One of Canada's best-kept secrets is the amazing list of inventions, both great and ridiculous, that were created by Canadians! Author Lisa Wojna celebrates Canuck ingenuity and tells the stories behind an array of innovations. From the space shuttle's Canadarm to the electron microscope, Canadians can lay claim to many creations. Some have changed our world for the better; others are just wonderfully weird.

Great Ideas

• telephone

• goalie mask

• standard time

• Superman

• snowmobile

• kayak

• insulin

• zipper

• Robertson screw

• egg carton

• snowshoe

• paint roller

• basketball

What were they thinking?

• disposable ship

• mechanical skirt lifter

• Earth Paper

• rocking chair butter churn

• square bullets

• synchronized swimming

• salmon leather

• jolly jumper

• poutine

• cylinder boat

• 3-D jigsaw puzzle.

• hat with a water

reservoir for a flower

You'll be amazed, astounded and occasionally downright embarrassed. But you'll finally be able to answer Trivial Pursuit questions about Canadian inventions. And, yes, Canadians invented that game, too.

Bestselling author Lisa Wojna has authored or co-authored more than 20 books for Blue Bike Books, including Weird Canadian Laws and the Bathroom Book of Canadian Quotes. She has also written many other non-fiction books. Having worked in the community newspaper industry as a writer and journalist, she has traveled all over Canada from the windy prairies of Manitoba to northern British Columbia and even to the wilds of Africa. Although writing and photography have been a central part of her life for as long as she can remember, it’s the people behind every story that are her motivation and give her the most fulfillment.

Lisa Wojna's profile page