By Adam Bunch
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Mary Pickford’s nightmare honeymoon
It was 1920. Mary Pickford was the most famous woman in the world. She’d been born in Toronto in the late 1800s: on University Avenue — where Sick...
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The very first ride at the CNE
It all started back in the mid-1800s, as a relatively small provincial fair. The earliest version of the CNE was held in a field behind Upper Canada...
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How the Simcoes fell in love — and the magical hills where it happened
These are the Blackdown Hills. They’re one of England’s official “Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” all rolling green...
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Toronto’s secret Viking heritage
The Vikings probably aren’t the first people who leap to mind when you think of Toronto’s heritage. After all, we’re a city founded by...
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The guy Toronto was originally named after — and his big sex scandal
This column towers above the city of London, England in one of the prominent spots in town. It’s at the top of some stairs just down the street from...
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Toronto’s Great Dead Monkey Project — or, Mabel the Swimming Wonder Monkey
The details of the story vary wildly from one source to another. In fact, there are two completely different versions of the tale: “The Great Dead Monkey...
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The Canadian military occupation of Iceland — a strange tale from World War II
Iceland didn’t want any part of the Second World War. It was all tiny and defenseless and alone out there in the north Atlantic. Most of the hundred...
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England loved the Group of Seven before Canadians did
This is Entrance to Halifax Harbour. It was painted by the Group of Seven’s A.Y. Jackson right at the very end of the First World War. He’d...
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The story behind the sakura cherry blossoms of High Park
It all started in Japan more than a thousand years ago. People of the Imperial Court began to hang out under cherry trees every spring, taking advantage...
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An apocalypse in the Beaches — William Kurelek’s nightmare visions
He was, in a lot ways, something of a Canadian stereotype. He was born in a shack on the Prairies during the winter of 1927. He grew up working on his...
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The long-lost chestnut trees of University Avenue
It’s hard to believe, but that is a photo of University Avenue in downtown Toronto. Today, this stretch of road is “Hospital Row,” lined...
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Toronto’s greatest second baseman ever (isn’t who you think it is)
When you ask Google who the greatest second baseman of all-time was, a few names pop up. Rogers Hornsby is a popular pick, a star for the St. Louis...