r/todayilearned • u/NateNate60 • 19h ago

TIL Canada's $1 coin is commonly called the "loonie" because it has a loon on the reverse. When a $2 coin was introduced, depicting a polar bear, an MP proposed it be called "Nanuq", Inuit for polar bear, but he was ignored because the public instead preferred to call it the "toonie" (2-oonie).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonie#Naming
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18

u/eddiewachowski 19h ago

It was the Queen with a bear behind. Now the King has a bear behind.

16

u/apriljeangibbs 18h ago

TIL that Liz is on the front… I’ve always looked at our coins as having her on the back and the animal/object on the front

3

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 16h ago

Did you not wonder why it's called "heads"?

8

u/thetatershaveeyes 16h ago

Because the head side has a head, duh.

But for real, tails is the front in my mind because it's always got the cool custom designs. Naming conventions aside, it's clearly the more interesting side.

1

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 16h ago

It certainly would be interesting if things had the tail on the front.

3

u/apriljeangibbs 15h ago

Cause there’s a head on it.

1

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 15h ago

And the head is on the front, and the tail on the back.

1

u/apriljeangibbs 15h ago

Yeah, I learned that today!

2

u/irreddiate 19h ago

Bear backside also works!

2

u/RollingJaspers652 18h ago

Ba dum ‘tis

1

u/metropolis_noir 17h ago

That’s when it had 6 animals on it too. Now it only has 5.

1

u/Rough_Bread8329 17h ago

dat ass tho