominion of Canada. From the original four, Canada has grown to ten provinces and three territories. From a population of 3,463,000, Canadians now number 37,728,000. In anticipation of Canada Day next Wednesday, I provide a dozen fun facts about our country: Canada is the largest […]

In anticipation of Presidents Day on Monday, Fun Facts Fridays gives tidbits about former U.S. Presidents. The story of Presidents Day begins in 1800 following the death of President George Washington (1732-1799). The February 22 birthday of the first President became an annual day of remembrance. In 1879 President Rutherford Hayes (1822-1893) signed the federal holiday into law, initially applying […]

A FFF post of September 2017 gave a dozen facts about Canada’s 3rd largest city. In this post, I provide an additional baker’s dozen facts about Vancouver in anticipation of its 133rd birthday tomorrow, April 6th. In 1892 Charles Woodward established the first Woodward’s department store in Vancouver. He opened a second store in Edmonton in […]

What do we know of February, on this its first day? It’s the second and shortest month of the year, with 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap ones that occur every four years. February is named after Februa, an ancient Roman festival of ritual purification or spring cleansing, later incorporated into […]

Today, on winter solstice 2018, my post discusses the seasons. Four seasons occur because of shifting sunlight, not changes in temperature. The astronomical start of a season is based on the position of the earth in relation to the sun. A solstice or an equinox marks the start of each season. Twice a year the earth’s axis is […]

Before Hollywood, New Jersey was the centre of film in the U.S. Thomas Edison owned a majority of the patents on motion picture cameras and, through these patents, controlled who could make films. Independent filmmakers found the restrictions stifled innovation so they fled to Hollywood in the early 1900s. The physical distance from the Edison […]

Monday, October 1 marks the 4th annual International Coffee Day, a global celebration of coffee’s journey from the farm to our local shops. Many people, myself included, rely on coffee to start their day right. Apparently the rich aroma gives us added pep, making it beneficial to “wake up and smell the coffee.” The origin of […]

Occasionally on Fridays I post facts for our interest or amusement. To begin the series in July 2017, I examined the little known origins of a dozen idioms still used in everyday conversation to explain different situations in a few words. Today I add another dozen to that list. Close, but no cigar: almost winning. Carnival […]