Canada has no shortage of fascinating stories. If these little bits of history have you curious for more, have a look through our Books — you may find something on Canadian history, military, exploration or another topic that sends you down a whole new rabbit hole.
Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans were two inventors from Toronto who patented their design in 1874.
Their bulb used a carbon rod in a glass tube filled with nitrogen but they lacked the money to turn it into a commercial success, so they eventually sold their patent rights to Thomas Edison, who later improved the design
But the original idea started right here in the Great White North!
Before European settlement, the area around London was covered by extensive deciduous forests, with species such as maple, oak, beech, elm, walnut, and ash.
When settlers arrived in the early 1800s, they had to clear large portions of forest to build the town and establish farms.
It has one of Canada’s largest urban tree canopies, with more than 200 parks as well as extensive trails
Rumor has it that in the 1850s newspaper editor described London as “the Forest City,” in an article and the nickname stuck.
Each winter, a section of the historic Rideau Canal freezes and is transformed into the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink, stretching about 4.8 miles through downtown Ottawa. It has a surface area roughly equal to 90 Olympic-sized hockey rinks. Best of all -it’s FREE
The Halifax Explosion was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. It occurred on December 6, 1917, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the First World War.
The French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc, which was carrying a highly explosive cargo—including TNT, picric acid, and benzol—collided with the Norwegian ship SS Imo in Halifax Harbour.
About 20 minutes after the collision, the Mont-Blanc exploded with tremendous force. The blast destroyed much of the north end of Halifax and sent a massive shock wave across the harbor.Nearly 2,000 people were killed, around 9,000 people were injured, approximately 25,000 people were left without adequate shelter, more than 1,600 buildings were destroyed. Then the explosion generated a tsunami in the harbor and shattered windows several kilometres away.
On top of all that, the following day, a major snowstorm made rescue and recovery efforts even more difficult.
