A Canadian says to a Scott,
“I like the way you rrroll your ‘Rs’”
The Scott says in turn,
“It’s just the way I walk.”
Baddum bum…
Something occurred to me on the train this morning as I stared at someone’s backpack and noticed that in a mesh pocket they had a couple of torn pieces of Tim Horton’s coffee cups.
My amusement came from the fact that I found it odd, that I didn’t find it odd. Why?
As Canadians, the name Tim Hortons has become a beacon for home. For many of us, the first thing we do when we return to Canada from another country is go and get a coffee at Timmie’s.
My wife is such a Timmie-holic, she doesn’t drink any other coffee. In fact, whenever we go to Portugal—the land of espresso, which some would say is real coffee—on holidays, she brings a tin of Tim Horton’s coffee with her.
When the notorious schoolgirl killer Carla Homolka was finally released from prison and was subsequently asked what she was going to do first with her new-found freedom, she answered by saying she was going to Tim Hortons for an iced cappuccino.
As much as MacDonald’s—for example—is ingrained in American culture, Tim Hortons carries the same brand recognition and loyalty here.
So when it comes time for the RRROLL UP THE RRRIM TO WIN contest every year, you shouldn’t be surprised if you see people—after finishing their coffee, or sometimes even before—chewing on the rim of their cups.
No, it isn’t because the coffee is so good that they can’t get enough of it—although there was some speculation (conspiracy theories really) that they coated their cups with some kind of addictive chemical like nicotine.
Rather, it is in the hopes that under the rim of their cup, they will find a message telling them that they have won a car, plasma TV, cash, or any one of the other thousands of prizes, including free coffees and donuts. It’s genius really—especially if the nicotine theories are true.
It’s probably the biggest promotion any Canadian company has ever held and it has become this huge annual event that customers actually look forward to. I’ve even heard people talk about it—I swear to God—saying things like, “When does the Roll Up the Rim contest start?” The only other promotion I can think of that comes close to this might be MacDonald’s Monopoly promotion.
At any rate, back to my revelation…
As I was looking at the torn pieces of coffee cup, I wondered what outsiders (visitors to the country) must think of this. Here is how I envision a conversation between two non-Canadians would go…
“Hey Patrick, how was Canada?”
“Not bad, a little cold at times, but the people were friendly and a little odd…”
“Odd?”
“Yes.”
“How so?”
“Well, they have this large chain of cafés called Tim Horton’s, named after a hockey player—so that stereotype is true…
They affectionately refer to it as Timmies and many speak of it in a very familiar and longing manner, as if they couldn’t go an extended period of time without a visit for their regular caffiene-fix.
These cafés are hugely popular, even though they don’t serve alcohol—figure that one out! I swear to you, there is one on every major corner, some corners have two! The coffee isn’t bad, but it’s nothing to write home about, in fact there is this theory involving nicotine in their cups that I’ll get into later…
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. Some of these people love this coffee so much that—once they’re done with the contents of the cup—they start chewing on the cup! I’m not kidding! Others just squash the cup and unroll the rim, tearing a bit of it off and storing it for some inexplicable reason. It’s really quite odd.”
“Canadians sound like they’re off their rocker—another confirmed stereotype!”
“Yes, I thought so too!”
There you have it. This is how others perceive us. I swear! I’m not making it up.1
- Yes I am ↩︎
What are you thinking?