We don’t eat real beaver tails – a ‘beaver tail’ is a fried dough pastry flattened to look like a beaver tail!
It is delicious! You eat it while it’s still hot, and you can put all sorts of toppings on it: icing sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, fruit, etc.
When American president Obama visited Ottawa (the capital of Canada), he made a special trip to the local Byward Market just to try a beaver tail!
The beaver is our national symbol because it was an important part of Canadian history. European explorers sailed west in search of another route to the East Indies and the spices that were plentiful there. When they landed in North America, they didn’t find spices, but they found something just as lucrative: fur! The fur trade was extremely important to the development of Canada.
Beaver fur became sought-after in Europe as it was used to make hats and coats. Beaver glands were also used in medicines and perfumes. It was the demand for more fur that encouraged Europeans to further explore the northern part of the continent…the part that eventually became Canada! European merchants traded with Native Americans for more fur.
Beavers are known to be hard-working animals. They inspired two common expressions in English:
She’s as busy as a beaver! (someone who is busy because they work hard!)
Wow! You’re at work early today. You must be an eager beaver! (someone who is hard-working and enthusiastic)
Also, in American slang ‘beaver’ refers to a woman’s ‘private parts’ (her vagina)! This is considered crude and is only used by young North American males. In the song “Oh…Canada” by Canadian rapper Classified, he says … “Oh Canada – we love our beavers!” It has a double meaning = )
Vocabulary:
dough = a mixture of water, flour, sugar + other ingredients used to bake cookies, cakes and other sweet desserts!
plentiful = available in large amounts
lucrative = something that makes a lot of money
sought-after = wanted by a many people, usually because it’s expensive or hard to get.
glands = small organs in your body that produce various liquid chemical substances
crude = rude and offensive
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver#As_a_national_emblem http://www.members.shaw.ca/kcic1/beaver.html http://www.beavertailsinc.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_tail_(pastry)
Melanie is a TESL-certified English teacher. She lives near Toronto, Canada. Through her blog, videos, podcasts, and social media, she helps thousands of people around the world improve their English. She makes English a little less confusing and a little more fun! She also helps people understand Canadian and American culture. She believes that natural interaction with a native speaker helps people practice what they have learned and builds their confidence with English!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting and funny things about Canada, hehe.
I enjoyed a lot reading this text about this subject and "oh my gosh!", I didn't know "beaver" had that meaning in canadian slang. When I had looked at the name of this topic "Canada – Canada Fun Fact #3 – The Beaver is Our National Animal…and We Eat Beaver Tails!" I thought you guys in Canada really would eat "beaver tails" but then when I started to read the text I could see that "eating beaver tails" had a figurative meaning in the topic name and that it's really a food but without the real beaver tail. "FASCINATING!!!"
Thanks for all your lessons, videos, texts about Canada
, etc, that helps us to improve our english and make it more familiar like it was our first language.
Great job!
All the best!
Marcos Rocha
Hi, Marcos!
Thank you for all your enthusiastic comments! I am pleased that my website is so interesting and useful to you. You motivate to keep working hard!
Beaver tails are DELICIOUS! You will have to come to Canada someday and try one.
Happy New Year!
Melanie
= )
I'd appreciate a lot travelling to Canada and try "BEAVER TAILS". I hope someday I can do it.
Going to Canada would be a dream came true.
Happy new year to you too!
See ya!