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Contact Odyssey for more informationIntroducing... The Dicey Romance GetawayA two-day motoring challenge among seven couples vying for awards including:
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Factoid #21 Flock PhilanderingWhen you consider that only about 3 percent of Earth's 4,000 mammal species are monogamous (and Homo sapiens isn't one of them), we could all take some love lessons from the reptilian side. The shingleback skink, an Australian lizard, roams the wilderness alone most of the year but when spring arrives, it will seek its mate. The same pair of lizards end up together year after year. And what about birds? Black vultures employ a decidedly more aggressive monogamy strategy. They discourage infidelity by attacking any vulture caught philandering. Sounds like a Dicey Romance! Factoid #20 Loquacious Love LyricWhy is it that a love lyric in English, expressed in 13 words… … needs 17 words in the Romance language of French… … and 17 words in the Romance language of Italian? Guess a true romantic REALLY likes to talk. Factoid #19 Love Me TenderThe oldest known love song comes from an area known as Sumeria, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The loved one was commonly referred to as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’. Elvis’ swiveling hips have nothing on these racy 4,000-year-old lyrics. "My Honey Sweet" (excerpt) My dearest, my dearest, my dearest, my darling, My darling, my honey of her mother, My fruitful vine, my honey-sweet, My honey-mouthed of her mother! The gazing of your eyes is pleasant to me, Come my beloved sister. The speaking of your mouth is pleasant to me, My honey-mouthed of her mother. The kissing of your lips is pleasant to me, Come my beloved sister. My sister, the beer of your barley is good, My honey-mouthed of her mother. The ale of your beer-bread is good, Come my beloved sister. Factoid #18 Written RomanceCanadian romance publishing giant, Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., last year sold over 160 million books worldwide… that's more than 5.5 books a second… in 23 languages. If you set out to read all of the Harlequin books sold over the past 10 years, and averaged about two hours per book, you would be reading for the next quarter of a million years. Here's to the happy ending! Factoid #17 Dicey RomanceCheers for the Morning Kiss! Studies indicate that a man who kisses his wife good-bye when he leaves for work every morning averages a higher income than those who don't. Husbands who exercise the rituals of affection tend to be more painstaking, more stable, more methodical, thus, higher earners. Studies also show that men who kiss their wives before leaving in the morning live 5 years longer than those who don't. Pucker up! Factoid #16 The Dicey Romance GetawayAfter two trial runs, Nova Scotia will be the host location for the first ever Dicey Romance Getaway. Join us on a unique event based on romance and the roll of the dice. Seven couples are competing to out-romance each other on a 2-day jaunt around the province, a getaway that promises:
Plus, kilometres of open stretches, alone with your significant other with nothing but the sound of the rubber on the pavement and the tunes in the player... Who knows? You may score in more ways than one!! Teams are registering now. For more information:
Factoid #15 The GetawayTo this day, Hank Snow holds the country music record for number of consecutive weeks at the number one chart position for his 1950 hit 'I'm Movin' On'. The records he has sold, over 70 million, have been everywhere in North America, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Hank Snow may have made his getaway and moved on to Nashville, crossed the deserts bare and breathed the mountain air, but he never forgot his humble beginnings in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia. Factoid #14 A Numbers GameExcluding Cape Breton Island, there are 14 counties in mainland Nova Scotia. And don't forget that 14 is 7 times 2 or a lucky number times a pair, or a couple. If the pair represents a month and 14 were the day, we'd all be looking for our Valentines, wouldn't we? Factoid #13 Dicey CoastlineThe largest collection of shipwrecks in North America lies on the ocean floor around Nova Scotia. It is said that over 10,000 unlucky ships have been snagged and/or sunk off the jagged, fog-bound shores. The inhospitable welcome starts about 300 kilometres east south east of Halifax at Cape Sable Island, the most dangerous sand dune in the world. If ships survive the navigational gamble and make it past the ever-shifting 44-kilometre long island, it sometimes seems only a roll of the dice is what determines a safe landing on the mainland. Dicey, indeed! Factoid #12 Harbour HopperSteeped in the lore of remarkable sea creatures and genial giants, ghost ships and craggy limitless coastlines, five-storey tides and unique condiments, mystical Nova Scotia offers much intrigue. The lure of this land increased on the night of October 4, 1967 when 'something' fell from the sky and into Shag Harbour, NS. Witnesses say lights from an 'airplane' plummeted toward the water, hovered for a few minutes, then disappeared beneath the surface. A search of the surrounding waters over the next three days found nothing. This obscure UFO 'sighting' has more witnesses and documentation than the well-publicized Roswell, New Mexico incident and remains, to this day, unexplained. Factoid #11 Colossal CourtshipAnna Swan, of New Annan, Nova Scotia, met up with Captain Martin Bates on a trans-Atlantic cruise. By the time they landed in Liverpool, England, they were engaged. Queen Victoria bestowed engagement gifts that included a gold watch for him and a diamond cluster ring and wedding dress for her. Why the BIG fuss? Anna Swan, accomplished singer/performer, then the tallest woman in the world, measured 7 feet 11 inches. Her husband stood 7 feet 9 inches tall. A love of gigantic proportions. Factoid #10 A Fast CatThere are many ways to get to Nova Scotia but if you want to 'fly' in 900 people, 250 cars and 14 tour buses all at once from the U.S., then the CAT, the INCAT 98 Wave-Piercing Catamaran, is the way to go. The fastest car ferry in North America crosses the ocean between Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia at highway speed. Its four water jets could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in 33 seconds. Very pool. Factoid #9 Delectable DulseMuch of the world's supply of dulse, a red seaweed that has been used as food for thousands of years, is harvested today in Nova Scotia. Prized by the Vikings, would they have known that consuming delectable dulse would increase energy and strength, enhance mental clarity and awareness, and lower high blood pressure and cholesterol? Probably not. But perhaps they knew that the salty sea vegetable strengthens the sexual organs and increases stamina? Va-va-va-Vikings! Factoid #8 Nova Scotia's Brush with FameIt is estimated that between 1906 and 1956, the ubiquitous Fuller Brush Salesmen visited 9 out of every 10 homes in the US. They were everywhere, on their hands and knees, demonstrating Fuller's brilliant brushes and marvelous mops. The enduringly successful Fuller Brush Company was born out of the suitcase of young Alfred C. Fuller, who hailed from pastoral Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. Factoid #7 Jerry Goes the DistanceNova Scotia lore claims that a certain Jerry Burke wore out a pair of shoes walking 340 kilometres from Halifax to Arichat on Cape Breton Island. Why did Jerry go the distance? Some say it was for the love of a woman. Factoid #6 Applause, please!The succulent sea scallop, found in abundance off the coast of Digby, Nova Scotia, home of the largest inshore scallop fleet in the world, is the only mollusc that swims by clapping its shells together. Unlike other commercial scallop species, the sea scallop has separate male and female sexes. Now that's something to clap about. Factoid #5 The Rising QueenThe Cumberland Queen, a Nova Scotian-built freighter sank off of Cape Hatteras back in 1922. The next year locals were stunned to wake up one morning and find she had risen to the surface. After a clean-up, the Cumberland Queen plied the seven seas for another 30 years. How can this be? The ship was laden with salt. Factoid #4 Coastal StrollingIf you walked the perimeter of Nova Scotia, including all of its 3,800 coastal inlets, you would have strolled a distance of 7,500 kilometres, like walking from Halifax to Los Angeles and back to Denver, Colorado. For something less fatiguing, the briny sea of Nova Scotia is less than one hour's drive from any point in the province. Factoid #3 Perverse PreservesBe wary when ordering gherkins with your sandwich in Canso, Nova
Scotia. Factoid #2 Land of the Five-storey TidesThe highest tides on the planet occur in the Bay of Fundy, along the western coastline of Nova Scotia. Tides here have been recorded at 16.3 metres high, (over 53 feet). The tidal action of the Bay of Fundy moves more water than all the world's rivers combined - about 100 billion tonnes twice a day. Factoid #1: The Legendary Lobster of Nova ScotiaAnything that can travel 25 feet per second in reverse, has invisible blood and comes in shades of blue, white, orange or red deserves to be called legendary. It can also throw a claw if being attacked - and grow one back in a year! According to the Guinness World Records, the largest lobster in the world was caught right here in Nova Scotia. It weighed 20.14 kg (44.4 lb). |
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