Naoko Asano

When the Canadian athletes entered the stadium for the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, they did something that elicited both applause and controversy. As they passed Adolf Hitler, they extended their right arms sideways and upwards. It was meant as a gesture in the spirit of the Games—an Olympic salute, as it was known—although it looked an awful lot like the Canadians were offering the Führer a hearty Nazi…

A friend once told me something funny about the old Hockey Night in Canada theme song: whenever she hears it, the smell of baked beans wafts up her nose. It is a uniquely Canadian kind of synesthesia, the product of Saturday-evening dinners in the 1980s and ’90s when her father—it was his night to cook—always made the same meal: hot dogs, french fries and beans. Saturday was the lone night of the week when TV was allowed…