83 Skookum Facts About Canada Very Few People Know

Over 90% of the population of Canada lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border.

27. In 1966 and 1967, soldiers testing Agent Orange in Canada were told the chemical was completely safe and sprayed it on each other to cool off.

28. Canada formally awarded Santa Claus official citizenship and gave him his own postal code (H0H 0H0) so children can send him letters

29. Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library, which sends one free book per month to a child, to boost literacy and foster a love of reading. Founded to serve her native Sevier County TN, it now ships over a million books a month to kids in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

30. Canada hands out a 1-year free Cultural Access Pass to new citizens. Free access to 1,000 museums and cultural centers across Canada.

When Team Canada's Olympic gold medal-winning goalie Shannon Szabados was invited to take practice with the perennial last-place Edmonton Oilers in the spring of 2014, someone asked her if she was worried about getting hit on by the players. Her response: "Nope, they can't score anyway."

32. Canada forced 150,000 native children into "Residential Schools" away from their families to assimilate them and remove their family's culture. Over 6,000 died and many were physically and sexually abused. Most returned home unable to help, or connect with, their families.

33. In 2015, a Canadian man named Daniel Bora was arrested after tying more than 100 balloons to a garden chair and flying over the city of Calgary

34. The Rhinoceros Party of Canada, a satirical, federally registered political party in Canada, received 1.01% of the popular vote in the 1980 federal election campaigning to repeal the law of gravity and provide higher education by building taller schools, among other promises.

35. A homeless man in Canada turned in $2000 he found on the street; when a blogger raised over $5000 in donations for the man, he turned it down and wanted it donated to charity instead

Members of Westboro Baptist Church have been specifically banned from entering Canada for hate speech.

37. Canada deemed "Third World" in Broadband Internet rating by Netflix.

38. Quaker Oats promoted their cereal in 1955 by giving away 1 square inch of land in Canada in each box sold. In the end, it totaled up to 19 acres

39. Kraft Mac and Cheese (Kraft Dinner) has been called the de facto national dish of Canada as it is the most popular grocery item in the country. Canadians eat more of it per capita than any other country (55% more than Americans).

40. In 2013, a doctor named Dr. Stuart Kreisman in Vancouver tested a disposal program for cigarette butts, offering to offer one penny for each butt returned to its booth. It was a huge success and within a few hours over 60,000 butts had been collected.

Canada has a maple syrup cartel.

42. Winnipeg, despite being one of the coldest cities in Canada, is the Slurpee capital of the world.

43. Canada's longest running military operation involves firing artillery rounds at mountains to trigger avalanches.

44. On September 11th, 2001 when the US Airspace was shut down following the attacks, Canada took in 255 flights bound for the USA making this known as Operation Yellow Ribbon. There were over 30,000 people on all 200 flights. Many Canadians hosted the passengers at home for several days.

45. A private company dumped 100 tons of iron sulfate off the coast of Canada to promote the growing of plankton capable of absorbing carbon-dioxide from the air. It is the world's most significant geoengineering project to date.

In 1945, Canada was asked how many Jewish refugees it would allow in. Canada's Foreign Minister Frederick Blair replied: "None is too many."

47. Orlando hospitals didn’t charge the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting for their treatment. Local hospitals announced they would write off about $5.5 million in medical bills in response to overwhelming support by many organizations, individuals, and charities.

48. Canada has the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the world. Higher than the United States and China.

49. The highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, 45C, is higher than any temperature ever recorded in either Brazil or Thailand.

50. Budweiser is the best selling beer in only one country: Canada