Did You Knol

New Europeana digital library, museum, archive

2008-11-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

Soon after europeana.eu launched yesterday on November 20, the site was overwhelmed with 10 million hits an hour and crashed!! They will re-open in mid-December with a more robust version.

The European Union's new Europeana digital library, museum and archive, an online collection of Europe's cultural heritage, allows access to more than 2 million digital objects such as films, paintings, photographs, sound recordings, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, documents and books. Europeana will be available in all 23 official European languages.

This started as a 2-year project in July 2007. The digital content is selected from that already digitized and available in Europe's museums, libraries, archives and audio-visual collections. By 2010, the Europeana portal intends to give everyone direct access to well over 6 million digital items.

Until its mid-December re-opening, Europeana.eu (link here) has its project development site online.

Canada's Mount Logan is growing!

2008-11-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Mount Logan, Canada's tallest mountain, on the Yukon-Alaska border, view from the southwest. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Canada's tallest mountain had a growth spurt in the past 15 years, and this majestic mountain may still be growing, according to an aerial survey of the ice-covered Mount Logan on the Yukon-Alaska border.

The University of Alaska aerial survey, conducted with a laser altimeter by Fairbanks-based geoscientist Sandy Zirnheld pegged Canada's highest point at 5,966 metres (19,574 feet), which is seven metres (23 feet) higher than the official height of 5,959 metres (19,551 feet) determined in 1992 after a celebrated climb to the top by a Canadian team of researchers led by Mike Schmidt of the Geological Survey of Canada. The new Zirnheld measurement prompted a second aerial reading with the same result of 5,966 metres.

This variation (in height) could be the result of errors in surveying, a thickening snow pack or tectonic uplift, according to the team's research article on the University's website.

Chris Larsen, lead scientist on the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute research on the continent's northwest mountain ranges, said "snow and ice accumulation is the most likely explanation," speculating that warmer, wetter weather linked to global warming has resulted in higher than average snowfalls on mountaintops in the area. He said, "That could be what's going on with Alaska, and the high peaks would be a perfect place to measure it."

Larsen added that "it is very unlikely that the difference of seven metres is due to a difference in the accuracy of the two surveys" and geological pressures "could explain--at most--5 to 10 millimetres per year."

Mount Logan is Canada's highest peak as well as the world's "largest" mountain because of its 20-kilometre (12.5-mile) long plateau and massive footprint in the St. Elias-Wrangell mountain range.

Mount Logan was named for the 19th-century scientist William Logan, founder of the Geological Survey of Canada. Mount Logan is the landmark centrepiece of Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada, named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. The mountain's true height has been debated for almost a century, since it was first surveyed in 1913.

Official Parks Canada link for Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada

Official Parks Canada link to Archives article "Conquering Mount Logan"

» Sources: Agence France-Presse and Canwest News Service

Tolerance to Cow's Milk Allergy

2008-07-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just read a brief news item this morning about tolerating cow's milk . . . this brought back childhood memories of my father . . . I remember he always used canned evaporated milk on his oatmeal and only occasionally had fresh milk after he had heated it thoroughly. I recalled asking 'why' . . . he had simply said, "that's how my 'tummy' likes it." As I get older myself, there are these little things which remind me of my parents' wisdom.

O.K., back to the news item . . .

According to a report in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 75 percent of children with cow's milk allergy will be able to tolerate it if the milk is heated extensively. Dr. Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and her colleagues say that children with persistent milk allergy produce antibodies that react against specific milk proteins that their immune system recognizes as foreign.

Children who have outgrown their milk allergies still have milk-specific antibodies, but the specific milk proteins that trigger this reaction can almost entirely be destroyed through exposure to high temperatures. The researchers therefore reasoned that children with milk allergy might tolerate milk if it were extensively heated.

Lipizzaner Horse's White Coat

2008-07-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Photo: Lipizzaner Stallion. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Ever wonder about the Lipizzaner's white coat?

A new study published Sunday in the scientific journal Nature Genetics solves a decades-old mystery over the white colouring of the Lipizzaner horses. The distinctive white colouring of these famous horses performing at Vienna's prestigious Spanish riding school is caused by a mutated gene.

White and grey horses, including Lipizzaners, are born darker but lose their colour between the age of six and eight due to chromosome mutations, according to Austrian and Swedish researchers for this study.

These genetic changes cause pigment-producing melanocyte cells to be produced more rapidly in these horses so that the stock is quickly used up and the horses lose their pigmentation.

There, simple as that !!!

» Source: The Vancouver Sun

Walking Exercise Benefits Seniors

2008-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

Photo: Royal Flora Expo 2006, Chiangmai, Thailand. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Now there's proof that walking is good for us, especially for seniors. According to a new University of Georgia study, older adults can decrease their risk of disability and increase their likelihood of maintaining independence (which we all would like) by 41 percent by participating in a walking exercise program.

Now this is good news and a boost to many of us trying to maintain and improve our wellness as we get older and cannot do the more strenuous physical activities.

The study, appearing in the current issue of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, also found that the walking participants increased their peak aerobic capacity by 19 percent when compared to a control group and also increased their physical function by 25 percent.

For the study, 26 low-income adults aged 60 and older were randomly assigned to either a walking exercise group, meeting three times/week for four months, or to a nutrition education control group. Initially, the walking group walked for 10 minutes continually. As the weeks progressed, the walking group increased their walking time to 40 continuous minutes, beginning each session with a 10-minute warm-up and ended with a 10-minute cool-down that included balance and flexibility exercises.

» Source: The Vancouver Sun

Phil Collins "Take Me Home" & Drums/Percussion

2008-07-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this Video Play of the Week: Drums/Percussion & "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins and crew in his First Final Farewell Tour in Paris. Video from 'resonantflow'

Quotes on Compassion and Caring

2008-07-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Photo: Sunflowers. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Quotes/Thoughts of the Day:

" If you have any care for me, care for yourself. "
~ Publius Ovid (43BC-AD17)

" The gentle mind by gentle deeds is known. "
~ Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

" Each good thought or action moves
The dark world nearer to the sun. "
~ John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92)

Passage Through Life

2008-07-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Photo: 'The Rayleigh effect,' seconds before sunrise in New Zealand. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Quotes/Thoughts of the Day:

" Even if the doctor does not give you a year, even if he hesitates about a month, make one brave push and see what can be accomplished in a week. " ~ Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94).

" The acknowledgement of our weakness is the first step towards repairing our loss. " ~ Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471).

Feist Appearing on Sesame Street Video

2008-07-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

1, 2, 3, 4, get ready to hear that catchy tune some more. Canadian singer Leslie Feist will appear on the August 11 season premiere of Sesame Street, performing a modified version of her hit song 1234. Children and parents love this show; this being Sesame Street's 39th season.

Videos of the Juno award-winning singer appeared on YouTube over the weekend, showing her strolling down Sesame Street extolling her love of counting to 4. Feist is accompanied by a posse of Muppets, including 4 monsters, 4 penguins, and 4 chickens, changing her original song's lyrics to an ode to counting for children.

"Oh, you're counting, counting with me," Feist sings, "to one less than five and one more than three."

"It was the Muppets and it was the best day of my life," Feist said.

Here's a video of Feist's coming appearance on August 11 on Sesame Street's 39th season. Video from BobbyBenson85.

'Kidney Stone Belt' to Expand

2008-07-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Ouch ! That hurts awful !!! We have news now that one of the first direct impacts that global warming has on our daily living and health may hit us right in the kidneys.

Two urologists Drs. Margaret Peale and Yair Lotan of the University of Texas say that people will develop more kidney stones in the hotter climate, because the heat tends to make us dehydrated and that causes the stones to form. The researchers say that there's already a "kidney stone belt" in the hot, humid U.S. southeast, stretching from Louisiana to Florida and north to Tennessee. People in that belt run a higher risk of kidney stones than people living in the rest of the United States.

But, expect that belt to move northward with the warmer climate, increasing kidney stone rates outside today's belt by 30 percent by 2050, they say in a paper published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study doesn't cover Canada, but it suggests that changes are coming. Of two computer models used in their study, one predicts most of the increase will come in the central states such as Kentucky and Kansas. But, the other model forecasts a greater increase in the states bordering Canada such as Ohio and Pennsylvania and the U.S. eastern seaboard generally.

Wherever the greatest effect happens, both models agree the kidney stone belt will expand northwards, approaching Canada in some way.

The study worked by comparing the rate of kidney stones reported in different geographic regions and comparing these with temperature records by region. From there, the research team looked at forecasts of how the U.S. climate is likely to change by the year 2050.

Kidney stones are a common ailment. They affect roughly one in 10 men in North America over a lifetime, although affecting fewer women.

Normally, urine carries waste chemicals out of the body. But people who become dehydrated in hot weather have trouble producing enough urine to do the job. Mineral salts left behind can form solid crystals in the kidneys, and eventually these can develop into painful "stones."

The link between temperature and kidney stones is well known, Dr. Peale said. "When people relocate from areas of moderate temperature to areas with warmer climates, a rapid increase in stone risk has been observed."

» Source: Canwest News Service

Did You Knol Tidbits . . .

2008-07-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Some Monday morning tidbits . . .

-- Celebrity Sells!! Hollywood celebrities, musicians and sports stars are in our lives everywhere. No wonder!! They showed up in nearly 14 percent of ads last year, according to Millward Brown, a marketing research agency. That number has more than doubled in the past decade.

-- Twin Baby Joy for Hollywood's Golden Couple . . . Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the proud parents of new-born twins, a boy named Knox Leon and a girl called Vivienne Marcheline. Jolie, 33, gave birth to the twins on Saturday evening during a half-hour caesarean operation at a maternity clinic in Nice on the French Riviera. The twins arrived a little earlier than scheduled . . . Knox Leon weighed 2.27 kg and Vivienne Marcheline 2.28 kg. All are doing very well.

-- Wanting Status . . . According to a Northwestern University study, individuals who were asked to recall times when someone had power over them were more willing to pay higher prices for status symbol items like silk ties and fur coats.

-- A 'Super Egg' ?? Over the weekend, Cuban Solvision TV reported that a hen, belonging to Demmy Rojas, in the country's eastern city of Guantanamo has laid a 'super egg' that is heavier than the previous Guinness world-record hold in Spain. The egg weighs 171 grams, making it slightly heavier than the one laid in Spain's Canary Islands. The hen, whose identity is being kept secret, is said to be a mix of several breeds.

~ Source: various news services

Quotes--Compassion and Caring

2008-07-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Quotes/Thoughts of the Day:

" The kindest and the happiest pair
Will find occasion to forbear:
And something every day they live
To pity, and perhaps forgive. "
~ William Cowper (1731-1800)

So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
While just the art of being kind
Is all the sad world needs. "
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1855-1919)

Video Play - Papa Wemba & Peter Gabriel

2008-07-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Here's my Video Play of the Week: World Music Best - Papa Wemba & Peter Gabriel with "In Your Eyes" from 'idamawatu'

Enjoy and have a great day!!!

Compassion and Caring

2008-07-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) said these words
about compassion and caring:

" In nature there's no blemish but the mind;
None can be called deformed but the unkind. "

" My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep, the more I give to thee
The more I have, for both are infinite. "

Have a good day, everyone!!!

Chunks of Perito Moreno Glacier Collapsed

2008-07-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

What's happening now?

For the first time during the southern hemisphere winter, part of Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier collapsed on Wednesday. Park wardens said global warming might be responsible.

The Patagonian glacier known as the "White Giant" is one of Argentina's biggest attractions. The river of ice 30 km long ends in a sheer wall blocking Lago Argentino where large pieces tumble into the water.

Plans to Relocate Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre

2008-07-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

China's Xinhua news agency reported that a $290-million plan is in the works to relocate one of China's major giant panda breeding centres after it was badly damaged during the devastating May 12 China earthquake.

The Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre, which was near the epicentre of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake, would take seven years to relocate, according to the plan submitted to national authorities. The move is necessary because of the severe damage to the Centre, as well as large areas of bamboo forest that make up the pandas' main diet were destroyed.

The new Centre would be built in Huangcaoping, a location inside the remote 200,000-hectare Wolong Nature Reserve in southwest China's mountainous Sichuan province.

The May 12 earthquake left nearly 88,000 people dead or missing.

The Giant Panda Research Centre was built in 1980 and has been at the forefront in the battle to save the endangered species and is a leading site for captive panda breeding.

According to Chinese press reports, five workers at the Centre were killed in the earthquake that also left one panda dead and another missing.

Fourteen pandas have already been moved out of the Centre following the earthquake, while 48 remain. Another 150 pandas are in the wild in the Reserve.

If the plan is approved, the new Centre could be completed by 2015. According to Chinese experts, there are nearly 1,600 pandas living in the wild in China, mostly in Sichuan and neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, the Xinhua news agency said.

» Source: Agence France-Presse

Joggins Fossil Cliffs, UNESCO World Heritage Site

2008-07-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Nova Scotia's Joggins Fossil Cliffs receives coveted UNESCO designation as a World Heritage Site.

At the World Heritage Committee meeting, its 32nd session held in Quebec City, Canada, on 7 July 2008, thirteen new sites were officially inscribed to UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Nova Scotia, Canada) -- "a 689 ha palaeontological site along the coast of Nova Scotia (eastern Canada), have been described as the 'coal age Galápagos' due to their wealth of fossils from the Carboniferous period (354 to 290 million years ago). The rocks of this site are considered to be iconic for this period of the history of Earth and are the world's thickest and most comprehensive record of the Pennsylvanian strata (dating back 318 to 303 million years) with the most complete known fossil record of terrestrial life from that time. For more on this and other newly inscribed sites to UNESCO's World Heritage List at UNESCO.org website.

Canada's World Heritage Sites listed by the year each location received its designation:

1978 L'Anse aux Meadows
1978 Nahanni National Park
1979 Dinosaur Provincial Park
1979, 1992, 1994 Kluane, Wrangell-St. Elias, Glacier Bay, Tatshenshini-Alsek
1981 Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
1981 SGang Gwaay
1983 Wood Buffalo National Park
1984, 1990 Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
1985 Historic District of Old Quebec
1987 Gros Morne National Park
1995 Old Town Lunenburg
1995 Waterton Glacier International Peace Park
1999 Miguasha National Park
2007 Rideau Canal
2008 Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Nova Scotia

Beauty Surrounds You

2008-07-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Photo: Mt. Fuji. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Quotes/Thoughts of the Day:

" The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. So to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. " ~ Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born American theoretical physicist.

" Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. " ~ Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), American author.

Have a good day, everyone!

Top 10 U.S. Trails To Enjoy (Fourth of July)

2008-07-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ten great U.S. trails to hike and bike . . .

Photo: The Arizona Avenue Bridge, over the C&O Canal and Canal Street. Part of the Capital Crescent Trail, Washington, D.C. Image from Wikipedia.

Minuteman Bikeway, Boston.
Island Line, Burlington, Vt.
Capital Crescent Trail, Washington, D.C.
Katy Trail, Dallas.
Mt. Lowe Railroad Trail, Pasadena, Calif.
Burke-Gilman Trail, Seattle.
Betsie Valley Trailway, Beulah, Mich.
Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, St. Petersburg, Fla.
St. Anthony Heritage Trail, Minneapolis.
Monterey Peninsula Recreational Trail, Monterey, Calif.

More info at www.traillink.com/ TrailLink.com is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, America's leader in assisting local communities in converting unused railroad corridors into community trails.

Baby Panda Video

2008-07-05T01:13:00.000-07:00

Video Play of the Week: "OMG It's so cute! - Baby Panda Playing" from 'pipsatch'

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with . . .

2008-07-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Further to an earlier April post, here's the latest news on Elvis Costello's new show:

Elvis Costello and CTV have lined up some spectacular people . . . Sir Elton John, Tony Bennett, Lou Reed and Bill Clinton as headline guests on the first season of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with . . ., a new show hosted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee that promises in-depth interviews and original musical performances.

The show, a Canadian and British co-production, will air later this year on CTV and Bravo! in Canada, as well as Britain's Channel 4 and the Sundance Channel in the U.S.

Sounds like a great new show . . . I'll be watching !!!

George Washington's Boyhood Home Found

2008-07-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Portrait of George Washington by artist Gilbert Stuart, oil on canvas, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Image from Wikipedia.

George Washington (1732-1799) was the first President of the United States, in office from 1789 to 1797.

After years of searching, archaeologists have identified and excavated the boyhood home of George Washington, the site of such legendary events as chopping down the cherry tree and throwing a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River.

The find indicates that the Washington family lived in a spacious eight-room home, a sign the family was well-off for its day, and provides new information about his childhood--a period that has remained largely obscured in the mists of history.

"We all know that much of our character is formed in our early years, so to be able to have access to the very specific place and the material conditions of what life was like will help us sort out who this man Washington was," said archaeologist Julia King of St. Mary's College of Maryland, who was not involved in the research.

The house is in Stafford County, Va., on a property now known as Ferry Farm, on the banks of the Rappahannock across from Fredericksburg and about 80 km south of Washington, D.C.

Researchers uncovered the remains of two chimney bases, two stone-lined cellars and two root cellars, along with thousands of artifacts that convinced them this was the Washington homestead. The size, characteristics and location of the structure were the deciding factors: "This is it--this is the site of the house where George Washington grew up," archaeologist David Muraca of the George Washington Foundation said in a news conference yesterday.

"If George Washington did, indeed, chop down a cherry tree, as generations of Americans have believed, this is where it happened," added archaeologist Philip Levy of the University of South Florida, co-leader of the excavation.

George's father, Augustine, bought the 240-hectare parcel and moved his family there in 1738 so that he could be closer to the Accokeek Creek Iron Furnace, which he managed. George inherited the farm at age 11 when his father died in 1743 and eventually sold it after he moved to Mount Vernon in Virginia.

Originally known as the Washington Farm, it became known as the Ferry Farm because of the ferry at the site that carried travellers across the Rappahannock.

During the U.S. Civil War, Union troops camped at the site, initially using the ruined farmhouse as their headquarters, then demolishing it for firewood. Over the years, development has encroached, and now about 46 hectares are preserved as a National Historic Landmark.

The research team initially identified five sites on the property that might be the Washington house. The first two they excavated proved to be an earlier farmhouse built on the site and a 19th century house. The third one was the charm.

The house apparently had eight rooms--five on the full first floor and three more under the roof in the attic. The upper rooms, which most likely served as bedrooms, were unheated.

A kitchen and slave quarters were in detached buildings in the rear.

"This was a very elaborate house for this time and place," said architectural historian Mark Wenger of the architectural firm Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker. "You get this only at the very top echeolon of Virginia society."

» Source: Los Angeles Times

The Secret of A Stradivarius Violin

2008-07-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Photo of Spanish Stradivarius II, circa 1687, on display at Palacio Real de Madrid. Image under GFDL License from Wikimedia Commons.

For the past 300 years, musicians and scientists have puzzled over the unparalleled quality of classical Cremonese violins made by Italian masters like Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu.

A Dutch doctor and a violin maker from Arkansas think they have cracked the mystery after comparing five classical and eight modern violins in a computed tomography (CT) scanner normally used to examine patients.

Using an adaptation of a computer program developed to calculate lung densities in people with emphysema, they were able to analyze the physical properties of the violins without risking damage to instruments worth millions of dollars. The researchers examined one of the key properties of the violins, the wood density, at the level of the wood's growth rings. While they found no significant differences between the median densities of the modern and the antique violins, they did discover far less variation between wood grains in the old ones.

Since differentials in wood density affect vibration and therefore sound quality, the discovery may well explain the superiority of the Cremonese violins, they reported in the online journal PLoS ONE on Wednesday.

So why is the maple and spruce wood in a Stradivarius so different?

Part of the reason may be that trees grow slightly differently today than in the past.

"Climate difference could explain part of it but treatment of the wood could be another explanation. A third answer could simply be the aging of the wood over the past 300 years," Dr. Berend Stoel of the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands had told Reuters. "There is no way of knowing from this data; we've just shown there are density differences."

» Source: Reuters

Antonio Stradivari is generally recognized as the greatest violin maker in history. He was born in Italy in 1644 and worked for most of his life in Cremona. He inscribed his violins in Latin, so the instruments took on the Latinized version of his name--Stradivarius.

His violins are famous for their superb sound quality, beautiful resonance and rich, deep tone.There have been various theories put forward over the years to explain the unique character of Stradivarius violins. The quality of the wood has been cited as a factor as well as the precise shape of the instrument, the thickness of the wooden plates in the belly and the back of the violin, and the varnish.

The master maker Stradivari made more than 1,100 violins, 650 of which survive today.

Antonio Stradivari died in 1737, aged 93.

» Sources: stradivariusviolins.org/The Globe and Mail

Happy Canada Day !!!

2008-07-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day !!! Let's celebrate !!!

A new poll from Ipsos Reid reveals the top 101 things Canadians say best define the country. Of course, no surprise is the Maple Leaf symbol up front, with the Flag of Canada in third place. No. 2 is hockey. No. 4 is the beaver, followed by the Canadarm in No. 5 spot.

Overall, the data paint a picture of an evolving country--one headed away from a cherished understanding of historical events and people, toward a more symbolic understanding of itself. Marc Chalifoux, the executive director of the Dominion Institute of Canada said the findings show a "generational shift." Older people felt more strongly about historical events than did younger generations. The youngest bracket, aged 18-34, was more "attached" to places and icons.

"The findings were somewhat worrying," said Chalifoux. "We feel our Canadian history and our story as a country is an important element of what defines us, and to see those elements disappearing from the list . . . it's historical amnesia."

Here's the entire 101 list . . . some things may seem surprising, but hey! it is who we are.

101 Things that Define Canada:

1. Maple Leaf
2. Hockey
3. Canadian Flag
4. Beaver
5. Canadarm
6. Canada Day
7. Peacekeeping
8. Pierre Trudeau
9. Universal health care
10. Niagara Falls
11. The Rocky Mountains
12. Wayne Gretzky
13. Parliament Hill
14. Ottawa
15. Frederick Banting and the discovery of insulin
16. The RCMP
17. CN Tower in Toronto
18. Quebec City
19. Terry Fox
20. Confederation
21. Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
22. First and Second World Wars
23. Canadian Constitution/Charter of Rights/Bill of Human Rights
24. Multiculturalism
25. Stanley Cup
26. Calgary Stampede
27. Celine Dion
28. Canadian National Railway
29. Toronto
30. Vimy Ridge
31. Plains of Abraham
32. Sir John A Macdonald
33. David Suzuki
34. Montreal
35. Wilderness
36. Tommy Douglas
37. Loonie
38. Freedom
39. Quebec
40. Maple syrup
41. Moose/caribou
42. Wildlife
43. Stephen Harper
44. Lester Pearson
45. Grey Cup
46. Olympics
47. Expo 67
48. Bilingualism
49. Vancouver
50. Avro Arrow
51. Democratic nation
52. Quebec Winter Carnival
53. Banff National Park
54. Hydroelectricity
55. St. Lawrence Seaway
56. Curling
57. Remembrance Day
58. Tim Hortons
59. Maurice Richard
60. Trans-Canada Highway
61. Snow
62. Canada geese
63. Medical/scientific/technical inventions and advancements
64. Rene Levesque
65. Great Lakes
66. Chateau Frontenac
67. Immigration policy
68. Environmental conservation/concerns
69. Blue Nose
70. Oil
71. 1972 Summit hockey series
72. National Anthem
73. Bombardier
74. Montreal Jazz Festival
75. Jean Chretien
76. Don Cherry
77. War of 1812
78. 2010 Vancouver Olympics
79. Charlottetown
80. Repatriation of the Constitution
81. Friendly, polite country
82. Victoria Day
83. The Prairies
84. Discovery of the polio vaccine
85. Winter
86. Halifax
87. Queen Elizabeth
88. Hudson Bay
89. Anne Murray
90. Canadian beer
91. Pierre Berton
92. Victoria
93. Quebec referendum
94. Fleur-de-lis
95. National parks
96. Olympic Stadium
97. Juno Award
98. Rideau Canal/skating on the canal
99. Aid/helping other countries
100. Space exploration
101. Canadian elections

» Source: Dominion Institute of Canada/condensed report from Canwest News Service.

Percé Rock, Quebec, Canada

2008-06-30T10:47:00.001-07:00

Photo of Percé Rock, Quebec, Canada, viewed from the seaward side. Percé Rock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, just off the tip of Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, one of the largest and most spectacular natural wonders in the world. Image from Wikipedia, under a GNU Free Documentation License.

Percé Rock, literally 'pierced rock' for the natural archway "where boats can pass through at high seas," in the words of explorer Samuel de Champlain, who christened it in 1603.

Percé Rock has left visitors awed and inspired for centuries, but this is the first summer season that tourists can approach this popular attraction only on paid tours with a park warden and would be kept at least 50 feet away from the famed rock.

In the wake of a lawsuit from a wounded tourist, Quebec parks officials are limiting access to a landmark considered one of Canada's greatest natural wonders. Quebec Parks officials are faced with a straightforward problem: The 375-million-year-old natural monument off the Gaspé Peninsula is falling to pieces. It loses 300 tonnes of rock each year to the forces of erosion, and the pace appears to be accelerating. A few years ago, 100 tonnes fell off in a single night.

It was on a summer day in 2003 that a piece of Percé Rock fell onto an Ontario tourist, leaving him with serious head injuries. The tourist sued Quebec's parks agency, best known under its acronym SEPAQ, for close to $1-million. A Superior Court judge held the park liable, and the two parties are negotiating a settlement.

The court ruling marks the end of an era for Quebec's famed rock, a muse to poets and painters and a presence to navigators for four centuries.

"There isn't a tourist destination in Quebec or Canada that wants to see its customers leave with permanent injuries," said Rémi Plourde, director of Quebec's Parc national de l'Ile-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé. "The rock may be a Canadian icon. It cuts a striking image. But we want to wake people up to the fact it's also dangerous," he said. Mr. Plourde added, "I am the manager of the park. I'm acting like a father figure."

Canadian author James MacPherson Le Moine wrote in 1871 that the rock was "one of the most remarkable objects that meet the eye of the mariner or traveller along the entire Canadian seaboard." But the rock has long been crumbling--a second archway collapsed in 1845--and at the current rate, the attraction is destined to simply disappear. Mr. Plourde says that should take another 14,000 to 16,000 years, enough for at least a few more tourists to get a look. From a safe distance.

» Source: condensed from a report by Ingrid Peritz/The Globe and Mail.