Things I learned lately 20 Jan

• Good luck paying cash for a new vehicle at a dealership. Considering the commissions dealerships get from finance companies for getting a buyer to sign on for a car loan, you might even find that a dealer won’t sell you a vehicle unless you finance it.
• The Ontario company (OPG) that is developing small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) in Darlington, is going to determine feasibility of using SMR in Alberta. Hopefully the answer is yes, because once they are green lit, an SMR could be built and online within 5 years.
• The slip and slide is as old as I am! (1961)
• Lead was added to paint to accelerate drying, increase durability, maintain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture that causes corrosion. Canada was one of the first countries to restrict lead-based paints.
• When Chinese labourers built the US transcontinental railway from the western side in the 19th century, they brought a traditional pain relief oil with them made from Chinese water snakes. Snake oil was an intriguing idea, and Clark Stanley saw an opportunity. He bottled his own snake oil liniment and sold it for decades. The medicine was eventually analyzed and found to consist of mineral oil, beef suet, red pepper, and turpentine. Not only was it ineffective, there were no snakes involved at all! That's how the term "snake oil" came to be used for anything fake or deceptive.
• In 1907, a few social commentators saw newly introduced stuffed teddy bears as ominous. They feared that some girls’ preference for soft stuffed animals over humanlike dolls would become all-consuming, replacing the female urge to nurture babies, and eventually lead to childless marriages. In 1907, the Rev. Michael G. Esper of Michigan warned his congregation that “the fad for supplanting the good old dolls of our childhood with the horrible monstrosity known as the teddy bear” would lead to falling birthrates.