Product of Newfoundland
Trivia, Folklore & Assorted Nonsense
The yarns that knit ya. A blog about Newfoundland: Strange Truths, Tall Tales & Pop culture from a Foggy Island.
John Anderson: Time Tamperer
Newfoundland’s John Anderson was ahead of his time… by more than an hour. He was a leader in the fight for daylight savings time.
The Daring Days of Ann Harvey
Defying the tragic history of the Island of the Dead, 17 year-old Ann Harvey took on the impossible and rescued more than 150 shipwrecked immigrants from a windswept rock off southwestern Newfoundland.
Mermaids, Pirates and Propaganda
The story of pirate Peter Easton and the tale of Newfoundland’s most famous mermaid share one point of connection — Richard Whitbourne.
Francis Pickmore’s Worst Winter. Ever.
How bad can a Newfoundland winter get? How about snow drifts in the governor’s bedroom? Not that the governor complained much - he couldn’t, he ended up pickled in a barrel of rum.
John B. Garland and The Blood Book
John B. Garland, Newfoundland’s first speaker of the legislature, had an interesting hobby — making blood collages.
Mary Travers Sells The Speaker’s Chair
It’s often said Newfoundland’s first legislature was held in a tavern. What’s less-well-known is that they failed to pay their tab and that the owner, Mary Travers, collected her due in a way the government wouldn’t soon forget.