"This is how we do it"

Today, a friend and I took our 2 kids (each) to Heritage Park. I know that I've written about this "historical amusement park" before; but today, I learned something. I learned a bunch of things that any reader will find dull at best.

But, what was interesting to me is how interesting Canadian history is. I don't mean wars and leaders and all that - but the people. What the people did and why they did it. One random fact: did you know that beaver fur (pelts, skins, whatever) were actually never used for hats or blankets or anything by actual Canadians? I mean, a main source of income for the country was completely exported. Completely. Guess where it was exported to? (NESWAP, I know). Europe. Beaver pelts were made into top hats - the really beautiful shiny kind that rich men wore (not fur traders). And the expression "the mad hatter" came from the people who had to pick the rough hairs from the beaver pelts (these are what made the hats shiny). Eventually, someone I don't care about came up with the idea to use mercury to remove the hairs more quickly. Hi, have you ever submersed your hands into mercury for a length of time? Uh...I think you'd really go crazy (like insane, not just irritated).

These facts are dull to you, I'm sure. I was just excited to think about those people so long ago hunting and trapping (don't ask how they trap beavers) something that had almost no value to them. There is also a legend about the pricing of things based on the pelts. It's not really legend, but there are some fun stories here. That is a link to the store chain here called the "Hudson Bay Company" which was instrumental in the entire process (Canadians say "Pro (long o) - cess").  They answer some FAQ's on the site.

I am a dork about historical things. I know. But there are so many human stories to know. I wish those trappers could have blogged.