Some interesting facts about Alberta, Canada.
Couldn't leave our Canadian friends out of all this interesting stuff!
- The phrase "trick or treat!" first began in Alberta. Halloween's history goes back hundreds of years, but the earliest known use of "trick or treat" didn't occur until 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, when a newspaper reported on costumed "pranksters" uttering the phrase at different houses.
- The world's longest beaver dam is in Wood Buffalo National Park and measures 850 meters (or 2,790 feet) long.
Instead of a key to the city, honorees in Calgary get a white cowboy hat and have to say the most stereotypically Albertan pledge ever. The lucky recipients receive a white Smithbilt hat and, with their right hand raised, must recite the following oath:
"I, [recipient's name], havin' visited the only genuine Western city in Canada, namely Calgary, and havin' been duly treated to exceptional amounts of heart-warmin', hand-shakin', tongue-loosenin', back-slappin', neighbour-lovin' Western spirit, do solemnly promise to spread this here brand of hospitality to all folks and critters who cross my trail hereafter. On the count of three, we will all raise our hats and give a loud 'Yahoo!'"
The town of Vulcan, Alberta has totally embraced the whole Star Trek thing. To promote tourism, Vulcan features a Star Trek museum and has its own 31-foot replica of the Enterprise next to a spaceship-shaped visitors' centre. The plaque at the base of the replica is written in English, Vulcan, and Klingon. (But not French?!)
Oh, and the town of St. Paul features a UFO landing pad (you know, just in case).
The city of Lloydminster is shared by Alberta and Saskatchewan. Lloydminster straddles the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan, and instead of fighting over the territory, the provinces agreed to just share it. Aww, typical Canadian cooperation.
Boston Pizza was actually founded in Edmonton. Don't be fooled by the name! The first Boston Pizza was opened by Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis in Edmonton, and it was called the Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House. Nothing screams "Boston" like Alberta, right? (Not that anyone's complaining — mmm, pizza.)
A ranch in southern Alberta once employed The Sundance Kid as a ranch hand — y’know, before he got into robboing banks and stuff. Before he teamed up with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, Harry “Sundance” Longabaugh was employed at the Bar U Ranch in southern Alberta. Why he’d choose the excitement of robbing banks over shoveling cow poop, I'll never understand.
Cleanest city in the world: it was determined that Alberta produces roughly 48% of all Canada’s pollution with the oil sands so Calgary has taken major steps to improve the city to compensate. Calgary created a 31 million dollar composting facility. Introduced a $1,000 fine for idling cars and littering. By 2020 will have more than 80% of all garbage diverted away from landfills.
The West Edmonton Mall was the world’s largest until 2004 when it was out done by a mall in Dubai, however it still claims the title for the largest mall in North America. Some staggering facts: The mall covers 5.3 million square feet. There are over 800 shops. A full theme park. A full theater and receives between 90,000 and 200,000 visitors every single day. The mall was valued in 2007 at 1 billion dollars.
Edmonton Alberta is flat, extremely flat, there is virtually no hope for a natural waterfall anywhere close to the capitol city. Therefore the city built an artificial waterfall off the “high level bridge” near downtown to celebrate the cities 75th birthday, this waterfall is 7 meters higher than Niagara Falls.
Canadas top secret WWII project: Project Habakkuk was carried out in Alberta’s Lake Louise. In true Canadian fashion the super secret project was to build an aircraft carrier our of ice, wood pulp and steel to float in the Atlantic ocean to be used by the Allied forces to combat Germany. The carrier would not need fuel and would self propel, if temperatures were right to keep the mixture of ice and pulp solid. A scale model was built on Lake Louise for testing before the project was scrapped due to the end of WWII. Perhaps someday the great Canadian ice carrier will become the reality it almost was.
Banff National Park is the oldest national park in Canada. There is a wildlife overpass over the Trans-Canada Highway near Banff.
Wood Buffalo National Park is the home to about 2200 wood buffalo (endangered).
Northern Alberta is covered with forest and muskeg (swamp or bog).
There are no rats in Edmonton – or in all of Alberta for that matter! (My kinda place!)
The largest collection of complete dinosaur skeletons in the world can be found in Drumheller.
Hope you've e joyed your "tour" of Alberta!
Couldn't leave our Canadian friends out of all this interesting stuff!
- The phrase "trick or treat!" first began in Alberta. Halloween's history goes back hundreds of years, but the earliest known use of "trick or treat" didn't occur until 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, when a newspaper reported on costumed "pranksters" uttering the phrase at different houses.
- The world's longest beaver dam is in Wood Buffalo National Park and measures 850 meters (or 2,790 feet) long.
Instead of a key to the city, honorees in Calgary get a white cowboy hat and have to say the most stereotypically Albertan pledge ever. The lucky recipients receive a white Smithbilt hat and, with their right hand raised, must recite the following oath:
"I, [recipient's name], havin' visited the only genuine Western city in Canada, namely Calgary, and havin' been duly treated to exceptional amounts of heart-warmin', hand-shakin', tongue-loosenin', back-slappin', neighbour-lovin' Western spirit, do solemnly promise to spread this here brand of hospitality to all folks and critters who cross my trail hereafter. On the count of three, we will all raise our hats and give a loud 'Yahoo!'"
The town of Vulcan, Alberta has totally embraced the whole Star Trek thing. To promote tourism, Vulcan features a Star Trek museum and has its own 31-foot replica of the Enterprise next to a spaceship-shaped visitors' centre. The plaque at the base of the replica is written in English, Vulcan, and Klingon. (But not French?!)
Oh, and the town of St. Paul features a UFO landing pad (you know, just in case).
The city of Lloydminster is shared by Alberta and Saskatchewan. Lloydminster straddles the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan, and instead of fighting over the territory, the provinces agreed to just share it. Aww, typical Canadian cooperation.
Boston Pizza was actually founded in Edmonton. Don't be fooled by the name! The first Boston Pizza was opened by Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis in Edmonton, and it was called the Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House. Nothing screams "Boston" like Alberta, right? (Not that anyone's complaining — mmm, pizza.)
A ranch in southern Alberta once employed The Sundance Kid as a ranch hand — y’know, before he got into robboing banks and stuff. Before he teamed up with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, Harry “Sundance” Longabaugh was employed at the Bar U Ranch in southern Alberta. Why he’d choose the excitement of robbing banks over shoveling cow poop, I'll never understand.
Cleanest city in the world: it was determined that Alberta produces roughly 48% of all Canada’s pollution with the oil sands so Calgary has taken major steps to improve the city to compensate. Calgary created a 31 million dollar composting facility. Introduced a $1,000 fine for idling cars and littering. By 2020 will have more than 80% of all garbage diverted away from landfills.
The West Edmonton Mall was the world’s largest until 2004 when it was out done by a mall in Dubai, however it still claims the title for the largest mall in North America. Some staggering facts: The mall covers 5.3 million square feet. There are over 800 shops. A full theme park. A full theater and receives between 90,000 and 200,000 visitors every single day. The mall was valued in 2007 at 1 billion dollars.
Edmonton Alberta is flat, extremely flat, there is virtually no hope for a natural waterfall anywhere close to the capitol city. Therefore the city built an artificial waterfall off the “high level bridge” near downtown to celebrate the cities 75th birthday, this waterfall is 7 meters higher than Niagara Falls.
Canadas top secret WWII project: Project Habakkuk was carried out in Alberta’s Lake Louise. In true Canadian fashion the super secret project was to build an aircraft carrier our of ice, wood pulp and steel to float in the Atlantic ocean to be used by the Allied forces to combat Germany. The carrier would not need fuel and would self propel, if temperatures were right to keep the mixture of ice and pulp solid. A scale model was built on Lake Louise for testing before the project was scrapped due to the end of WWII. Perhaps someday the great Canadian ice carrier will become the reality it almost was.
Banff National Park is the oldest national park in Canada. There is a wildlife overpass over the Trans-Canada Highway near Banff.
Wood Buffalo National Park is the home to about 2200 wood buffalo (endangered).
Northern Alberta is covered with forest and muskeg (swamp or bog).
There are no rats in Edmonton – or in all of Alberta for that matter! (My kinda place!)
The largest collection of complete dinosaur skeletons in the world can be found in Drumheller.
Hope you've e joyed your "tour" of Alberta!
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