It’s BC Day – Some Fun Facts About Our Province

It’s the BC Day long weekend here so Monday is a Statutory holiday. Yesterday morning as I was looking at the online edition of the Victoria Times Colonist I saw an article that noted 50 fun facts about our province. It’s been a pretty slow weekend so I thought this would be about as interesting as anything else I could write about – other than the brutally hot weather which is still up into the 90’s – ugh!

Mt. Whistler – north of Vancouver, B.C.

Whistler is named after the hoary marmot, a rodent nicknamed Whistler because it gives a sharp piercing whistle to warn of danger.

Hanging Garden Tree on Meares Island

One of the oldest known western red cedars, the Hanging Garden Tree on Meares Island near Tofino, is estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old.

The top 10 languages spoken in B.C.

The top 10 languages spoken in B.C. are: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, German, Tagalog, French, Korean, Spanish and Farsi.

The first trans-Canada telephone call was made in 1916 between Vancouver and Montreal on a circuit running 6,763 kilometres through Buffalo, Chicago, Omaha, Salt Lake City and Portland, Ore.

Estevan Point Lighthouse

In June 1942, newspapers reported that a Japanese submarine had fired on the Estevan Point Lighthouse at the north end of Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island. That makes Estevan Point the only place in Canada to come under enemy fire during either world war.

The West Coast Trail

The 75-kilometre West Coast Trail on the west coast of Vancouver Island is ranked the world s No. 1 hike by besthike.com. California’s famous John Muir Trail will just have to try harder: It’s ranked second by the website. The West Coast Trail typically takes five to seven days to complete. Challenges confronting hikers include climbing ladders, fording streams, negotiating muddy trails and using cable cars. 

Logger Bert Thomas was first to swim the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1955

In 1955, logger Bert Thomas became the first person to swim the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Vancouver Island and Washington s Olympic Peninsula. During his swim, he was sustained by rum and coke funneled to him through a garden hose, and lit a Cuban cigar as he backstroked to shore.

The Glass House in Boswell

The Glass House in Boswell, a small town near Creston, is made of half a million empty embalming fluid bottles. The curiously beautiful house was started in 1952 by David H. Brown, a retired undertaker. It took two years to build the house, which became the Brown family home. David Brown passed away in 1970 and his family eventually made the house accessible as a tourist attraction.

Victoria’s Chinatown

Victoria’s is the first and oldest Chinatown in Canada and second-oldest in North America after San Francisco.

The Lost Lagoon fountain in Stanley Park

The Lost Lagoon fountain in Stanley Park is a leftover from the 1936 World Fair in Chicago. Vancouver purchased the fountain after the world fair ended.

 Vancouver’s Kitsilano Pool

Canada’s longest swimming pool — at 137 metres — is Vancouver’s Kits Pool. The outdoor saltwater pool opened on Aug. 15, 1931.

The Jolly Jumper baby seat was patented in B.C. in 1957 and manufactured in North Vancouver. Susan Olivia Poole and her son, Joseph Poole, designed the seat to be suspended from the ceiling by a harness, allowing children to bounce and swing without parental help.

Stanley Park Grey Squirrels

All of the grey squirrels in Stanley Park today are descended from eight pairs of grey squirrels given to Vancouver by New York City in 1909.

With a little Botox you too can look like Joan Rivers

Cosmetic Botox was invented in Vancouver. In 2000, Vancouver doctors Alastair Carruthers and Jean Carruthers presented findings from the first major study on the safety and efficacy of Botox to prevent wrinkles. The husband-and-wife team were the international pioneers in the use of the medical marvel many years earlier. It is now one of the most common cosmetic procedures around the world.

Thanks for visiting!