Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Did You Know?

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/touch/story.html?id=9333422

I educate because I love. Follow the link to a list of words that you will understand if you are Canadian. See how many you non-Canucks have heard of.

Say it in Canadian: The everyday words only we understand

 
Pencil crayon is a term used by 96 per cent of Canadians, but Americans call them coloured pencils and Brits use colouring pencils.
 
In October, Jules Sherred, a B.C.-based contributor to GeekMom.com, decided to put some of the unique quirks of Canadian English to the test. The blogger compiled a list of 82 words that, according to Sherred, made American friends "look at me with a blank stare," and then ran them past a survey group comprising 52 Canadians, 104 Americans and 19 people from the rest of the former British Empire, including New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, England and Wales. Two months and 17,000 data points later, the blogger ranked each word both by how familiar it was to the Canadians and how unfamiliar it was to the rest of the English-speaking world. What emerged was a surprising compilation of words that are apparently foreign to the world beyond our borders.
 
FREEZIES
 
 
Used by 98 per cent of Canadians, freezies are like Popsicles except they come in a plastic sleeve. In a world where the product is known by everything from California Snow to Ice Tickles, Canadians have laid claim to the least creative term .
 

5 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Wrong! Americans call them "colored pencils", no "U" because "U can suck it! Hahahahahahaha!"

I kid, I kid.

The differences in an otherwise common language is an interesting thing. I know of a few people who have been dumbfounded when asked were to find trainers in the US and only to end up they're directed to the diaper isle. Then theres the incredibly awkward issue of what part of the body a woman's "fanny" is. Yikes!

To a Michiganian such as myself when popsicles come in a plastic sleeve for slurping and squeezing we call them "Freeze Pops".

Debra She Who Seeks said...

That was a fun article!

Kal said...

I am glad I knew what they all meant.

DrGoat said...

Otter Pops.

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Heres a brief video on the history of Otter Pops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kd9fenXEjY