Would You Lend Your Toothbrush?: More of What Canadians Borrow, Eat, Watch, Buy and Do On an Average Day
Description
Contains Bibliography
$11.99
ISBN 0-00-638054-9
DDC 971.064'8'02
Author
Publisher
Year
Contributor
Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.
Review
Trivia lovers will welcome this second book of Canadian facts and
oddities assembled by Brazier, author of the bestseller Which Do You
Prefer: Chunky or Smooth?
A weird and wonderful assortment of statistics was processed to create
statements about Canadians. For example, on an average day Canadians buy
500 pairs of Doc Martens shoes, 548 notebook computers, 73,973 potted
geraniums, and 32,877 paint rollers. The “average day” statements
are organized into groupings on health care, income, religious beliefs,
education, work, food, recreation, business, crime, and so on. It’s by
crossing the groupings that the most interesting portraits of Canadians
emerge. For example, on an average day, 60 percent of high-school
students carry a weapon, women hold 72 percent of the lowest-paying
jobs, 360,000 Canadians hold two jobs, 96 have open-heart surgery, and
there are 400 ostrich ranchers in Canada. Or you might like to know that
on an average day, the average Canadian owns three credit cards (and is
$15,500 in debt). No wonder 200,000 Canadians take Prozac for symptoms
of depression, while Canadians are the world’s largest consumers of
codeine per capita.
The stats are probably useful for something other than filling
conversational gaps at business lunches or starting arguments at the
breakfast table. Speech writers welcome such snippets. Some entries may
even help out with the occasional school essay assignment. Certainly the
stats are fun to browse and thought-provoking. And that’s sufficient
justification for purchasing the book.