28. 55. Canada’s official languages

English and French are the two official languages of Canada. You will notice it both on highway signs, maps, tourist brochures and all types of packaging. In the west, the use of French is less visible. In Quebec, English can be at a premium. There, roadside signs and visitor information is often seen in French only.

Many immigrants use their mother tongues, as do some croups of Native Indians and Inuit. In some Native Indian communities though, it is now only the older members who know the original indigenous language. Few non-Native Indian Canadians speak any Native Indian or Inuit language but some words such as igloo, parka, muskeg and kayak are commonly used.

The Inuit languages are interesting for their specialisation and use of many words for what appears to be the same thing; eg the word for 'seal' depends on whether it's old or young, in or out of the water. There are up to 20 or so words for 'snow' depending on its consistency and texture.

28. 56. The McDonald's and “Coca-Cola”History

McDonald

The hamburger has no connection to ham. It got its name from the German town of Hamburg, which was famous for its ground steak. German immigrants to the United States introduced the "hamburger steak".

At the St Louis World's Fair in 1904, hamburger steaks were served on buns for the first time. Hamburgers on buns were convenient and tasted good. This became the usual way of eating hamburgers.

How did the hamburger become the most popular, most typical American food? The introduction of the bun is an important part of the answer. Another important part is McDonald's, the fast-food restaurant.

The first McDonald's was opened in San Bernadino, California, in 1949. Hamburgers were the main item on its menu. People liked the restaurant's fast-service. By the 1960s there were many McDonald's restaurants. McDonald's was a part of nearly every community in the United States. There were also other fast-food restaurants that sold hamburgers. McDonald's alone sold millions of hamburgers a year.

Today, of course, there are McDonald's restaurants around the world. The food they serve is considered typically American. And although McDonald's has expanded its menu, the main item on that menu is — as always — the hamburger.

The History of Coca Cola

In May, 1886, Coca Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton concocted the Coca Cola formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by John Pemberton's bookkeeper Frank Robinson. Being a bookkeeper, Frank Robinson also had excellent penmanship. It was he who first scripted "Coca Cola" into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today. The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886. About nine servings of the soft drink were sold each day. Sales for that first year added up to a total of about $50. The funny thing was that it cost John Pemberton over $70 in expanses, so the first year of sales were a loss. Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut.

In 1887, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler bought the formula for Coca Cola from inventor John Pemberton for $2,300. By the late 1890s, Coca Cola was one of America's most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candler's aggressive marketing of the product. With Asa Candler, now at the helm, the Coca Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900.

Advertising was an important factor in John Pemberton and Asa Candler's success and by the turn of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and Canada. Around the same time, the company began selling syrup to independent bottling companies licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized on this principle.

Until the 1960s, both small town and big city dwellers enjoyed carbonated beverages at the local soda fountain or ice cream saloon. Often housed in the drug store, the soda fountain counter served as a meeting place for people of all ages. Often combined with lunch counters, the soda fountain declined in popularity as commercial ice cream, bottled soft drinks, and fast food restaurants became popular.

On April 23, 1985, the trade secret "New Coke" formula was released. Today, products of the Coca Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion drinks per day.