In Quebec city on rue St-Louis there is a tree that has grown around a cannonball. One day I hope to visit Quebec city and see the cannonball in the tree. What are your thoughts, ideas or questions? Thank you to all the students who have been taking the time to leave such thoughtful comments. Good for you.
At 11:40 p.m. on Sunday April 14, 1912 the Titanic on its maiden voyage struck an iceberg 375 miles south of Newfoundland. The iceberg tore a number of holes in it’s hull and 5 of the ship’s 16 watertight compartments filled with water. Within 3 hours the ship would sink and come to rest on the bottom of the Atlantic ocean at a depth of 3,784 metres. This year is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic which resulted in the death of 1,514 of it’s 2.224 passengers. It’s one of the most famous ships in history because it’s memory has been kept alive by movies, books and exhibits. Many artefacts have been recovered from the wreck and are on display in museums around the world.
When the ship was built in Belfast, Ireland it was considered to be unsinkable. The Titanic was 269 metres long and 28 metres wide. The rudder was nearly 24 metres high and it was so huge it required it’s own engine to move it. Notice in the picture of the Titanic the man standing at the bottom of the image.
The captain of the Titanic was Edward John Smith who was the most senior of the White Star liner’s captains. Many historians claim that he was seen on the bridge of the ship at 2:13 a.m. which was 7 minutes before the final sinking of the ship. It is believed that he went down with the ship.
The wreck of Titanic has been visited numerous times by explorers, scientists, filmmakers, tourists and salvagers, who have recovered thousands of items from the debris field for public display. The ship’s condition has deteriorated significantly in recent years, partly due to accidental damage caused by submersibles but mainly because of an accelerating rate of growth of iron-eating bacteria on the hull. It has been estimated that within the next 50 years the hull and structure of Titanic will collapse entirely. There is an excellent website that shows it’s journey to the bottom of the ocean floor. There is even a video shot by a submersible that shows inside Captain Edward John Smith’s cabin and you can still see his porcelain bathtub. The article appears on the BBC website and is called Titanic: Journey to the bottom of the ocean. I would encourage students to take the time to read this article and watch some of the interesting videos.
I got Sumi then we drove to Whistler. We watched a movie on the way up. We stopped at Squamish for dinner. Sumi went into the restaurant with me, and sat on his head the whole time. When we got to Whistler me and Sumi flew airplanes, and I almost threw him off the bed. Sumi slept with Nic’s stuffy Bobby.
In the morning I took Sumi out of his bed and did yoga with him. Then we watched tv. I’m going to go skiing with Sumi today. I took Sumi skiing and we took pictures. Sumi went to Bounce with us. Then we went to bed. Sumi didn’t go skiing today because I had ski school. We went home today. Sumi hung out in the trunk. I had to go to school, so Sumi hung out in his case all day. We took him for a walk after school. Cause we thought he needed something to do. I have to take Sumi to school tomorrow. I hope Sumi had fun with me, and I hope Sumi visits my house again!
A couple from Britain were visiting Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. They set up their camera on the rocks to get a picture of themselves with the lake and the mountains in the background. The noise from their cameras autofocus sparked the curiosity of an inquisitive Columbian ground squirrel. When the timer on the camera took the picture the Columbian ground squirrel had crashed the photo! Thanks to the internet the Columbian ground squirrel is now famous and even has his own twitter account.
February 15th was declared National Flag of Canada Day in 1996. It marks the day in 1965 when our red and white maple leaf flag was first raised over Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and indeed, hundreds of communities across Canada. Red and white were designated as Canada’s official colours in 1921 by His Majesty King George V.
Did You Know?
When the Canadian flag flies along with the flags of the 10 provinces and 3 territories, the flags of the provinces and territories follow in the order that they entered Confederation.
The maple leaf has been used as an emblem in Canada since the eighteenth century. It has often served to distinguish Canadians abroad, as was the case with Canada’s first Olympians in 1904.
Dr. George Stanley, a professor at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario in 1964, suggested a red and white single maple leaf design for the flag because it could be seen clearly from a distance.
The Canadian flag is twice as long as it is wide. The white square and its maple leaf make up half the surface of the flag – equal to the 2 red bars combined.
Vexillologists (flag experts) often cite the National Flag of Canada as one of the world’s most beautiful based on its simple design and limited number of colours.
In 1982, Laurie Skreslet, a skier from Calgary, took the Canadian flag to the highest point in the world, Mount Everest. Along with the flag, the expedition was outfitted with another 27 tonnes of equipment.
Happy National Flag of Canada Day!
I have read that in Quebec city there is a tree that has grown around a cannonball. It’s in the Upper Town (Haute-Ville) of Old Québec (Vieux-Québec) which is surrounded by fortress walls. This section of the city overlooks the St. Lawrence River.
Lodged at the base of the trunk, one story says that the cannonball landed here during the War of 1759 and over the years became firmly embraced by the tree. Another story says that it was placed here on purpose to keep the wheels of horse-drawn carriages from bumping the tree when making tight turns.
The next time I’m in Quebec city I would like to visit this part of the city and see the cannonball. How do you think the cannonball ended up inside the tree?