The Great Canadian Trivia

Mark Kearney · Randy Ray

May 1998 · Dundurn

About this ebook

Did a Canadian kill famed escape artist Harry Houdini? Are the streets of Yellowknife really paved with gold? What was Canada's connection to those famous "Paul McCartney is dead" rumours of the late 1960s? And just how long does it take a drop of water to flow from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean?

The Great Canadian Trivia Book II brings you all these answers and more. In the much-anticipated sequel to their bestseller, The Great Canadian Trivia Book, award-winning writers Mark Kearney and Randy Ray dig even deeper into Canada's curious characters, storied past, natural phenomena, cultural idiosyncrasies, and the peculiarities of our leisurely pursuits.

In the pages of this intriguing book, you'll discover the Canadian who was responsible for introducing the glove to professional baseball, the story behind Canada's blue two-dollar bill, how the robbery phrase "hands up" was connected to Canada, and whether a goalie can take a face-off in a hockey game.

Think it's unlikely a Canadian might have been president of the United States? That Sir John A. Macdonald was the only one in his family to achieve political fame? Or that a Canadian rock group would turn down a chance to play at the famous Woodstock festival of 1969? The Great Canadian Trivia Book II will have you thinking again. And again.

About the author

Mark Kearney was born in Toronto, grew up in Pickering, Ontario, and graduated in journalism from the University of Western Ontario in 1977. Kearney has been a full-time freelance writer since 1989 after working as a reporter for the London Free Press and in public relations for the Ontario government. Kearney's articles have appeared in some sixty publications in North America, and he teaches writing at the University of Western Ontario and Lambton College. He is married and lives in London, Ontario.

Randy Ray was born and raised in Toronto and is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. He has been a freelance writer since 1989 after working as a reporter for the London Free Press for thirteen years, including three years as the newspaper's Parliament Hill bureau chief. Ray's articles have appeared in more than fifty publications, including The Ottawa Citizen and The Globe and Mail. He is married, has three children, and lives in Ottawa, Ontario.