Bet you didn’t know that the world’s biggest pysanka – a brightly decorated Ukrainian Easter egg – is located in Vegreville, Alberta. Or that the longest covered bridge in the world is in Hartland, New Brunswick. And did you know that on a farm in Rimby, Alberta, you can find the headquarters of SWAMP (the Society for Wild Alberta Mosquito Preservation), an association devoted to the protection and propagation of those pesky insects?

It’s facts like these that young people have been regaling their elders with since the beginning of time – those impossibly arcane and weirdly obscure bits of trivia that smart-aleck youngsters love to spring on unsuspecting adults. Now, thanks to Toronto children’s author Pat Hancock, young trivia hounds have a uniquely Canadian compendium of facts and figures.

Hancock, with help from excellent line illustrations by Dimitrije Kostic and the occasional black-and-white photo – in a style reminiscent of the old “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” titles – has pulled together a thoroughly unusual collection of Canadian-based trivia from all over the mental and cultural map. Sports, geography, weather, and the gamut of fastest-biggest-smallest-grossest facts from throughout our nation’s history are all here.

With two or three facts per page, Hancock has arranged the trivia into long and short bits to keep the young reader moving along at a quick – but never frantic – pace. Although the book is aimed at kids, adults can’t help but be interested in it too. They’ll also likely note that it’s an excellent value.