Canadian numbers
Allow me deviate from the normal topic of the blogosphere.
I was on vacation with my son last week, and we headed to the great Northwest -- Seattle, to be specific. We also hit the great Southwest -- of Canada. We spent four days and three nights in Vancouver, BC, driving up I-5, which turns into Canada 99.
That was my first clue that Canada has a way with numbers. Anyone who's ever watched, played or just HEARD of hockey, knows that The Great One -- Wayne Gretzky -- wore number 99. The highway sign made me smile, then I noticed the next numbers game being played by the Canucks...a speed limit warning sign that said 30 WAS 20. As in 30 km/h = 20 mph.
My son figured out which dials to turn and buttons to push to change the speedometer from mph to km/h, and the needle shot to the right! Later in the trip I found myself cruising at 100, and cars were whizzing by. A drive past a filling station brought another fun-with-numbers revelation. Gas was listed at 109.9! Ok, that's a per LITER cost, but it sure beats 4.159 (That's $3.476 U.S. More on that later.)!!
The next numbers game came with the nightly news. "The highs tomorrow will be 21 or 22," the weathercaster said. Hmm...it felt a lot warmer than that, I thought. But then it hit me -- CELSIUS! How brilliant. A hot day is NEVER triple digits in Canada. 25-degrees is pretty darn warm, but Zero-degrees is just freezing. Makes sense to me.
Then the money game started. The exchange rate is around 20 percent in our favor, meaning my U.S. buck got me $1.20 Canadian, or so, when I made a purchase, meaning I was constantly doing the math in my head. Some things are deals, but others, I found, they just jack the prices up a bit to cover the difference.
If you haven't been to Canada, you should know they have a lot of fun with their money. There are no one-dollar bills. Instead, they use a gold-colored coin that sports a bird on one side. It's a Loon, so the coin is a "Loony!"
They have a two-tone two-dollar coin they affectionately call -- a Toonie! Their money is Loony Toons! To top that off, their smallest currency -- the $5 bill -- has a picture of smiling kids playing hockey and tobogganing! How cool is that?!
The final clincher is the Canadians actually refund a portion of the Gross Sales Tax you spend while visiting their markets. Any item that you carry back over the border are included, as long as each receipt is $50 or more and the total for the trip is $200 or more. It took just a few minutes to fill out the forms and get the cash handed back me. The woman behind the counter gave me a choice of "U.S. or Canadian?" I took the greenbacks, but really wanted a few more hockey-fivers.
So, in Canada you can drive fast, stay cool, get a bargain, use cool money and get a refund.
In your head, at least.
America should take a lesson.
I was on vacation with my son last week, and we headed to the great Northwest -- Seattle, to be specific. We also hit the great Southwest -- of Canada. We spent four days and three nights in Vancouver, BC, driving up I-5, which turns into Canada 99.
That was my first clue that Canada has a way with numbers. Anyone who's ever watched, played or just HEARD of hockey, knows that The Great One -- Wayne Gretzky -- wore number 99. The highway sign made me smile, then I noticed the next numbers game being played by the Canucks...a speed limit warning sign that said 30 WAS 20. As in 30 km/h = 20 mph.
My son figured out which dials to turn and buttons to push to change the speedometer from mph to km/h, and the needle shot to the right! Later in the trip I found myself cruising at 100, and cars were whizzing by. A drive past a filling station brought another fun-with-numbers revelation. Gas was listed at 109.9! Ok, that's a per LITER cost, but it sure beats 4.159 (That's $3.476 U.S. More on that later.)!!
The next numbers game came with the nightly news. "The highs tomorrow will be 21 or 22," the weathercaster said. Hmm...it felt a lot warmer than that, I thought. But then it hit me -- CELSIUS! How brilliant. A hot day is NEVER triple digits in Canada. 25-degrees is pretty darn warm, but Zero-degrees is just freezing. Makes sense to me.
Then the money game started. The exchange rate is around 20 percent in our favor, meaning my U.S. buck got me $1.20 Canadian, or so, when I made a purchase, meaning I was constantly doing the math in my head. Some things are deals, but others, I found, they just jack the prices up a bit to cover the difference.
If you haven't been to Canada, you should know they have a lot of fun with their money. There are no one-dollar bills. Instead, they use a gold-colored coin that sports a bird on one side. It's a Loon, so the coin is a "Loony!"
They have a two-tone two-dollar coin they affectionately call -- a Toonie! Their money is Loony Toons! To top that off, their smallest currency -- the $5 bill -- has a picture of smiling kids playing hockey and tobogganing! How cool is that?!
The final clincher is the Canadians actually refund a portion of the Gross Sales Tax you spend while visiting their markets. Any item that you carry back over the border are included, as long as each receipt is $50 or more and the total for the trip is $200 or more. It took just a few minutes to fill out the forms and get the cash handed back me. The woman behind the counter gave me a choice of "U.S. or Canadian?" I took the greenbacks, but really wanted a few more hockey-fivers.
So, in Canada you can drive fast, stay cool, get a bargain, use cool money and get a refund.
In your head, at least.
America should take a lesson.
posted by Al at 4:42 PM
2 Comments:
Al, I had the same concerns when I went a while ago.
http://www.brianstucki.com/blog/observations-from-canada/
I love Canada, it's like gambling and winning each time! I've only been once, and only to Victoria Island, but it was beautiful. I have tons of fellow bloggers from Canada too, I hope to visit them someday when money becomes less tight!
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