Things I learned lately 20 December

• In Canada, on average, the income cutoff mark for being part of the top 1% is $209,600 (per person) per year. In Calgary, you need to be making at least $391,700 per year to be in the top 1%. Calgary's richest person though, is E. Hunter Harrison, CEO of CP Rail. He earns $1,045,069 per year, but that's just his base salary. If you include his bonus, 'other compensation', share-based awards, option-based awards, etc., he earns $49,151,065 per year, or $134,660 per day. 
• When much of the eastern US says "I'm going to 'the City'", they're specifically talking about New York City, not the nearest city.
• People in coastal Virginia and North Carolina refer to drive-thru liquor stores as a 'brew-thru'. The west coast and New England doesn't even know what these are.
• Canada is the largest 'single neighbour nation' in the world. Meaning that it only borders one country by land.
• Researchers at Stony Brook University have developed a nano-trap made from microfibers 50 times thinner than human hair that can entangle bed bugs and other insects. The microfibers trap bugs by attaching to microstructures on their legs, immobilizing them, which stops them from feeding and reproducing.
• In the movie 'The Fifth Element', the villain (Zorg) and the hero (Korbin Dallas) never meet each other.
• The owner of The Bunny Ranch in Nevada is watching Canada's prostitution laws and is ready to expand into Canada if it ever gets legalized.
• As of 12 June 2013, 45.4% of Nevada mortgages are still in negative equity, meaning their homes are worth less than their outstanding mortgages. In Florida, it's 38.1%. In Michigan, 32%.
• There are 14,000+ McDonald's, 11,000+ Starbucks and 17,000+ libraries in the US.
• 11,520,000 tourists will visit New York City this year and spend $18,600,000,000 while they're there. London sees more tourists though, an estimated 15,960,000 visitors. Bangkok sees about the same.