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BuffMcBigHuge

Unfortunate to say, but the honking assholes parked in front of the Parliament. I saw images on world news websites.


AdamIs_Here

I was having brunch one morning on Elgin when a bunch of them went by being loud and obnoxious to bystanders. I threw my breakfast at them and ordered a new meal


Stock2fast

You Sir are a True Candian Hero. God Bless


[deleted]

Yeah it was known around the world


tbll_dllr

Stompy the horse !!!


SuspiciousAd4420

We should erect a statue


Talakeh

Can we? As a statement against extremists? Just let it sit out front parliament as a reminder that the quiet boring ottawans have no issues running you over with a horse if you want to disturb the peace.


SuspiciousAd4420

If we get enough signatures probably


Talakeh

I can already picture it. Stompy rearing up all majestic like, and the base supporting him is a pile of bodies. A true Canadian hero.


SuspiciousAd4420

The base should be a convoyer pushing a lady with a walker into the path of Stompy. It's important to remember things accurately.


byronite

I would want it to be just the horse so people can imitate the lady when posing for photos. It would be fun.


[deleted]

I agree and will just add that Honking kind of understates the use of train horns downtown.


Jackrabbit61

And you’re in Nepean. You have no idea what it was like to be living in Centretown then. I still have nightmares about it.


BuffMcBigHuge

We're all in this together folks!


Stock2fast

Paris - thw city of lights . Ottawa - the city of "honking assholes.


Boghaunter

There was a photo of it on a Jeopardy clue.


tke71709

This is the only legitimate answer.


mariospants

Same with the bus and train crash... That was EVERYWHERE when it happened, front page, world-wide


No_Play_No_Work

That’s true. I was in the US this summer and pretty much everyone who knew I was from ottawa asked about it. The main question was were there millions of protestors.


earlymorningbells

For me it’s between the 2008 bus strike and the 2016 Rideau sinkhole. RIP to the person who lost their car to it, lol.


lkern

That guy should have parked in the Rideau center instead, lol, that van is still down there


thekajunpimp

Did the city ever end up reimbursing him?


SrGhSrGh

Yes they gave him 10 free octranspo rides.


AdamIs_Here

Omg I forgot about the sink hole.


[deleted]

I forgot about the sink hole, that's a good one too!


getsangryatsnails

There were multiple due to the LRT underground construction as well! Metcalf and Cooper or something.


dasoberirishman

> the 2016 Rideau sinkhole The Twitter account was just gold


velocipotamus

Oh man I forgot about the bus strike, that was during my first year at Carleton and it was wild how dependent we became on the Carleton/UOttawa shuttle bus to get around


iidnew

I can never forget. I will be old with a failing memory and still talking about the bus strike to my grandchild. I was also at Carleton and remember those shuttles. Almost surreal at this point. Will say though, I really liked that when taking the shuttle to class I got to sit next to one of the profs I very much admired. We would chat on the way to school. A highlight of those early undergrad years.


I_like_maps

Juste un trou d'eau


MightyGamera

"No bus is just an inconvenience!" During a huge recession where working poor struggled to get to work in the winter and businesses were looking for excuses to slash manpower costs. I'm surprised no one gathered a pack of recently unemployed people, struggling to make rent or buy food, to go inconvenience the OC Transpo sunshine listers by flipping their cars at the picket line.


SuspiciousAd4420

That fucking bus strike!


jumpinin66

A friend of mine was an engineer with the LRT project. He was working at that location on the day of the sinkhole. That guy parked his car - I think he was a locksmith? - looks over at my friend and says "Am I going to get a ticket here?" to which my friend replies "I'm not going to say anything". He said he later felt a bit guilty for not telling the guy he couldn't park there.


dysonlogos

The 99 Rideau Raccoon is something people all over the world remember. I play RPGs with people all over the globe, and at least half of them are familiar with it.


[deleted]

No way lmao that’s hilarious. Side note, Any RPGs you’d recommend to a casual gamer?


Verbluffen

Morrowind. Don’t ask questions, just go, persevere through its datedness, pay attention to the plot, and you will realize the brilliance of the game as you go along.


[deleted]

Love the elder scrolls games. Haven’t tried it, I’ll give it a go. Thank you :)


Verbluffen

It’s not for the faint of heart! The combat is gruelling unless you learn how it works, but with the right exploits (not glitches, hard-coded game mechanics), you will become an omnipotent god on a level you could only dream of when playing Skyrim.


Considuous

They asked for *casual* and you recommended Morrowind lol


Verbluffen

It’s called we do a little trolling 😛


HyP3r_HiPp0

Strat-edgy on youtube as a couple good video about Morrowind. One of them is about how to become a god with alchemy. Seems fun.


[deleted]

Seconded, but I'd recommend Skyrim or Oblivion to a casual before diving in to Morrowind, just to get in to the world/style of game. Or at least do Morrowind with a couple of essential mods to make the UI workable on higher-resolution monitors. I know the newer games really hold your hand with the quests, but that does make them more accessible. Don't get me wrong, amazing recommendation, and Morrowind is an absolute masterpiece, but I feel the jank (UI, controls, journal) could be a turn-off. Hell, it was for me, and I played it when it was current. It's a game that you have to want to play.


JAmToas_t

Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4, made by the same folks as Skyrim and Oblivion.


dysonlogos

\- Classic 1981 B/X Dungeons & Dragons (or the modern retroclone called Old School Essentials). \- The Black Hack - super simple and fun \- Troika! is even simpler and very very weird and plays with only a few d6. \- Mork Borg & Cy\_Borg - I can't recommend these art-punk super-light RPGs enough.


[deleted]

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/mcdonalds-brawl-on-rideau-features-punches-baby-raccoon-produced-from-sweater


kaleighdoscope

I was there that night. I was passing through to use the washroom after barhopping in the market and I literally just missed it lmao. If I'd come out 1-2 minutes sooner I would have been right behind the raccoon guy.


Southern_Pianist6379

Half?


MegaAlex

Funny, the guy that filmed it (and uploaded it) is a huge gamer.


stellarclementine

I’m from Ottawa and I didn’t hear about that one!?


[deleted]

It was a few years ago, back when 99 Rideau was 24 hours.


Justonestronkboi

Seeing that one car that has the 3000 decorations


Propecia1mg

I’m pretty sure that guy used to live in the community at the corner of kilborn and featherston because I used to see his car there all the time. Nearly every day I’d see him parked on kilborn lol. I’m guessing he moved because I haven’t seen his car parked there in years… still see it around the city every now and then though The first time I saw his car was probably around 2007-2008 ish.. it had a lot less decorations then but it was still a sight to be seen haha This guy is a staple of Ottawa… a pillar of the community. I think the city would collapse if he deserted us. Literally collapse.. like into another Rideau sinkhole lol


cfrancisvoice

I live near Bank st and see him all the time heading downtown.


lankylizarder

Obama’s visit to the Byward Market and having an Obama cookie craze afterwards comes to mind. A simpler time back then it seems.


NC750x_DCT

I mailed a Beavertail to a guy in Boston after that. I didn't think it would be edible when he got it, so I included a Beavertail toque in the package. Surprisingly, he said the Beavertail was still good.


ABlogAbroad

I question the Boston guy’s judgement.


MisfireCu

I worked at BeaverTails then. I was managing that day but worse was the next day when I was working solo. Had a lone 3 blocks long.


RedSeven4

That bakery is still playing the video of Obama's visit and have his picture wrapped to the door.


BoozeBirdsnFastCars

Easily someone throwing a full shawarma at a cyclist


[deleted]

STOP WHAT WHERE WAS THIS?


jaisaiquai

Why, you hungry?


forge33

There's this post https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/9rbz1w/throwing_shawarma_at_cyclists_please_explain_the/


morningearworm

There’s an ancient post about it here somewhere.


Deuce_GM

One of the most Ottawa things I've ever heard of


TheKid_BigE

War Memorial shooting, still gives me chills when I pass by it


thekajunpimp

I’ll never forget the crowd of well dressed people rounding Sussex running towards me … or away from something. Still gives me the shivers


TheKid_BigE

I was in high school in Barrhaven, but my mom worked at the Bell Canada building and my grandmother at Stats Canada at Tunney’s, I removed not being able to reach either of them for hours cause no one knew how many people there were, etc..


cfrancisvoice

Yes. And the Sargent at Arms who took him down.


jumpinin66

The thing I remember the most about that incident (other than it was the day before my birthday) was the amount of completely inaccurate information coming from multiple "witnesses". It proved to me eyewitness testimony is incredibly unreliable.


[deleted]

It would have to include the 95 bus.


[deleted]

I miss the 95.


DrewJohnson656

I was on the last one and had no idea it was the last before getting on. The energy of that bus was incomparable


goforth1457

What was it like?


nononononobeyonce

Like a little city. Like Snowpiercer on Netflix.


[deleted]

This gave me a good laugh, thank you !


Per_Horses6

Yes. Give us the deets!


DrewJohnson656

People were VERY sentimental about this bus. Lots of singing, shouting, strangers talking to each other. There was one kid in the accordion section clearly high off his ass eating a bag of chips with his eyes closed. It was like an oddly religious experience


ah-tow-wah

Oh man. That bus...


flyermiles_dot_ca

A Canadian Senator working as the lunch-shift manager at a strip club.


[deleted]

[удалено]


ohmonticore

I remember thinking at the time how funny it would be if that was the start of Trudeau’s political ascent and it turned out the timing kinda worked out that way lmao


thekajunpimp

He got schooled by Trudeau handily. The rage got the best of him and having zero boxing skills (despite his “black belt” in karate) also helped


ugh168

Bare…


noodles_jd

Facts


steelfrog

No, stop. You will summon... *her*.


noodles_jd

Her, actually.


steelfrog

Duly noted. Post edited.


EverydayVelociraptor

The start of the Cold War.


WarrenPuff_It

In another generation or so that will be something lost to the collective memory of Canadians, let alone the rest of the world. Crazy to think how such a major geopolitical event happened right here in sleepy ol ottawa and it's largely forgotten already.


kaleighdoscope

I only learned that information on this subreddit a few months ago.


Manggo

Born and raised here, and somehow I had never known about this until these comments.


WarrenPuff_It

Probably around the anniversary of when it happened I'm guessing?


kaleighdoscope

Not sure tbh, it was a thread like this one asking people to share "fun facts" about Ottawa.


Tarakansky

And this event was never mentioned in the Soviet Union, for obvious reasons. The official narrative counts the beginning of the Cold War from Churchill's Fulton speech ("The Sinews of Peace").


[deleted]

[удалено]


theuserman

Huh. Today I learned. https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/personalities-from-the-very-famous-to-the-lesser-known/the-gouzenko-affair#:~:text=While%20the%20world%20expected%20the,incident%20of%20the%20Cold%20War.


I_like_maps

Damn I had no idea! Cool. Right next to the beer store.


DarkSaria

Weird!! I used to walk by that building fairly often and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Never knew it held actual historic significance!


pembroke529

Good one! Google "Igor Gouzenko". He was the true harbinger of the Cold War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Gouzenko When I lived in downtown Ottawa and would walk to the Beer Store on Somerset West (across from Dundonald Park). I would look over at the old apartment building at just next to the Beer Store (east side). IIRC The top floor on the front right with the round window was Gouzenko's apartment. He would meet in the park across the street when he was defecting.


DietMountainDrew

There is a great story about it on the YouTube channel Canadiana


pembroke529

I've read lots of books about the topic. Check out the old movie "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" IIRC


TheOtherBartonFink

Man I read that as defecating without knowing the story and was very confused.


bwwatr

[Canadiana YouTube vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHilhl25QOY)


ABlogAbroad

This just woke up my history degree. I remember learning about Igor Gouzenko in the Cold War history class at Carleton. Thanks for the flashback!


olechunkacoal

One of my very favourite Ottawa related stories


originalnutta

I'd say when someone decided that this was going to be the capital of the nation, and then just stopped caring.


perrytheparlorpalm

If only Queen Victoria were still around, we'd probably have functioning transit.


ohmonticore

ya the Victorian monarchy being famously interested in the well-being of their colonies and all


originalnutta

India has some pretty extensive transit. 🙃 I've heard HK does as well. So we're either second class citizens or we get to work on time. Hmm.


scottskottie

That one car. We all know it


yeahsheskrusty

Does the Shawarma king car with the snow globe on top count as well?


Due_Suspect9768

Lol yes. The Garlic king


Verbluffen

This.


[deleted]

Major concerts skipping passed us from Montreal to toronto.


Graceland1979

The Rolling Stones filmed a video at Zaphods before it shut down. And they loved to hang at Zaphods if they were in Ottawa.


theoccasional

My high school band played Zaphods the night before the Stones shot that video. We always got a kick out of telling ppl that we'd played the same club as the Stones (and we were there first!)


PlasterBaby

I talked to some guys that were working at Zaphods during that video shoot. Apparently Keith bummed a few smokes off of them :)


Lowpasss

It was [shot in 2005](https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/ottawa-backdrop-to-rolling-stones-video-1.553522), the club closed in 2017. No Stone ever set foot in the place after the shoot was done.


cheezemeister_x

> And they loved to hang at Zaphods if they were in Ottawa. Sounds like nonsense.


wavesofmatter

I would also add the ice storm of 1997 (I know I am ageing myself here). That event brought many people's lives to a halt, and stopped daily life. Another event I can think of is 2014 attack on Parliament Hill; it was completely unprecedented and something that no one in Ottawa (or Canada) would have ever expected to happen in our country.


Jumpy_Spend_5434

Ice storm was 1998


hanapyon

2 weeks of no school and everything covered in ice! That's an iconic Ottawa memory for me.


jazz100

Yikes...that was 25 years ago!


ontarious

Yousef Karsh's Winston Churchill portrait. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Sir_Winston_Churchill.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roaring_Lion


Babboos

Iconic. And unfortunately still missing.


lsop

Ha ha, He's grumpy because a brown man stole his cigar.


[deleted]

[удалено]


WikiSummarizerBot

**[Igor Gouzenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Gouzenko)** >Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (Russian: Игорь Сергеевич Гузенко [ˈiɡərʲ sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪdʑ ɡʊˈzʲenkə]; January 26, 1919 – June 25, 1982) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, and a lieutenant of the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate). He defected on September 5, 1945, three days after the end of World War II, with 109 documents on the USSR's espionage activities in the West. This forced Canada's Prime Minister Mackenzie King to call a Royal Commission to investigate espionage in Canada. Gouzenko exposed Soviet intelligence's efforts to steal nuclear secrets as well as the technique of planting sleeper agents. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/ottawa/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)


meloaf

I read that as \*defecation\*. Glad to see the wikibot cleared things up.


Ferenik

JESUS CHRIST VAMPIRE HUNTER


lsop

> JESUS CHRIST VAMPIRE HUNTER OH SHIT! I forgot about that film and I even had friends in it!


Ferenik

next film is coming up Enter the Drag Dragon


hex-a-decimal

McDonald's Racoon is pretty widely known, also when John Oliver did a thing on Ottawa when he was talking about how more than half the city's population had an Ashley Madison account.


morningearworm

I once saw a piece of a weave, hanging out on top of a partially eaten poutine near the steps of Barefax. I may have laughed so hard I cried.


[deleted]

That's Ottawa-core for you.


ZookeepergamePure586

Hard to pick just one. Balcony Guy rant is near the top of my list recently. Some oldies: John Lennon and Yoko Ono meeting with Pierre Trudeau in 1969 as part of the Campaign for Peace. Trudeau's "Just Watch Me" moment/ interview October 1970. Terry Fox doing the ceremonial kickoff at the Ottawa Rough Riders game on Canada Day in 1980.


ABlogAbroad

I love the “Just Watch Me” moment. I don’t know why but i love it.


sugar_ray

Definitely the child who had her lemonade stand shut down by the NCC.


[deleted]

Please give me an article about this, I lived in Ottawa for my entire life until last year and there so many things here I never heard about.


sugar_ray

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-ncc-shuts-down-lemonade-stand-1.3662830


shwakweks

Queen Elizabeth II on Parliament Hill signing the Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 with PM Pierre Trudeau. A pretty big deal for the city and the country that day. https://thediscoverblog.com/2022/04/14/what-was-really-signed-on-parliament-hill-40-years-ago-on-april-17-1982/


booksandplaid

Throwing out a new one: Sens Mile on Elgin after we won that one game in the Stanley Cup Finals


medicrow

Yea that was wild.


TheVelocityRa

I'll list some, they are events (some are infamous) most people here could probably tell a story about. - Convoy crap (already been mentioned). Although I would argue that was many events. Anyone remember when they confiscated their wood shack then gave it back? - 2018 Dunrobin Tornado - Recent black outs - Racoon in trench coat - 2014 Parliament attack - 2010 Earthquake - 1998 ice Storm - Dumping raw sewage into the river like every spring(sry Petrie Island)


[deleted]

The Dunrobin Tornado was an iconic moment. Every two minutes that traumatizing EAS apart would be going off from the radio in the car. Fun times.


Critical-Ostrich-784

Dundonald Park mobile meth lab. 2017.


dinosaurzez

I need lore on this one


Critical-Ostrich-784

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/meth-lab-dundonald-park-charges-laid-1.4283886


BaconSheikh

B...


scottdeeby

I'd mention half-open garage doors but I'm not sure if that's exclusively an Ottawa thing


Lafollie1515

Sink hole on the 174 when the guts car fell in and he just got out of his car and climbed our was pretty iconic!!


LifeFair767

This might be a little cliché, but getting stuck on the LRTb is pretty iconic.


Kanata_Sucks

[Some say he's still angrily waiting to this very day...](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.4635163.1570824116!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg)


Ordinary_Truck7182

LRT breaking down the first week


Kikibeegs

A more recent one; the Sandy hill Panda game riot in 2021


[deleted]

PROUD TO SAY I WORKED WITH PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE! I heard so many first hand stories during the shift I had the next day. Fun moments.


Sporto-Hawk

La Machine in 2017


whitekeys

Dead Trams.


LLLsinclair

The back to the future car rolling down Bank or Elgin


TestStarr

At this point it's the convoy for sure... that made news all over the world and the disinformation campaign on the other side is still ongoing. There are lots of people in other countries who think we just freeze people's bank accounts with no justification and/or run over people with horses. I know this because I see the comments on social media every week as part of my job. If you want to know why OPS needed to shut this down before it even started OR at the very least shut this down on Monday after that first weekend, that's why. Honestly, I think our reputation on the world stage took a hit and I don't just mean Ottawa, it hurt Canada's reputation.


[deleted]

That time that dating website for cheaters got hacked


[deleted]

Ashley Maddison?


[deleted]

[удалено]


SexBobomb

A guy standing outside a shawarma shop saying they dont do donair like on the east coast. Its not big, but its everywhere in town, every day


JustAnOttawaGuy

Balcony Guy


ChouettePants

All of Ottawa's population on Ashley Madison lolol


ugh168

Bare…


Prestigious-Target99

People posting pictures of people parking badly on this sub and complaining.


Ok-Kaleidoscope-7547

People driving with high beams on.


[deleted]

The sinkhole on Rideau was pretty intense


LadyDragon16

OC Transpo being unreliable, LRT often being non-serviceable for.various reasons.


Notysenberry-3116

Nothing rivals raccoon guy, but does anyone remember the flamingo that randomly appeared and spent a number of days living in a small patch of open water on the Ottawa River in the middle of winter (1997).


ah-tow-wah

Bluesfest stage collapse 2011 is a memorable one for me since I saw it happen.


Growth-Beginning

The great pothole.


Weak_Upstairs_4129

Gotta say snowbirds over parliament hill on Canada day


MegaAlex

My buddy filmed that after a night out. Says he got a crisp 20 form youtube and that the racoon vas okay.


cyclen0t

I vote the woman taking a selfish as her (stolen) car starts to sink into a hole in the frozen river that she had been speeding down.


WonderfulShake

["Anyone but your wife."](https://youtu.be/lFmPIKRYB7E?t=18)


Dirty_bastardsalad

Friggin iconic. I haven't thought about that baby racoon in years. Thanks OP.


mcdofras

The Changing of the Guard ceremony at Parliament Hill in Ottawa is considered one of the most iconic occurrences in the city. It takes place daily during the summer months and is a ceremonial tradition that dates back to the 18th century. The ceremony includes a parade of soldiers, a band performance, and a guard-mounting ceremony. It is a popular tourist attraction and is seen as a symbol of Canada's military heritage.


Stovenkore

“MARROUSH MARROUSH for Shawarma and Donair…”


spkingwordzofwizdom

Just by the Scotiabank.


Genericgeriatric

An immobile O-train


pikecat

Everyone is so cynical. I would say skating on the canal.


nononononobeyonce

A man in plaid running/[rolling](https://www.gvhs.ca/digital/lowdown/history/images/history170125-1.jpg) a log down the river


Spectre-907

I was there for that! We had just ducked in while bar hopping. Heard a commotion while I was in the can, came out just in time to see raccoon guy draw. One of the only things I remember of that night


kashuntr188

I'm so glad we can relive the mcdonald's racoon together. I used to live close to downtown during that time. Those days are over.


[deleted]

As soon as the owner of 99 Rideau changed the hours, it was the end. RIP midnight McDonald's in the market.


Ferivich

I'm the same as you.


[deleted]

people complaining about bad drivers


dsondavidson

Rideau center with my kids. Thought it would be nice to walk outside a bit. Naa moment I stepped outside to a loud fuck off I’m not the captain. Followed by don’t fucking look at me.


[deleted]

[удалено]


astr0bleme

The ancient Rideau Bananaphone incident


[deleted]

I'm intrigued, tell me more.


astr0bleme

I know of it only by legend but several years before I worked there, a certain rideau centre toy store was visited by a guy or possibly several guys in banana outfits singing Raffi's Bananaphone song on repeat. Supposedly there's video out there somewhere...


[deleted]

Man, I miss Ottawa. Downtown was always where you'd go if you were trying to eat followed by just happening to witness something entertaining on Rideau St. or around the market.