On Thursday, a Reddit user posted a simple question in the Canadian subreddit r/onguardforthee: What’s the most stereotypically Canadian thing that’s ever happened to you?
And people were more than happy to answer.
For many, it was the very relatable scenario of bumping into someone or getting bumped into and both parties apologizing profusely. (There was probably more than one “I’m just going to sneak right past ya” being uttered.)
“I was visiting the Royal Tyrrell Muesum [sic] with some friends. Everyone was bunched up in a small dark display hallway. A guy with a stroller bumped into me. I apologized then the stroller guy apologized then my friend apologized all within maybe six seconds,” one standout comment reveals.
But many of the posted scenarios are downright outrageous. You can’t believe everything posted on a vaguely anonymous social network, but the idea of these things happening is undeniably delightful.
A user from Calgary wrote that their uncle owns maple trees that produce syrup, and a mishap with a pair of moose somehow managed to disrupt the lives of two other iconic Canadian animal species.
“One day, two younger Moose... got into a fight nearby a couple of the trees and knocked the sap buckets off, getting maple sap EVERYWHERE. Upon which time, the Canadian Geese in the pond decided to go frolic in said sap, and basically tar/feather themselves all over the beaver dam built in the creek attached to the pond,” user HerbieHind posted, adding that they knew the story sounds utterly unbelievable.
Other people had frankly cartoonish mishaps involving Canadian animals, from being chased into a herd of bison while trying to avoid a moose, to several bear encounters.
“Black bear ate my homework in grade 7, years later my legit excuse for being AFK [away from keyboard] in an online game was I had to chase a bear off the porch,” one user explained.
There are no negative stories on the subreddit. It’s honestly kind of weird. Canada isn’t a perfect country by any means, but we’ve managed to foster that view compared to our brethren down south. The idea that we’re kind pushovers can even be linked to the Second World War.
Many of the stories emphasized the stereotypical politeness that Canadians are so known for.
“I was traveling for work and was in LA for the first time so I added a weekend to the end of it so I could sightsee a bit. I popped into a cafe to grab something to drink… on my way out I saw someone coming in so I opened the door and held it for them to enter before I exited. The women said ‘oh no you go ahead’ to which I replied ‘ah no come on in, it’s hot out there’ to which she replied ‘no no I don’t want to hold you up’ to which I replied ‘no problem at all’ while still holding the door,” user VampyreLust wrote.
“Guy behind me blew past me and her saying as he passed us ‘Jesus, what are you Canadian or something!’ (in a not so friendly tone) to which I replied ‘yes actually, from Toronto! Have a good one eh!’ and then the woman replied ‘No way, I’m from Sudbury!!!’”
She concluded the story by saying they hung out for the rest of the weekend and still keep in touch.
Another poster said they ran into an older man while backpacking in Germany, and he said he’d spent time in Canada as a prisoner of war during World War II.
“The country was so beautiful and everyone was so nice. I wish I could’ve gone back,” the older man told him.
Other stories included running into the national women’s hockey team at Tim Hortons and seeing a multicultural ground crew outside at Toronto’s Pearson Airport wearing shorts outside, eating ice cream and laughing in January.
But there’s one that a lot of people will definitely agree with is very Canadian and very relatable.
“I’m 58, happy and healthy from a lifetime of government healthcare.”
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