The World Wide Web is truly a wonderland of learning, and thus it was for me today. While out hiking I had an idea for an accessible mouse that would be easy to use for those with various disabilities.

Sadly, it looks like a team of students has already developed something that's more or less the idea I had (link). So, I guess you won't be calling me the next Bill Gates, at least because of that idea!

On the brighter side, the search that brought me to that page wasn't clogged with Wikipedia entries, but eventually after broadening the search I chanced upon that site. And, that's where I found the following graphic that contains at least three things I (and probably you) didn't know. The first, of course, is that the first trackball was invented in Canada. The second is that it was invented in 1952 instead of the late 60s or so. As for the third:

In the past I've had some fun with our neighbor to the north, something that's both politically acceptable and very easy. My overall impression is that they're basically like the U.S., just "rotated" one or two degrees. They're mostly like us, but different in minor but disconcerting ways, such as one might see in an old Twilight Zone episode. For instance, their stop signs say "Arret" too/aussi. Or, their street signs look like American street signs, but are in a weird font and with a weird color scheme. Or, all the other minor but curious differences.

But, five-pin bowling, a variant "only played in Canada" and created "in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous"? And, complete with its own hand-sized rubber ball, non-standard terminology, and Associations [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-pin_bowling]? Knowledge of this alone could end America's love affair with our Neighbors to the North.