A glance before hello 

He hasn’t even said anything. His eyes, however, have done a lot of the talking, and women notice where he looks. Is it her face? Does he check the room? Does his gaze linger on her eyes or lips? Or does he look completely past her? 

Yes, giving a quick glance is normal when you first see someone, but it’s where he looks afterward that really counts. It tells a woman all she needs to know about whether he’s into her or not.

When another name comes up

The way he talks about other women says a lot to a woman. A guy who says something along the lines of, ‘Girls like that’ or ‘She’s probably looking for attention,’ lets a woman know that he puts women into boxes.

He might be joking, he might not be, but either way, he said it. Women pay attention to how a guy describes other women, and it gives them a good idea of how he’ll act toward them, too.

A little extra attention

How he acts around female attention is just as important. It doesn’t matter that it might only be a random woman walking by, and it doesn’t matter that it might be a server laughing at something he says. Women notice what he does in that moment.

The best kinds of guys are the ones who don’t change at all because they’re used to getting female attention. But some guys react differently by getting louder and cooler, doing whatever they can to seem more impressive. Women take mental notes on that.

The opening line

Compliments are nice. Nobody’s disagreeing with that. But women pay attention to what a guy compliments first, like her outfit or her hair, maybe the way she’s presenting herself. They notice whether the compliment seems genuine or if it’s just generic phrasing that’d work on anyone.

The truth is, the first compliment tells a woman what a man values. It lets her know whether he’s superficial and whether he pays attention to the details, as well as what he doesn’t think is important.

When the joke lands sideways

We all like being around someone funny, women included, and it’s one of the reasons they notice how a guy handles humor. Some guys can tell a funny joke, get a laugh, and that’s enough for them. Then there are others.

You know the kind. They’re the guys who keep repeating the joke until they get the response they think they deserve, or they tell it again in another way, just to beat a dead horse. Women notice how a guy deals with being funny.

Too much room in the room

Some guys aren’t the sort of people to simply join a conversation. They feel like they’ve got to dominate it. They’ll tell long stories and interrupt themselves to add more details, while also making sure any responses lead back to them. 

They want to be the main character. Women are great at picking up on that, and they recognize when a guy doesn’t leave space for them. They understand that he just wants them to be listeners instead of contributors.

The first few seconds of sound

The first word you say to a woman isn’t all that important, but the way you say it is. A woman recognizes that he sounds nervous or warm with that single word, as well as how genuine his friendliness seems to be.

They’re not necessarily going to judge him for it because everyone stumbles on a first date, not a big deal. They understand that. However, women are going to remember it. 

When the pace changes

Every conversation has a pace, and some guys are great at keeping it steady. Others? Not so much. They ask a question and share a joke, then give a follow-up, talking about a personal topic, and ask another question. Slow down. It makes the conversation way too fast.

The opposite version is just as bad, where a woman has to keep dragging the answers out of a guy. Women notice a guy’s social speed, and it tells them all they need to know about how comfortable a guy is in social situations.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

When the small thing isn’t small

One of the most harmless-sounding phrases is ‘It wasn’t worth mentioning’ because it sounds so innocent. But ask yourself this. Who decided what was worth mentioning and what wasn’t? You didn’t get to make that call, she did, and that’s a real problem.

She decided what parts of the truth you’re ‘allowed’ to hear and what parts you’re not allowed to hear. It’s not fair. It really doesn’t matter if it was a small detail or anything because the point is, you didn’t get to decide what you were allowed to hear. You can’t trust a woman like that.

The hidden clock

A woman who says, ‘I didn’t think you’d find out,’ is not a woman you can trust. Seriously. She’s not telling you that she was confused, she’s not telling you that she was panicked and unsure of how to tell you the truth.

She’s admitting that she was hoping to keep things a secret. Her plan? Keeping things a secret. Her method? Staying silent. You know that you can’t trust anybody who behaves that way.

Timing does the heavy lifting

It doesn’t take long for the questions to start after you hear, ‘I was waiting for the right time.’ For example, who decided what the right time was? When was the right time, too? Later today, next month, next week? It’s unclear, and it’s a sign that this kind of woman shouldn’t be trusted.

It’s very likely that she was never going to tell you at all, and that she was hoping everyone would forget the thing ever happened. There’s no such thing as ‘the’ right time for the truth because every time is the right time.

A neat little edit

A woman who’s not trying to sound like a liar will say something like, ‘I told you the part that matters.’ Now, you’re supposed to feel grateful that she told you anything at all, even though she’s admitting to hiding the truth from you. 

Any extra details were just background noise, apparently. That’s fair enough sometimes because, yes, you don’t always need to hear every single detail, but hiding parts of the truth is still lying, no matter what she tells you.

When the reaction gets blamed

‘I knew you’d take it the wrong way.’ It’s one of those phrases that changes the argument because it stops being about what she did wrong or lied about. The issue now? The fact that you reacted the ‘wrong’ way, which somehow justified her lying to you in the first place.

She’s trying to make you sound like a difficult person before you’ve even had time to react to what she’s said. Take it this way. What she’s really saying is that she didn’t tell you the truth because she didn’t want to deal with it, simple as that. Do you want to trust that kind of woman?

Feelings get a timestamp

One of the most telling phrases is, ‘I meant it at the time.’ In other words, ‘I wasn’t being fake then, but don’t hold me to it now,’ and that tells you all you need to know about this kind of woman. People change their minds, of course, that’s not a major problem.

The issue is when someone makes you trust their word, and then they completely go against it. You won’t be able to know when they actually mean what they say, and when things are going to change. 

The soft exit door

‘Maybe’ is a handy word for women who can’t be trusted because it gives them an escape route from the conversation. They’ll say things like, ‘I said maybe’ to remind you that, actually, they never committed to doing something in the first place. That’s a trap.

They want you to think that there was a real chance, but without actually giving you that chance, so that they can snatch it back a few minutes later. You become the fool for believing what they said. Don’t let that happen to you.

Comfort takes the wheel

It’s easy to understand when a woman says, ‘I didn’t want to make it awkward’ because, really, nobody does. However, it’s in that sense of awkwardness that you can usually find the truth, and a woman who’s avoiding any discomfort might be hiding something.

She might be choosing her own sense of comfort over your clarity. Plus, running away from awkwardness now doesn’t mean there won’t be any awkwardness in the future. It actually makes things more uncomfortable when the truth does come out.

Pressure becomes a pass

People say all kinds of stuff when they’re hungry or late, that’s totally normal. We all have bad days. But what’s not normal is saying something like, ‘I only said that because I was stressed,’ as it becomes an excuse for the speaker’s actions.

She still said those words. You still heard them. Using stress to explain the moment is one thing, but using it to make the entire event disappear is something completely different. It’s certainly not a good thing.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

Fidel Castro

It’s not like you had to wait long to see the reaction to Fidel Castro’s death. The former Cuban dictator died on November 25, 2016, and Cuban exiles around the world started celebrating. That includes Miami. Yes, they started gathering in Little Havana within half an hour of the announcement.

Thousands of people banged pots and waved Cuban flags to celebrate Castro’s death. Some played music, and some danced well into the night. Cuba, however, went in completely the other direction and announced nine days of mourning. It was a very different kind of reaction.

John Wayne Gacy

Hundreds of people gathered outside Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994. They were there for the execution of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. They had signs and were playing songs, with some reports claiming people were cheering, too.

Gacy had murdered 33 boys and young men. He’d then buried many of them under his house. Gacy’s execution didn’t exactly go smoothly, though, as equipment trouble caused a delay, but then he was finally pronounced dead at 12:58 a.m. The crowd definitely noticed.

Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar’s death was something like a movie scene. Colombian forces tracked down the cartel boss and eventually found him, shooting Escobar dead on a Medellín rooftop on December 2, 1993. Then the celebrations began.

Members of the Search Bloc posed beside his body and smiled for the camera because they’d spent months tracking him down. Even the Colombian government treated the killing as a victory, it was that big of a deal. His funeral was more like a big national party in Medellin than a time for mourning.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

On June 7, 2006, two 500-pound bombs hit a house near Baqubah, Iraq, ending the hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was now dead. Al-Zarqawi was the former leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, and he was having a meeting with associates at the time.

He’d been linked to bombings and kidnappings, along with filmed beheadings. So it’s no surprise that American and Iraqi officials were quite happy about his death. There wasn’t a street party or anything, but there sure was a lot of open happiness.

Timothy McVeigh

Things were a little strange in the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, on June 11, 2001. That was the day that the 1995 Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was set to be executed. Vendors sold souvenirs, and people talked about parties as they counted down the minutes.

Crowds gathered around the federal prison where he was held, too. McVeigh had previously killed 168 people and was pronounced dead at 7:14 a.m. local time. Over in Oklahoma City itself, however, the mood was much quieter, with around 300 people watching remotely. It wasn’t as celebratory over there.

Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer’s death was different from the other ones on this list because it wasn’t something scheduled. No, he was attacked by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver on November 28, 1994, inside Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. Dahmer died roughly an hour after the attack.

He had been serving 16 consecutive life sentences for the murders of 17 boys and young men. Not everyone reacted to his death in the same way. Some of the victims’ families argued that death let him escape years of punishment. Still, there were many who openly welcomed the news or felt satisfied about it. 

Che Guevara

Che Guevara was captured in Bolivia on October 8, 1967, just as his guerrilla campaign was already collapsing. He was a leading figure in the Cuban Revolution. Bolivian soldiers executed him the day after capturing him, then they displayed his body to journalists.

That was mostly to prevent any arguments over whether he was really dead. Even so, the Bolivian authorities and many anti-Castro figures welcomed the result. Many American officials celebrated it, too, although in Cuba, the people were mostly in mourning.

Charles Manson

Murderer and cult leader Charles Manson died in 2017 after spending nearly half a century behind bars. He passed away due to numerous health issues in a California hospital on November 19 at age 83 after being transferred from Corcoran State Prison.

The news of his death soon brought a lot of celebration. Critics and public figures who remembered the 1969 murders carried out by his followers were happy. They said they felt free. Not everyone reacted the same way, though, as some said his death changed nothing. That’s fair enough.

Rush Limbaugh

It’s no surprise that the reaction to radio host Rush Limbaugh’s death was so divisive. He sure was a controversial figure. He died on February 17, 2021, at age 70 after battling advanced lung cancer. His wife announced it during his own syndicated show.

There were many conservatives who paid tribute to him, but there were also many online critics who did the opposite. They brought up his comments about race, women, and gay people. They were hardly dancing downtown, but they sure were happy he was gone.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died near Tehran on June 3, 1989, but the celebrations of his death were visible as far away as Los Angeles. Roughly 5,000 Iranian exiles gathered outside the federal building in Westwood the next day. They danced and sang. They also cheered.

Not just because they were happy he was dead, but also because they could actually sing and dance. Many of them had fled Iran’s oppressive regime after the 1979 revolution. They hated the government Khomeini created and the restrictions he’d placed on ordinary people.

Anita Bryant

Most people didn’t think about Anita Bryant’s entertainment career when she died at 84 on December 16, 2024. No, they thought about her 1977 Save Our Children campaign against gay-rights protections in Miami instead.

A lot of LGBTQ activists and publications celebrated openly about her death because of her comments against LGBTQ people. She’d once been a singer and orange-juice spokesperson. The jokes about orange juice came back almost immediately once she passed away.

George Lincoln Rockwell

A laundromat parking lot. It’s an odd place for someone today, and especially for someone who’s a political extremist. But that’s exactly where American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell was killed on August 25, 1967.

He walked out in Arlington, Virginia, and was shot by John Patler, a former member of Rockwell’s own group. Rockwell’s followers grieved, yes, but plenty of Americans were clearly relieved. They were happy that his years of Nazi rallies and antisemitic campaigning seemed to be over.

David Koch

There were two very different reactions to the announcement of David Koch’s death on August 23, 2019. His supporters talked about his enormous donations to museums and hospitals. His critics went the other way.

They spoke about how Koch had spent huge sums supporting conservative and libertarian causes. These included groups that fought environmental regulations. So, some of Koch’s opponents celebrated online when the news broke, and they took their joy straight to social media.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

A line in the dust

Ambrose Bierce was an American writer who practically walked straight into a revolution in Mexico. In 1913, he headed down south to a place where Pancho Villa’s forces were fighting, with some reports claiming he was around during the Battle of Tierra Blanca.

Hardly the most relaxing place for writing. He wrote several letters, and his last one was dated December 26, 1913, and was sent from Chihuahua. Nobody knows what happened to him after that because Bierce disappeared completely.

The ticket that stalled

A train ride. That’s all it took for French motion-picture maker Louis Le Prince to disappear on September 16, 1890. He was planning to take some of his work to the United States, and he went to visit his brother in Dijon, France, before going to America. He never made it.

No luggage, no body, no evidence, the police found absolutely nothing and actually declared him dead seven years later. It’s unclear what exactly happened to him, though some people believe he might’ve drowned or been assassinated.

North into white air

Polar exploration was kind of normal for Roald Amundsen, especially since he’d already made a name for himself in the field. That is, until June 18, 1928, when he took off from Tromsø, Norway, in a French Latham 47 flying boat, and was never found again.

He was trying to find survivors from Umberto Nobile’s airship Italia, though Amundsen himself was the one who vanished. Most historians believe that his plane probably went down in the Barents Sea, but we just don’t know.

A profit left hanging

By 1803, George Bass had already helped to map huge parts of Australia’s coast and even had a strait named after him. That apparently wasn’t enough, however, as he started chasing trade money shortly after, leading to him sailing from Sydney on February 5, 1803.

He was on the Venus and might’ve been aiming for South America so he could sell some goods, but he never actually made it there. It’s generally believed that Bass died at sea, although nothing has actually been proven.

Three ships, then two

Time for another explorer. This time, it’s Gaspar Corte-Real, a man whose final voyage was so dramatic that it sounds made-up, but it’s not. He left Portugal in 1501 and crossed the North Atlantic to reach either Newfoundland or Labrador.

He left with three ships. But only two came back to Lisbon, and the third, the one with Corte-Real on it, never returned. Bizarrely enough, Gaspar’s brother went looking for him a year later and disappeared as well. Talk about bad luck.

A note left behind

Ettore Majorana was an Italian physicist who left Naples in 1938 and appeared to be heading toward Palermo, although he ended up vanishing on the way. His colleagues believed he had committed suicide, but others had some more interesting theories.

They said he could’ve emigrated to Venezuela or Argentina, perhaps he even became a monk in a monastery. Some historians believe that he was kidnapped or murdered, too, to stop him from helping build an atomic weapon. Who knows?

Bright sails, rough water

The Sea Dragon was a Chinese junk ship that was supposed to go from Hong Kong to San Francisco for the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939. Explorer Richard Halliburton was one of the people on board, but he didn’t reach his destination.

A little after the boat left, a typhoon struck the Pacific, and the ship lost radio contact. The U.S. Navy did go looking for the boat, yes, but they never found a wreck or any bodies, either.

Clouds over the estuary

Amy Johnson wasn’t trying to make her January 5, 1941, flight legendary or anything, but that’s exactly what happened. She took what was meant to be a delivery job from Blackpool, England, to Kidlington, although bad weather made the whole thing more difficult.

Sailors on the HMS Haslemere claimed they saw a parachutist and heard a woman calling for help, so they tried to assist, yet they sadly couldn’t. Johnson disappeared, and her remains were never found.

Tea waiting on the table

On March 26, 1967, Jim Thompson was staying at the Moonlight bungalow in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, and he was relaxing with his friends. Everything seemed great. He was so calm, in fact, that he decided to go for an afternoon walk, nothing major or anything.

Thompson never came back. Searchers checked roads and jungle paths, yes, but they never managed to find Jim or work out where he vanished to. The only things they found were his jacket and bed, back at the bungalow.

A walk after shopping

Dorothy Arnold was a socialite who, on December 12, 1910, left her home in Manhattan to go shopping for a dress. She bought some chocolates and picked up a book before talking to a friend near 27th Street. Apparently, she was going to walk home through Central Park.

What happened next is uncertain, but what we do know is that Dorothy didn’t come back by dinnertime, or ever. Was she killed? Did she have an accident? We just don’t know.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

The classroom thing

They think it’s weird that French wasn’t optional where I grew up. It was another class, just like math or gym. Yes, my American friends thought it must’ve been a special program. But no. French has been part of the Ontario school curriculum for years.

Honestly, I sort of get why they think it’s strange. Most of my Canadian friends never used French outside the classroom at all. It’s no wonder Americans find it weird that we trained for it. It’s still useful, though.

The rink thing

Apparently, the things we did for fun were weird. It’s mostly because skating wasn’t a big deal. You didn’t need a special occasion to get on the ice because schools organized rink trips. Some families even went on weekends. The best kind of birthday party? That was one on ice.

Yet my American friends see it as a once-a-year winter activity. It’s not normal for them to do skating as a youth recreation activity. Sure, there are some areas in America that still get heavy snow in the winter. But even for them, ‘just going skating’ sounds bigger than it actually was. 

The puppet song

Have you ever heard of the ‘Don’t You Put It In Your Mouth’ PSA? If you know, you know. Most Canadians can probably hear the tune already in their heads. Unfortunately, when I bring it up to my American friends, they look at me like I’m crazy.

It was a Canadian public service announcement in the early ‘90s. Yes, it was aimed at kids. The majority of Americans think it’s weird that we had PSAs for this kind of thing. It might’ve been the puppets. It could’ve been the catchy lyrics. Either way, it worked.

The spotted visitor

I once mentioned Polkaroo in a conversation with my American friends. They told me I was making it up. I sort of get it. After all, the name is pretty strange, but Polkaroo was real. He still is. The character’s part of preschool content on TVOKids to this day. 

Watching Polkaroo never felt that weird. I just saw him as another childhood character on TV. Still, it took years for me to realize how bizarre he actually was. Anyone who didn’t grow up with him doesn’t get how iconic he was.

The animal everywhere

As a Canadian kid, you stop realizing how much the beaver is everywhere. It’s on coins. It’s in school projects. But Americans don’t get it. They see it as a simple animal, nothing more, and they don’t have the same connection to it.

Canadian federal law made the humble beaver a national symbol. America didn’t. For us, the beaver’s everywhere, and we don’t really think much about it. That’s true especially as kids. 

The magazine ladder

I’ll say something like, ‘I was reading Chickadee at that age,’ and my American friends will look at me like I’ve lost the plot. It turns out that they don’t have the same reading age magazines. Yes, really. Most of us are familiar with Chirp, Chickadee, and OWL over here.

It felt like a real achievement when you passed on to the next stage. Sure, Americans still had some kind of magazines when they were growing up. But they weren’t like our OWL or Chickadee.

The mall character

Here’s one you should try explaining to an American. It’s called ‘Today’s Special.’ For anyone who doesn’t know, it’s a show about a mannequin in a department store that comes to life. He’s called Jeff. I know, it sounds like something from a weird dream.

However, it was a real TVO show. So many of my friends would watch it after school, and we loved hearing the magic words. What were they? ‘Hocus pocus alimagocus,’ of course.

The sticky snow treat

Almost all Americans know how much we love maple syrup over here. But they don’t realize how much. We’d go on school trips and pour hot maple syrup onto the snow. Then, we got to eat it off a stick.

Eating maple taffy on snow is a pretty normal tradition over here. In fact, you’d see it at sugar bush events across Canada as a kid. My American friends can’t get over how ‘Canadian’ it apparently is.

The official snack time

‘Nutrition break’ sounds way more serious than it actually is. One time, I told my American friends about it, and they seemed really confused. It’s not that complex. It was part of the school day when we’d get two longer breaks instead of a single lunch.

Those breaks were ‘nutrition breaks.’ We’d get some time to eat and to play. Think of it like snack and recess. Truthfully, though, it does sound a lot more like a scheduled program than a time for a quick bite.

The stone project

Learning about and building inukshuks was pretty standard in school. It felt like one of those activities that was a regular part of living over here. Not for Americans, though. They usually have no idea what I’m talking about.

An inukshuk is a stone structure that the Inuit people use for communicating or navigating in the Arctic. We learned about it in the classroom. Unfortunately, my American friends never got that experience. 

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

Hoser

Hoser doesn’t sound that bad at first. That’s where Americans get it wrong. It’s actually an insult. Yes, we Canadians know how to be rude, too. A ‘hoser’ is someone who’s a loser or not exactly smart. It’s one of the phrases that became popular thanks to hockey culture.

Usually, we’ll say it jokingly. But with the wrong tone, it comes across pretty differently. Most of my American friends have no clue what I’m talking about when I use it.

Canuck

Basically every Canadian knows what a ‘canuck’ is. That’s because we’re all one. Yes, it’s a term that just means a Canadian, plain and simple. Some of us even wear the canuck label with pride.

But it hasn’t always been a positive term. It’s also not one many Americans are familiar with. ‘Canuck’ is a term that’s a little loaded for those who aren’t used to it. 

Stagette

Here’s a message to all the Americans out there. Don’t overthink it when someone invites you to a stagette. It’s what we call a bachelorette party. Honestly, the term makes sense when you hear the male version. 

That’s a ‘stag.’ However, most Americans expect to hear ‘bachelorette.’ They’re not sure whether a ‘stagette’ is a hunting event or something. It’s not. It’s just Canadian. 

Gotchies

There’s nothing that complicated about ‘gotchies.’ They just mean underwear, only in a really Canadian way. There are actually two parts to it. ‘Gotch’ is the original Canadian slang, and ‘gotchies’ is the even more casual version.

You might hear some alternatives, too, like ‘gitch’ or ‘ginch.’ Try saying it to someone from down south. They’ll probably laugh and ask you what you said. Let’s be honest, it is kind of a funny word to say.

Chirping

It’s time for another hockey phrase. This time, it’s ‘chirping.’ It means that you’re talking trash. However, there’s a specific way of ‘chirping,’ and it involves throwing some quick insults at each other.

It doesn’t have to be anything serious. Sometimes, it’s part of how we play, like friendly teasing. Yet it’s not so easy for my American friends to understand. They hear, ‘he was chirping all night,’ and think I’m talking about some birds. Not at all.

Dickered

Americans get really confused by ‘dickered.’ It just means drunk. But not a little drunk, or even slightly tipsy. It’s something we use to talk about someone who’s pretty far gone. So why doesn’t it make sense to them?

Because ‘dicker’ is already an English word that means haggling or bargaining. It has a completely different meaning.

Americans assume something else’s going on when they hear it. No, being ‘dickered’ last night only means you got really drunk, nothing more than that.

Pylon

Practically everyone’s heard of a ‘pylon.’ It doesn’t mean the same thing over here as down south, though. Americans use it to talk about the big tower that we use to send electricity over long distances. We use it in a couple of different ways.

A ‘pylon’ is what we call those bright orange traffic cones. Hockey players also use to talk about someone who’s getting skated around and doing nothing. So, it could mean something on the road, or someone on the ice. It really depends on the context.

Yes b’y

My American friends see, ‘yes, b’y’ and think it’s a typo. They don’t realize it’s real Newfoundland English slang. For anyone who’s not from there, it comes from ‘boy,’ but works more like ‘buddy’ or ‘man.’

But it doesn’t even need to be about a person. You can use it as part of the sentence flow. It’s more about what ‘b’y’ sounds like than what it means, if you catch my drift.

Rotted

Another popular Newfoundland slang phrase is ‘rotted.’ No, it doesn’t mean spoiled, or even decayed. It’s what people over there use when they’re annoyed or tired. You can also use it when you’re hungover.

The reasons why someone feels ‘rotted’ might be different. However, it all comes down to the same idea. They don’t feel great. You might want to stay out of their way.

Takitish

My American friends always think ‘takitish’ is one word. They don’t get that it’s actually just ‘take it easy,’ said really quickly. In fact, it’s such a common phrase over here that it’s listed as a regional expression. It’s kind of like, ‘see you later.’

We use it to say goodbye. Of course, it’s not something you’ll hear everywhere in Canada. But the people who use it don’t even think about it. It’s a bunch of words blended into a single one that doesn’t sound like it should exist. 

Gutfounded

I’ll admit it. Saying ‘I’m gutfounded’ does make it sound like something pretty serious happened. Thankfully, it’s much simpler than that. All it means is ‘I’m hungry.’ There are even alternate versions of it in Newfoundland, like ‘gut-foundered.’

The meaning’s still the same, though. It sure does sound dramatic, and that’s sort of why it works. You’re going to want to feed someone who sounds that hungry.  

Bird class

Someone might talk about taking a ‘bird course’ at school. Cue images of feathers and field notes for anyone who’s not Canadian. It’s not as interesting as it sounds, though, because it’s simply slang for an easy class.

You can use it to talk about your own schedule. Or, if you want to insult someone, you can say that someone else’s taking a ‘bird course.’ You’re essentially telling them that they’re studying something way too easy. Ouch.

Beak

‘Beak’ is another kind of bird-related slang. It also has nothing to do with birds. Like ‘chirping,’ it’s a term from hockey culture that we use to talk about people talking trash. You can use it as a verb as well as a noun. 

For example, you can say that ‘he was beaking all game.’ Anyone who tells you that you’re ‘beaking’ is telling you to close your mouth. They think you’re running your mouth too much.

Bush party

Don’t expect a house or a venue when you hear about a ‘bush party.’ Don’t even expect proper lighting. It’s literally just a party out in the woods or a field, nothing more, nothing less. People in rural Canada actually use it to talk about gathering around a fire.

Americans do have those kinds of events, too. But they don’t call it a ‘bush party.’ It sounds kind of obvious once you understand it, yet without that context, many of my American friends are completely stumped. 

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

It keeps one side outside

The best way to close a conversation? That’s saying, ‘You wouldn’t understand.’ He’s closed the door completely on trying to share thoughts and feelings. There’s no back-and-forth.

Really, he doesn’t think you’re worth explaining things to.

He’d rather shut it all down. Guys who say this don’t let the other person in at all. It’s a pretty good sign that emotional distance has crept in. It’s pretty hard to come back from that.

It gets smaller fast

Some guys say, ‘Why are you making this a big deal?’ automatically. They don’t want to ask about what actually happened. Instead, they put the focus on their wife’s reaction. These guys brush off their wives’ feelings because they don’t care.

That’s hardly a sign of someone who’s in love. It doesn’t matter whether the issue’s big or small. These guys only want to shut down the conversation at the starting line. Why? Because they already think it’s too much.

It stops being about today

Here’s one that pulls in the past. A guy who says, ‘You always do this,’ doesn’t want to stay in the present. He cares more about history. Essentially, he’s turning a specific complaint into something broader. It’s not the same as saying, ‘This bothered me earlier.’

No, he’s using absolutes like ‘always.’ The original issue has disappeared. He cares more about who you are, rather than what happened. It’s a serious issue.

The door closes early

Sure, saying ‘I don’t see the problem’ sounds calm. But it completely ends the discussion. There’s no chance for the conversation to start, and there are no follow-up questions. Guys who say this don’t want to hear the other side.

Everyone knows that listening and responding are important to relationships. Everyone except these guys, apparently. They’ve decided there’s no problem to look at. No, it’s not the same as disagreeing.

It ends before it lands

The conversation hasn’t fully ended yet. But guys who say, ‘I already said sorry, what else do you want?’ seem to think it has. They really don’t care about repairing things, and their apologies aren’t real either. They’re just a way to get things over with.

However, healthy marriages need more than that. They need some follow-through, like listening or attempts to resolve the tension. Yet these guys treat ‘sorry’ like a full stop. They only want to end the conversation ASAP.

It puts a lid on it

The question ‘Why can’t you just be happy?’ isn’t as innocent as it first seems. It moves away from what was said. Guys who say this are focused on how their wives ‘should’ feel instead. Essentially, they’re ignoring her feelings.

It’s a tricky one because the phrase isn’t a direct argument. It also doesn’t raise the volume. No, it replaces one emotion with another. The original feeling? That doesn’t matter anymore. These guys quit caring about that long ago.

It flips the script

Try telling one of these husbands that you’re unhappy with them. Chances are, they’ll say something like ‘I guess I’m the bad guy then.’ They don’t want to be blamed. So, instead, they’ll act defensively and push any sense of responsibility away.

They’re not prepared to face what they’ve done. Sure, the saying sounds like they’re admitting blame. But they don’t really mean it. Does that sound like a guy who’s in love with his wife? Didn’t think so.

It turns home into a nuisance

Things are about to get real, and he knows that. It’s why he’ll say something like, ‘I work all day. I don’t need this.’ Now he has an excuse for not wanting to deal with relationship issues. It’s a kind of withdrawal.

That’s pretty dangerous in a marriage because it means he’s checked out. He’s not bothered enough to try to stay in it. You can’t love someone and treat them that way. 

It makes peace feel like a prop

Yes, you might think he’s asking for a break. After all, what else could the question, ‘Can we just have one normal day’ mean? It turns out, a lot more. For him, a normal relationship involves not talking about problems. That goes completely against what studies say.

You have to be able to confront issues in a marriage. But that’s not what this guy wants. No, he’d rather have silence so he can avoid the discomfort. 

It treats talking as the problem

A similar phrase is, ‘Why does everything have to turn into a conversation?’ He doesn’t see the value in talking things through. The topic doesn’t matter because the talking itself is, apparently, a problem. It’s something research calls ‘stonewalling.’

Stonewalling is a good sign that someone’s checked out of a relationship. Interacting? Discussing? Engagement? None of that matters to this kind of guy. He doesn’t want to work through anything together.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

Look past the skin colour

The general colour of the spuds is important, yes. But not as important as the detail. Check whether there are any light green patches near the surface or the eyes. That’s a good sign something’s up.

Greening potatoes have higher levels of glycoalkaloids. That’s a kind of natural toxin. You can cut away any small patches, but a fully green potato isn’t worth eating. Leave it on the shelf instead.

Check the eyes, not just the shape

The potato’s perfectly round. It also looks clean. So what’s wrong with it? Just look at the eyes and see whether there are any dots. A couple of small ones are fine. However, once they start pushing out sprouts or look sunken, then you’re in for some trouble.

Problematic potatoes sprout long shoots or clusters. They’re telling you the spud has been sitting around for a while. Maybe a bit too long. You could try trimming it, but you’re best off throwing the whole thing away.

Resisting sprouting

But sprouting is sometimes a good thing. They’re plants, after all. Keep a couple of them out and see what happens. Do any eyes or tiny shoots appear? If they don’t, then they were probably treated with some chemicals.

They likely got too much of them. It’s pretty common in large supply chains of spuds. You might want to keep an eye on it.

Give the bag a quick turn

Don’t just grab the first bag on top. That’s a rookie mistake. Instead, try flipping it over for a second and looking on the inside. Notice some little water droplets? Perhaps some foggy plastic? It’s bad news because it means your potatoes have too much moisture.

That’s going to cause issues like rot. It’s one of those times when a dry bag is a good bag because it means the potatoes were better-stored. Take two seconds to check the bag over at the store.

Press for firmness, then stop

A light press is enough to check a spud sometimes. It should feel firm and solid to your touch. A potato that’s soft or collapses slightly is a bad potato. These are clear signs that it’s suffered some rot issues.

Take a look at the skin, too. Wrinkles don’t look good on a spud, and a hollow inside is a warning, too. It’s past its best when that happens. Do yourself a favor and just throw the whole thing away.

Feeling unusually coated

There’s something else to check while you’re holding it. Most potatoes feel a little dry or dusty. That’s normal, and it comes from the soil. However, a slick potato isn’t so natural. It could be residue from chemicals like chlorpropham (CIPC). 

The FDA limits how much residue potatoes are supposed to have on them. So, potatoes that feel greasy are effectively illegal potatoes. It’s not normal for a spud to be really polished. 

Notice where the store put them

Where the store puts the potatoes tells you a lot about them. It’s not great for them to be under bright lights or near windows. That’s only going to cause greening issues. So what can you do instead?

Try going for the spuds in a darker and covered area. Of course, it’s not a guarantee that the potatoes will be okay. But it is a much safer bet.

Just too perfect

Keep an eye on any bag that looks too perfect. The potatoes shouldn’t look almost identical. There needs to be some difference in the size, shape, and tone. After all, crops don’t come out of the ground perfectly.

Natural batches will have a few imperfections. They’ll be a little different from each other. A bag of near-identical spuds might not be as natural as you’d hope. In fact, they could be something else entirely.

Check after washing

The smell shouldn’t change after you’ve washed it. It should stay neutral and a little earthy. But potatoes that have a chemical smell after they’ve been washed? They smell like chemicals for a reason.

It’s not something you’d expect from untreated spuds. Such a detail sounds small. But it’s easy enough to notice, so perhaps check it out for yourself. 

Look at how the skin reacts to peeling

A normal potato peels a certain way. The skin should come away cleanly, and it should leave fresh flesh underneath. It should seem even. However, fake spuds have a slightly dull or uneven layer under the surface.

It’s caused by the potatoes sitting in storage for longer. Or, in some cases, it’s because they’ve been handled differently. That’s not a spud you really want to deal with.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

It depends where you start

Looking at the numbers first makes you think that eggs aren’t an issue at all. After all, the Mayo Clinic says a single egg has around 75 calories and 6 grams of protein, which are pretty good numbers for something so small.

Eggs contain useful vitamins like vitamin B12, vitamin D, and some vitamin A. There’s actually quite a lot going on inside them, nutritionally speaking.

The limit is not the same for everyone

Unfortunately, boiled eggs don’t work for everyone in the same way. Experts at Harvard say that anyone with diabetes or existing heart disease will need to be a little more careful.

These people may want to limit themselves to three egg yolks a week. Don’t eat them and assume you’ll be perfectly fine.

One of the risks

So why did people used to have an issue? It mostly came from cholesterol. People used to believe that egg yolks contained a lot of it. However, these ideas have changed.

Harvard Health Publishing said that one egg a day isn’t too bad for most healthy adults. It’s not linked to a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

The yolk changes the answer

People tend to split when it comes to the yolk. Some experts, like those at Harvard Health, point to chemicals like lutein and zeaxanthin in the yolk that help with eye health.

The yolk also contains choline. Your body uses it to help your brain and nerves work properly.

Sure, only eating egg whites means that you’re reducing your cholesterol, but you’re also cutting out a big part of what makes eggs so useful to start with.

Boiling does one helpful thing

How you cook eggs also affects their nutritional value. Boiling them could be one of the best ways to do it. After all, you’re not adding anything extra to them. 

Experts at the Mayo Clinic actually say a lot of the health problems with eggs come from how they’re cooked and what you add to them. For example, fried eggs and omelets can cause some health problems.

Sometimes the plain option helps

Health Canada says there’s only around 62 mg of sodium in a large boiled egg. That’s a lot better than most quick food that you can buy at the grocery store.

In fact, they might make for a healthier option than a lot of other convenient choices. They avoid the usual extras that are in most packaged snacks. You don’t have as much salt or hidden fats that usually sneak their way in.

One mineral does a lot of work

Another beneficial nutrient that comes from eating boiled eggs is something called selenium. There are around 15 micrograms of it in a single hard-boiled egg, and adults need roughly 55 micrograms of it a day.

But what is selenium exactly? It helps to support your thyroid and protects your cells, as it’s an antioxidant. It also reduces your risk of cancer

The company still matters

Let’s not forget that most people don’t eat boiled eggs alone. They tend to eat them with something else, like bacon, sausage, buttered toast, or dishes with a lot of cheese in them.

These extras are usually high in fat and salt. Sadly, a plain boiled egg won’t make a full breakfast plate loaded with processed food any better. 

Cooking changes more than texture

Boiling an egg changes how your body uses the nutrition inside it, too. One study found that cooked egg proteins have around 90.9% digestibility, compared to 51.3% when they’re raw.

Of course, it doesn’t take an expert to know that we don’t usually eat raw eggs. Eating a boiled egg gives you nutrients in a way that your body can handle much more efficiently.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

The booths, the mugs, the red-check feel

Mother’s Pizza was hardly a small chain because, at one point in time, it actually had around 120 locations across many different countries. The chain started in Hamilton in 1970.

What really got customers interested was the way it had a slightly over-the-top dining room style, thanks to those stained glass lamps and heavy mugs. But that wasn’t enough to keep it afloat.

The original company collapsed into receivership by 1989, mostly because the chain expanded too quickly. There was a revival later that kept the name alive in Ontario for a few years, yet the final location ended up closing in 2019. We wish it had come back.

For a while, every mall seemed to have one

Going to MMMuffins almost felt like it was part of the mall experience itself. After the first location appeared in 1979, it didn’t take long for it to become one of those places you’d take for granted at every Canadian mall.

Until one day, it wasn’t there anymore. Only two locations remained in Canada in 2019, and these final few locations disappeared not long after, finally ending MMMuffins’s reign as a mall staple.

The days when it was the best place for coffee and something warm to eat were over.

Downtown lunch lost one of its old standbys

Canadians who worked downtown probably remember seeing Richtree at one point or another. No, it wasn’t a food court, and no, it wasn’t a traditional restaurant either. It was more like a cafeteria that came with live cooking stations.

During the chain’s peak, it had around 11 locations across Eastern Canada, and while that might not seem like much, anyone who’s been there knows how great their food was.

The last Richtree location closed on March 9, 2020, in Toronto’s Eaton Centre. The parent company filed for bankruptcy a little while after the closure, and that was it for the brand.

Pizza night had a very specific look there

There was a time when Frank Vetere’s Pizzeria used to be everywhere in Ontario, especially during the late 1970s and 1980s. It had over 40 locations. This included 20 in Toronto alone, with the chain really leaning into the full dine-in experience to get people interested.

Think arcade games and big salad bars, as well as branded glasses that still look great today. But it wasn’t to last. The recession in 1982 caused a lot of problems for the brand, and so did the chain’s attempts to expand far too quickly.

Unfortunately, the owners had to sell off parts of the chain, leading to Pizza Hut taking over a lot of the locations in 1984. Frank Vetere himself passed away in 2023.

The road-trip buffet era had a look

Bonanza Steakhouse pretty much defined roadside dining in the past, and visiting one of the chain’s locations involved working your way through a buffet that seemed endless.

The brand actually expanded to the United States. Later, ownership did change down south, yet the brand stayed in Canada for a short time before it also suffered major issues.

The last Canadian location closed in November 2010. Today, you can still visit Bonanza Steakhouse, although you’ll have to go outside of Canada to go to one of its locations.

Then the other steakhouse name went too

Ponderosa has a similar history to Bonanza Steakhouse, although its exit happened a lot earlier. It was also a much more abrupt ending. Ponderosa had nearly 150 locations across Canada until a major shakeup happened in 1985.

That was when the chain bought and converted a large group of its franchises, 36 in Ontario and Quebec, into Red Lobster restaurants. It was a bad idea.

With that single move, a huge portion of Ponderosa’s presence disappeared overnight, and the remaining franchises didn’t last for much longer. Now, there’s nothing left.

This one was famous long before modern burger chains

Let’s get one thing straight. Café Henry Burger wasn’t a chain in the usual sense, as it only had one restaurant, but it did once own a hotel, and it hung around long enough to feel like a chain for people in the Gatineau, Quebec, area.

The restaurant began in the 1920s and continued for decades. Even after multiple fires and economic issues, the restaurant stuck around, becoming one of the most famous French restaurants in the area during the early 2000s.

It supposedly served every Canadian prime minister who was around during its existence. Sadly, after 83 years in business, the restaurant closed in 2006, never to return.

Family dining looked different when this was around

You might be surprised to learn how far back Murray’s Restaurants goes, as the first one opened in Toronto in 1924. The chain had 17 locations across Ontario and Quebec by 1938.

In fact, it seemed like the chain was going from success to success, as the number of franchises kept increasing. It remained a big part of the Canadian restaurant scene during the late 1970s.

But the chain closed all of its restaurants in 2009, and despite attempts at a comeback, it remained shut.

A rough time after 2020

The pandemic caused issues for all kinds of industries, especially hospitality, and Tucker’s Marketplace is a great example of that. It tried to carry the buffet restaurant format into a new era, but then the pandemic hit.

Originally, the brand came from the earlier idea of Mother Tucker’s, and it ran for years in Ontario, until the pandemic changed things. The company announced it would be permanently closing in June of that year.

It was quite shocking news for some customers to hear, as the chain had been around in one form or another since the 1990s.

For a while, Canadian Tex-Mex had this face

Chi-Chi’s really tried to give it its all in Canada, despite being part of a much bigger North American chain. It ran several well-known places in Winnipeg.

Unfortunately, its larger structure was a big factor in its downfall, as the North American chain had serious economic troubles during the early 2000s. It filed for bankruptcy in 2003, with a major health crisis occurring in the same year, too. 

All remaining Chi-Chi’s locations in Canada closed the following year. The brand has been partially revived in the United States, but there’s no word on that happening in Canada as of yet. Hopefully, we’ll get it back soon.

Even ice cream chains can disappear fast

Partnerships with Tim Hortons were part of Cold Stone Creamery’s strong push into Canada. It actually had around 100 locations in the country by 2011, although things wouldn’t stay that way forever.

Tim Hortons announced in 2014 that it was going to remove Cold Stone products. It seems that Timmy’s was propping up a lot of the business, as Cold Stone Creamery’s presence practically disappeared not long after that. 

It was entirely defunct by 2017.

The wings chain didn’t last here

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Buffalo Wild Wings would stick around, especially given how popular sports bars normally are. The chain actually expanded into Ontario because of its early success.

However, the momentum didn’t hold, and it ended up closing its remaining Canadian locations by June 2023. It exited the country entirely soon after.

There’s no word exactly on the cause for their closures, but we can guess that it was probably financially related.

The coffee-and-doughnut fight ended badly

Dunkin’ Donuts had quite a serious run in Canada. After all, it had around 210 locations in Quebec alone, something that’s quite difficult to imagine today because there are no more left.

Things started changing during the 2010s, with only three stores left in the country by 2017. These closed down the following year.

With the final store’s location, Dunkin’ ended its 57-year-long presence in the country, although that wasn’t the end of the story. Quebec franchises took legal action against the brand and won, receiving damages after claiming that the company didn’t keep up with its competitor, Tim Hortons.

The building gave it away right away

Red Barn was one of those places that you didn’t need a sign to recognize. No, the buildings looked like barns, right down to the color, and it was pretty easy to spot them from the road. It wasn’t long before the chain made it to Canada from America.

The chain had locations in places like southern Ontario and Ottawa, with newspapers also covering its expansion in 1968. But as with all good things, the success came to an end.

The change of ownership and disappearance of advertisements led to several locations shuttering, mostly because the chain didn’t renew its franchise deals. By the late 1980s, the name had gone entirely. 

Mall meals used to come with this name

The 1970s were a great time for Burger Chef, as it began growing quite clearly after opening one of its early international spots in Hamilton. It had a real presence in Canada for quite a while.

Sadly, the following decade wasn’t as good for Burger Chef, and the brand was first sold to General Foods before control moved to Imasco. It seemed like a smart decision because Imasco already had restaurant interests.

But that’s not what happened. A lot of the remaining locations were converted into Crock N’ Block restaurants, with the name itself disappearing soon after.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.