TIMEFLIES Travel Trivia

In the TIMEFLIES adventure series Griz, Alisha, and Sam travel as humans and flies.
In this section, you'll find some interesting facts about the places they have visited.

 TIMEFLIES: The Maiden Voyage
Ottawa, Sarnia, and Toronto, Ontario.

Ottawa, Ontario, 2018

(GRIZ, SAM AND ALISHA’S HOMETOWN). LOCATED ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE OTTAWA RIVER, IN THE EASTERN PART OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO. OTTAWA BORDERS GATINEAU, QUEBEC.

45.4215° N, 75.6972° W

  • Chosen by Queen Victoria in 1857 to be the capital city of Canada.
  • Ottawa is the 4th largest city in Canada.
  • Opened in 1832, the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, connects Ottawa to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. In winter, a 7.8-kilometer section in central Ottawa is cleared to become the world’s largest skating rink.
  • From the 1930s to 2013, Parliament Hill was the home to the Canadian Parliamentary Cats. A colony of over 30 cats lived in a sanctuary behind the Hill. Originally brought in as a natural solution to deal with rats and mice they remained for years with caregivers tending to their wellbeing.
  • Visitors can stay in a hostel that was a nineteenth-century jail.
  • Almost half the population is under the age of 35, making Ottawa one of the youngest cities in the country. 
  • With the most scientists, engineers, and PhDs per capita, Ottawa is ranked as the most educated Canadian city. Continually rated as the best place to live in Canada, it placed 2nd nationally and 24th worldwide in the 2017 quality of life index.

Sarnia, Ontario, 1983

(GRIZELDA’S MOTHER’S HOMETOWN). LOCATED ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF LAKE HURON, AT THE MOUTH OF ST. CLAIRE RIVER, WHICH FORMS THE CANADA-UNITED STATES BORDER. SARNIA IS DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM PORT HURON, MICHIGAN.

42.9745° N, 82.4066° W

  • Hometown of Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian astronaut to walk, and to record a song, in space.
  • First Nations people have lived in the area for at least 10,000 years. The Midewiwin birch bark scrolls show the Three Fires Confederacy, a long-standing alliance of the Ojibwa, Odawa and Potowatami clans, was formed about A.D. 796. By the 1700s, the Confederacy governed an autonomous society in the hub of the great lakes, including Sarnia.
  • A 40-square-kilometre area south of downtown Sarnia, known as Chemical Valley, is home to more than 60 chemical plants and oil refineries. Operating day and night, with toxic air billowing from smokestacks, there are 57 facilities registered as polluters within 25 kilometres of Sarnia.
  • Warning Sirens alert residents to seek shelter indoors and tune to local radio stations in case of chemical emergencies. Siren testing can be heard every Monday at 12:30pm.

Toronto, Ontario, 2018

(WEEKEND VACATION SPOT FOR GRIZELDA AND HER PARENTS).LOCATED IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO ALONG LAKE ONTARIO’S NORTHWESTERN SHORE.

43.6532° N, 79.3832° W

  • The capital of the province of Ontario.
  • Largest city in Canada and 4th largest in North America by population
  • Originally named York, the capital of Upper Canada in 1793; it was incorporated and renamed Toronto in 1834
  • Rated as the world's 4th most livable city.
  • Home to over 16,000 animals representing 491 species, the Toronto Zoo is the largest in Canada.
  • Toronto Island is the largest urban car-free community in North America.
  • Home to over 70 film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival. North America's 3d largest venue for movie production, around 25% of Hollywood movies are filmed in Toronto.
  • The CN Tower, 1,815 feet tall, was the tallest freestanding structure in the world before 2007.
  • Toronto's Casa Loma is the only truly authentic castle in North America.
  • Almost 25% of Canada's population lives within a 160 km radius of Toronto
  • Toronto is the only Canadian city with representation in 7 major league sports
  • The Rogers Centre is the first stadium in the world to have a fully retractable roof.
  • Toronto has the 2nd largest public transit system in North America.
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