This one's for you, Canada

Today in history has a whole lot of Canuck in it. I mean a lot. And by the way, I really wasn't sure if Canuck would be offensive to anybody. I'm sure we Americans offend Canadians all the time though, so they're probably used to it. Oh well, they're still part of North America, whether they like it or not. And there's not a whole lot they can do about it if they don't like it. Please refer to my very reliable map of North America on the right, which has mispelled Hawaii.

Seriously though, I like both Canada and Canadians. So I hope nothing here offends you. I figure Canuck is probably like calling me a Yankee (at which point I stick a feather in my hat and call it maccaroni). Shouldn't do too much damage.

So Wikipedia has 72 events marking this day in history. Obviously there's a lot more than that, but Wikipedia chooses only the most stellar events, or in other words, only things that have a Wikipedia article about them (which is probably why my birthday was ousted when I secretly tacked it on to the June 10 Wikipedia article). Out of those 72 epic occasions, guess how many involve my northern neighbors? 12. For those of you who are not mathematicians, that's over FORTY PERCENT! For those of you who ARE mathematicians, please don't tell the others that it's not over forty percent.

In truth it's only 17% (rounded up to the nearest integer...oh yes Mr. Dunston, I was listening in 9th grade math). But still, Canada doesn't occupy 17% of the world's, well, anything! So today, Canada, is your special day. We raise our hockey sticks, maple syrup, and grizzly bears, and we salute you.

Most of the Canadian events mentioned in Today in History are frankly dull and boring, as classified such by the American Committee for Dull and Boring Incidents. Since Canada's a part of North America, I believe there are even Canadians on that committee. However, O Canada officially became Canada's national anthem on this day in 1980. Neither dull, nor boring. In fact O Canada has an interested tangled past of intrigue and drama.

You see, since 1867, God Save The King and The Maple Leaf Forever had been competing as unofficial national anthems. Then O Canada came into the picture and blew 'em both out of the water so forcefully and obviously that the Canadian government scrambled to buy the rights to the lyrics and music. So badly did they want those rights that they pooled all their savings and spared no expense. And the lyrics and music to O Canada were purchased for ONE DOLLAR.

That's not even a good ol' steady greenback American dollar, either. That's a Canuck buck. It would have been worth about 85 American cents back in the day.

I must say though, it's not hard to see why The Maple Leaf Forever didn't win in the end. I kid you not, some of its lyrics include talking about enjoining in love the thistle, shamrock, rose, and maple leaf.

Here's another interesting trivia fact (sorry, I meant trivial fact) about O Canada. You know when you were in sixth grade and you took those aptitude tests trying to determine which math class you should attend? Ok, your personal experiences here may vary, but you'll soon recognize what I'm talking about (which today is pronounced "ah-boot"). Do you remember seeing something like this labeled as an alien language you had to translate, given that certain symbols meant certain words?

ᐆ ᑲᓇᑕ! ᓇᖕᒥᓂ ᓄᓇᕗᑦ!
ᐱᖁᔭᑏ ᓇᓚᑦᑎᐊᖅᐸᕗᑦ.
ᐊᖏᒡᓕᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᑎ,
ᓴᙱᔪᓗᑎᓪᓗ.
ᓇᖏᖅᐳᒍ, ᐆ ᑲᓇᑕ,
ᒥᐊᓂᕆᑉᓗᑎ.
ᐆ ᑲᓇᑕ! ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊ!
ᓇᖏᖅᐳᒍ ᒥᐊᓂᕆᑉᓗᑎ,
ᐆ ᑲᓇᑕ, ᓴᓚᒋᔭᐅᖁᓇ!

Well, in truth, those are the lyrics to O Canada. That there is the Inuktitut version of the lyrics. Inuktitut is the name of some of the Inuit languages, which is recognized as an official language in parts of Canada. The other parts want none of it (which today is pronounced "Nunavut").

So if you were put in the slow math class, blame Canada, eh.

Pictures:
Flawed North America map
The Maple Leaf Forever postcard
Stupid Math Calculator