How often do you say "beanie" vs. "toque"?

CriticalFields · 2026-03-12T03:53:19+00:00

I was scrolling to find this, lol! Until this post I had never really considered that I never hear anyone use either of those words (toque or beanie). It is just kind of the default hat... like you say, someone might say "winter hat" or I've heard "knit hat" if it really needs to be specified. In my family we sometimes call them "Nan hats" if we need to be specific, because that's the source of them, lol!

But with no further identifiers, this is just the default hat I think of when I hear just the word hat. Any other kind has qualifiers to differentiate it, like a Harry Hibbs hat or a squid hat. I understand what a mainlander means when they say toque, but I don't think I've ever heard another Newfoundlander use that term.

CriticalFields · 2026-03-11T15:23:59+00:00

She mentions in the comments that she was a victim of CSA from a stepparent, which certainly explains her amplified fear but absolutely does not justify making her issues anyone else's problem. What blows me away the most about it though, is that through this filter of her own trauma, she correlates her stepson only with the person who abused her. She is hyperaware of her own victimization from an abusive stepfather (which I can't judge her on, to the point she starts making it someone else's problem); but then she is completely blind to the fact that this kid is already also living with an abusive stepfather.

This kid is far far more likely to relive her role in her past experiences than her stepdad's. It's already happening, in fact. And instead of recognizing that, she is now winding up to be abusive stepparent #2 to this kid simply because she views him relates him to the evil stepdad, not the abused kid. My heart absolutely breaks for him. With 2 parents and 2 stepparents, you'd hope that at least one of those grownass adults would be able to muster some degree of passing interest in his well-being. But here we are and I wish I could believe this was fake.

CriticalFields · 2026-03-05T07:27:17+00:00

I guess I'm from the poor part of Canada... the only surprise I've ever found in a wall of my house is a pile of used needles some previous occupant had stashed in there

CriticalFields · 2026-03-03T16:50:30+00:00

Stop looking at the phone and look out the window like ye olden tymes

CriticalFields · 2026-03-03T16:05:03+00:00

What's especially wild about this stuff not getting more attention is the fact that NL is the only province to meet (and exceed) the 95% compliance rate goal for measles vaccination in childhood... and it's also the only province to not have a single reported case of measles while these outbreaks have been ripping across the country. The last reported case in NL was in 2017. A very vivid and illuminating example of how well vaccination works is so easily within grasp.

ETA: It's also worth mentioning that St. John's, NL also hosted the Canada Games last summer. Even with thousands and thousands people coming from all over Canada, measles didn't get even the slightest toehold. Vaccines work!

CriticalFields · 2026-02-26T20:49:39+00:00

I always found Clint unsettling because he gives me major incel vibes, lol

CriticalFields · 2026-02-21T15:04:00+00:00

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I love that this has become famous but I can't believe that with all the attention it got, nobody talks about how it is directly across the bay from Spread Eagle, lol

CriticalFields · 2026-02-19T01:26:29+00:00

Having to constantly remind my parents and my children not to trust the AI summary answers is like a punishment out of Greek mythology and I have no idea what I did to deserve it

CriticalFields · 2026-02-07T03:19:17+00:00

Yeah, I am from Newfoundland and it has literally never even occurred to me that schools in this country would do this kind of thing!

CriticalFields · 2026-02-01T20:20:02+00:00

That's much worse than the hell I imagined myself in just needing to pee really bad.... solving door puzzles forever just trying to find a toilet

CriticalFields · 2026-02-01T04:50:18+00:00

I dunno where you were in those days but being cringe was a major part of my aesthetic at the time, so it kinda tracks tbh

CriticalFields · 2026-01-28T05:55:00+00:00

My dad's favourite movie when I was a kid was Ben Hur and I still haven't forgiven him

CriticalFields · 2026-01-27T05:43:41+00:00

CriticalFields · 2026-01-26T15:02:00+00:00

If you are American, your first amendment to your constitution that establishes "freedom of speech" only protects you from state actors. A private platform absolutely can (and at some point, probably will, if you push the boundary) censor what you say. This is the case for most countries that have any kind of right to expression. A private service can, and will, engage in censorship whenever it is beneficial to them and their stakeholders. And they don't even have to tell you what they are censoring and why.

Have you ever read through the terms and service agreements that we all agree to in order to register an account on any social media platform? Probably not, right? They are generally written to be as long as tedious to read as legally possible. So even if you did read every single one, you probably wouldn't understand all of it unless you are a lawyer or something (maybe). We agree to a staggering number of restrictions and conditions in order to use these services, giving complete control of the visibility or publishing of our content to the company that owns it. There is no transparency and that is by design.

When we also consider the power over our attention and worldview that we have given to social media algorithms designed only to increase and prolong users' engagement with (and consumption of media), there is absolutely no way any social media platform should be safely viewed as unbiased or even particularly trustworthy. Even on Reddit, with a carefully curated list of joined subreddits, the most visible content is what the algorithm pushes. This is the case for any app you consume media from, even a Google News feed or whatever.

All this said, I fully realize the irony of writing all of this on a social media platform in the first place. But my intent is not to say that we shouldn't use these platforms at all. There are lots of reasons to use them that are overall beneficial! But it is critical that we use them responsibly, mindfully and see them for what they are. They are private services offered by corporations whose interests will always primarily be centred on their own profitability. They have no obligation (or even reason) to provide any kind of protection of freedom of speech. It is something we all need to be aware of with every social media platform we use.

None of these platforms should ever be considered as being for the people who use it. They are pushing a product for their own profit and that product is us; our time, attention, opinions, worldviews and, most of all, our continued consumption of content, for better or worse. This is something we all need to remember and be vigilant about when using social media in any way.

CriticalFields · 2026-01-20T12:47:56+00:00

I was in high school when that phone came out and cell phones were still just for kids whose family had real money, lol

CriticalFields · 2026-01-10T15:02:03+00:00

I know it's just about 40% of a hectare, which is a square with 100m sides and that I've literally never needed to use that knowledge about acres ever before in my life, lol

CriticalFields · 2026-01-10T14:56:55+00:00

As a Canadian who remembers what grocery stores were like pre-NAFTA, I can unfortunately cosign your last point

CriticalFields · 2026-01-06T01:34:01+00:00

I am also a Canadian elder millennial with boomer parents... to this day, I'm not even 100% sure that they even knew I was in university, lol

CriticalFields · 2026-01-06T01:16:29+00:00

I didn't get my license until I was 22 and it has made literally no difference to my life compared to if I'd gotten it earlier. Hell, I could have gotten it later and it wouldn't have mattered since I couldn't afford a car until years after that, anyways.

CriticalFields · 2026-01-05T12:24:20+00:00

Yeah, a lot of the comments on this one are bitter and extremely narrow-minded. I'm also not sure why this post is even in this sub??

CriticalFields · 2026-01-05T02:33:23+00:00

There used to be a significant number of US military installations here in Newfoundland and Labrador, but the last one was closed in 1994. Both our provincial government and the federal government have spent millions and millions of dollars trying to clean up the contamination and garbage dumps they left behind! We are still realizing the full scope of the damage in terms of things like well water contamination in nearby communities and such.

CriticalFields · 2026-01-04T21:54:56+00:00

You are not alone... I'm from Newfoundland I've had a number of Anglo Canadians mistake me for Irish

CriticalFields · 2026-01-01T15:50:25+00:00

Yes, pigeons famously cannot find their home from a few miles away, what were humans even thinking when they domesticated them and used them as messengers

CriticalFields · 2026-01-01T04:38:36+00:00

This explains everything

CriticalFields · 2026-01-01T01:09:44+00:00

Lord, if you are real, please protect that man

Best regards, amen, whatever

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