Click of the Wrist – Cashing In

Current events?or currency? Talking about money at a dinner party may usually be thought gauche, but these fun news bytes are definitely the exception (and a little trivia never hurt anyone).

Home Decor

The penny may be obsolete in Canada and disappearing elsewhere, but the lowly coin is not without its uses: One Chicago couple used 60,000 pennies to create a unique surface for their bedroom floor. Check out their blog for photos, stats, and a description of how the crafty pair developed the concept.

Ask the Botanist

The maple leaf is known worldwide as the quintessential Canadian symbol?but what’s less common knowledge is that It’s a specific variety of maple, the North American sugar maple, that is the model for the national emblem. What’s the difference? Plenty, according to one botanist, whose keen eye detected that the maple leaf on the new $20 polymer bill is actually a Norway maple, a variety found in Canada but not identical to the tree That’s created its own legacy. Read this Reuters piece on the controversy?and see the Bank of Canada’s response.

Buying Power

Some save coins in an old sock. Others store paper bills in a safe or invest in a savings account at a bank. For one Edmonton man, the savings process was a little unorthodox, but the end result was the same: Saving paid off. This Toronto Sun article tells how he spent 15 years saving over $1,000 in Canadian Tire money (and purchased a brand-new lawnmower!).