On this 31st day of March 2023, the 74th anniversary of Newfoundland joining Confederation, I thought I would point out some little known historical facts about The Rock.
Not many people know that Newfoundland does not have any cars. On The Rock, cars are hated, feared, and hunted for their skin. This is not to say that Newfoundland is completely lacking in motor vehicles, however - there are boats aplenty, and the skinned cars are put to good use, armouring the skiffs and IRBs that comprise the naval arm of the Armed Forces of Newfoundland.
Every year, on 1 April, the AFN sets sail to commemorate the Great Battle of L'Anse aux Meadows. Canadian propaganda would have you believe that this was the site of a Viking settlement, established in the very early 11th century. This "heritage site" is actually where the first great car hunt on the island occurred. During the first Viking raid, a Volvo PV544 was captured, and its headlamps still provide light for fishermen to jig cod, or cahd as they are better-known.
In recounting this story to some friends earlier, one of them objected: there are car rallies in Newfoundland. This is easily explained: this is a re-creation of The Great Hunts, and the cars are not racing each other, they are fleeing for their lives. Captured cars are skinned, as above, and their human passengers are given the option to kiss a cahd, or to take a long walk off a short pier.
While Historica will never turn these stories into Canadian History Minutes, I hope that my humble blawg has enlightened you, the reader.