We received 140 entries correctly identifying the Fake Ad for the Ann Arbor Association of Retired Canadian-Americans on page 91 of the September issue. The previous winner’s name, Fields, was trickily contained in the passage from the poem “Flanders Fields.”
Many people noticed the references to Canadiana included in the ad: broadcaster Foster Hewitt, Hockey Night in Canada, and the year Canada gained independence, 1867.
A few Fake Adders also joked about Canadians’ use of the word “eh,” but in a way that really grinds our gears. So, a primer:
Canadians don’t add “eh” to the end of a question. For example, a Canadian wouldn’t say, “Did you put vinegar on your fries, eh?” A Canadian would add “eh” to the end of a statement to turn it into a question. For example, a Canadian would say, “I put vinegar on my fries, eh?” He or she might even follow that up with “That was better than a kick in the butt from a frozen mukluk.” We hope that helps clear things up.
At press time, Steven Worden was waiting to choose a $25 gift card location with his wife–whom, he noted, he met through a 1996 Observer personal ad.
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To enter this month’s contest, find the fake ad in the October Observer and follow the instructions in the box at the bottom of the Back Page. The fake ad always contains the name of last month’s winner in some form.
