by Diana Filer
1. Besides the 4 political parties currently represented in the House of Commons, there are 13 other parties registered in the House, including the ‘satiric’ Rhinoceros Party.
2. Some fire hydrants are painted blue, not necessarily because they contain sea water, but mainly because their rate of pumping is higher than 1,500 gallons per minute, while the red hydrants pump only 500 gallons per minute.
3. The Maritime Provinces comprise Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, while the Atlantic Provinces, along with these 3, include the fourth province: Newfoundland and Labrador.
4. The unit of currency in Portugal is the Euro.
5. Margaret Atwood’s collection of 15 short stories, Old Babes in the Wood, is to be in bookstores in March. Several of these tales have already been published.

