O is for Odometer…and “O”

In celebration of Canada’s 150^th birthday, my theme for the 2017 Blogging From A to Z Challenge, is CANADA. 

Join me throughout April (every day except Sundays) to learn more about the inventions, the people, and the cultures that make up one of the greatest countries in the world!

Odometer and… “O”!

I like cars. Race cars, especially, but there’s something exciting about a family road trip too. The licorice, the random picture stops…tracking all of those kilometers. No, really! My sister, Amelia and I like to count how many kilometers go by when we’re travelling.

Whichever of us sits behind the driver leans close and watches the odometer—the gauge on the dashboard that measures the distance the vehicle has travelled. We turn it into a bit of a game—the person NOT watching the odometer guesses when the car has travelled one kilometer. I’m getting pretty good.

It turns out that the odometer was invented by a Canadian by the name of Samuel McKeen back in 1854. He attached his device to the side of a carriage and measured the distance traveled by the turning of the wheels.

Now that’s an invention worth celebrating!

But ALSO worth celebrating is the 16^th—and final—book in the Superman Duffy graphic novel, which comes out just in time for Canada’s 150^th birthday celebration. “O” honours many of the Canadian inventions and inventors you’ve been reading about during my A to ZBlogging Challenge posts! At the end of the month, I’ll share the cover of that book—which is probably my favourite…again. <grin>

Gotta jet! See you tomorrow for my “P” post! Thanks for reading.

~ Chase Superman Duffy