by Diana Filer
1. The most populous city in the Western Hemisphere is Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a population of over 22,065,000 at last census. Tokyo, Delhi and Shanghai are the world’s 3 most populous, in that order.
2. US Senator Kamala Harris was a high-school student in Montreal while her mother, a breast cancer specialist, did research at the Jewish General Hospital there and taught at McGill.
3. ‘Heartland’ is the longest-running drama in Canada, on the CBC television network.
4. The most popular explanation of why men’s suit cuffs have buttons stems from the reign of Peter the Great of Prussia, when buttons were put on men’s coat sleeves to encourage them to use their shirt sleeves as handkerchiefs to wipe their noses instead.
5. Evelyn Hart was one of Canada’s most eloquent prima ballerinas, who, along with her many guest performances abroad, was principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She also for several years spent half seasons with the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich.
