What’s This All Aboat?
Posted by
tgirsch
My wife and I travel to British Columbia, Canada on average about once every two years. We really like it up there. As a result, I occasionally get junk mail (both e- and paper) from Canadian tourism agencies. Today I received an e-mail telling me that if I ordered a BC travel guide, they would automatically enter me to win “one of three extraordinary BC retreats.”1 For some reason, I clicked on the terms and conditions, and I found this odd clause:
5A. For Canadian Residents Only:
Before being declared a winner, the selected entrant must first correctly answer, without assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a time limited mathematical skill testing question to be administered by telephone at a time mutually convenient for the entrant and Sponsor or promotional agent of Sponsor.
What the hell? If you’re an American, we don’t care if you’re an idiot, but if you’re Canadian, you have to at least be able to do basic arithmetic? Is this some sort of joke? Where’s Manish when I need him?
1 Notice, too, the misleading wording of the contest prizes. They’re not giving away three vacation packages, they’re giving away one — the lone winner gets to pick from three pre-packaged choices.
It’s a way of getting the increased publicity of a contest without actually having to shell out for a prize by making sure no one actually wins.
Comment 4/21/2006
Or possibly it’s a way around some archaic Canadian anti-gambling law. The math question makes it a game of skill instead of a game of chance.
Comment 4/21/2006
Stormy Dragon has it right the second time. All Canadian “lucky draw” type games have skill testing questions. I’m not sure if lottery winners have to answer them, but I had to answer one for a stupid little money prize I got in a cereal package once. It was a simple little A + B * C where A, B, and C were all single digits.
Comment 4/21/2006
Leaving aside all of that, you have good taste in travel destinations. My wife and I will be going there in mid-May, and I’m counting the days.
Comment 4/21/2006
David:
Have you been there before? I can make several recommendations, if not.
Last summer, we started in Calgary, went and spent several days in Banff, and then drove across BC over two days, winding up in Vancouver for a few days. Great trip.
Comment 4/21/2006
tgirsch,
Yes, we’ve been there a few times. I love that area and have often thought about moving there. It’s never been feasible for us, though.
Most of that time we’ve spent in Victoria, so we don’t know much about Vancouver. We’re also hoping to see more of Vancouver Island than we have on previous trips.
I was in Banff and Jasper in the mid-sixties but never since then. My wife hasn’t seen that area at all. We’ll be driving back to Denver via Banff, with a side trip to Jasper a possibility. That will depend on time.
I’d be delighted to get recommendations. Thanks.
Comment 4/22/2006
David:
For Vancouver dining, I highly recommend Shanghai Chinese Bistro on Alberni Street, downtown. It’s more upscale than the typical chinese restaurant (although the dress is fairly relaxed — khakis and polo will do you fine), making it a welcome departure from the cheap take out most of us get most of the time. One of my new favorites in Vancouver is Chambar, an eclectic downtown restaurant not far from the BC Place stadium — a Belgian chef has some intriguing creations on the menu, and the prices are eminently reasonable. Capone’s in Yaletown (also downtown) is also good; decent Italian fare, and there’s generally live music on weekends.
For sightseeing in Vancouver, plan on spending part of a day in Stanley Park. There’s plenty to see and do there, whether it’s biking or rollerblading around the serpentine wall, or visiting the excellent aquarium, or just taking in the views of the city and the Lion’s Gate Bridge. If you drive across the Lion’s Gate, it’s about 20 minutes to Grouse Mountain, which has a tram ride to the top with breathtaking views of the metropolitan area.
If you’ve not been to Whistler and get a chance, go. It’s less than two hours from Vancouver (a beautiful drive — be sure to stop at the 1,000-ft. tall Shannon Falls, which you can see from the roadway). It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s ski season, or even whether or not you ski. There’s never a bad time to go to Whistler.
If you wind up driving between Vancouver and Banff, there are two ways you can go: the “high road” through Kamloops, or the “low road” through Kelowna. We took the high, but I recommend the low. The high road is faster, but the low road takes you through the BC wine country. We planned on doing some wineries, but I miscalculated and took the wrong route.
And while you’re in Banff, you must not miss the Maple Leaf Grille (unless you’re a vegetarian, in which case you must miss it). It’s one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, and certainly the best in Banff.
Comment 4/23/2006
Thanks. I’ve printed that out.
We’ve been looking at downtown hotels, one of which is very near Stanley Park. On a previous visit, our hosts drove us through Stanley Park, and we wished we could have spent more time there. We had limited time then, because we had all driven up from Bellingham. This will be different.
Comment 4/23/2006
David:
Owing to Vancouver’s layout, you might consider a hotel in the Southeastern part of downtown; basically, it comes down to a choice between being able to walk to Stanley Park and needing a bus or cab to get anywhere else, or being to walk virtually everywhere and needing a bus or cab only to get to Stanley Park. (I don’t recommend driving, as all the parking in Stanley Park is paid, and for the price of parking, you could have just taken the bus.) Being in the Southeastern section also puts you near the SkyTrain, which will take you to the SeaBus dock to North Vancouver (it drops you right off at the Lonsdale Quay Market), as well as to the Eastern suburbs (but there’s no real reason to go there).
That little rant reminded me of a couple more recommendations for Vancouver. Do not miss the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and be sure to get the guided tour. There are just too many intricate details to notice on your own, and the guides are very good and pointing these out. It’s a short walk from the Chinatown Skytrain stop.
I’d also recommend hitting the Granville Island Market or the aforementioned Lonsdale Quay Market, if public markets are your thing (I love them). Granville Island also has a lot of kitschy arts-and-crafts stores, if that’s your sort of thing (it’s not mine).
Comment 4/24/2006
[…] I asked earlier about a goofy provision in a Canadian sweepstakes rule that required the winner to answer a math question. A few people confirmed that this is required, but nobody answered why it’s required. Then a coworker enlightened me, and the answer is funner than expected: The combined effect of Sections 197 to 206 of the Canadian Criminal Code bans for-profit gaming or betting, with exceptions made for provincial lotteries, and licensed casinos and charity events. Many stores, radio stations, and other groups still wish to hold contests to encourage more purchases or increase consumer interest. … These organizations take advantage of the fact that the law does allow prizes to be given for games of skill, or mixed games of skill and chance. In order to make the chance-based contests legal, such games generally have mathematical skill-testing questions incorporated. […]
Pingback 4/24/2006
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Comment 5/18/2007