Reach for the Top Presents: Winter Trivia
In Canada, we have 4 seasons: summer, almost winter (some people call this autumn or fall), winter and still winter (also known as spring).
Of these 4, winter is by far the harshest. It is the coldest season filled with frostbite and lousy public transport. The days are too short and the nights are too long. However, it is still possible to enjoy winter. That is correct.
As hard as this may be to comprehend, winter can actually be a lot of fun. There are a multitude of winter sports that involve these strange things that cover the ground called snow and ice.
Many of us still prefer to sit at home, crouch by the heating vents and read a good book. So in case you're at the bus stop, the guidance office, the north pole, the library or another frosty venue, here are some fun, interesting and true facts related to winter.
The coldest recorded temperature -89.2 oC was recorded at the Vostok station in Antartica.
Mount Baker in Washington state, holds the world record for the most snow in one year, a reported 1,140 inches (30 metres) accumulated in 1998.
Snag, the Yukon Territory of Canada with a recorded temperature of -63 oC on February 3, 1947.
The name “Aurora Borealis” is credited to Galileo Galilei (1616) and means “northern dawn.”
2.1 million Canadians travelled to Florida in the winter of 2006
In Canada, about 1 in 10 weddings take place during the winter
5.9 million litres of eggnog were sold in Canada in December 2006
The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held at Sochi, Russia marking the first time the Russian Federation hosts the Olympics.
Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first gold medal on home soil for freestyle skiing at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
Canadian athletes have competed in all 20 Winter Olympic Games since the inaugural Winter Games in 1924.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Quebec invented the snowmobile
The largest iceberg ever recorded worldwide was 207 miles long and 62 miles wide.
The Norse personification of winter was called Vetr. It's counterpart was summer, Sumarr.
In Ancient Persia, the first night of winter was called Yalda and was the eve of the birth of Mithra, the sun god.
To all you younglings planning on taking over the world, attacking Russia in the winter is a bad idea as both Napolean and Hitler learned in their failed invasions.
Had fun with trivia? Then join Reach for the Top! Junior meetings at lunch in room 227 on Wednesday.