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Not long ago, it was revealed that our unassuming Canadian passport has a pretty rocking alter ego: Hidden within its elegant sepia-toned page designs are hidden additions that turn it into a full-on party-in-your-hand when they are revealed under a blacklight! Each page’s invisible elements and vibrant colours are only exposed when they are exposed themselves  – it’s a graphic ‘fireworks party’ colourful enough to be Katy Perry-worthy. And at the same time, how very typical of us Canadians – conservative and straight-up on the outside, and one big party underneath just waiting to happen.

But I recently learned about another one of our government-issued surprises, and it has to do with our money. While other currencies around the world may have been around longer, and some would argue have prettier designs, Canada’s newest banknotes have their own claim to fame – and it is one of our best kept secrets – until now, that is.

When Canada introduced its latest version of banknotes several years ago, the designs incorporated a couple of pieces of new technology: made from a new material for starters, these polymer notes are more durable, and with the holographic imagery, even more difficult to counterfeit. And because the material itself is transparent, it allowed for a ‘window’ in every bill. In fact, these new notes were so high-tech, that our most famous astronaut, Chris Hadfield, secretly packed one of the new $5 bills into his space wallet and waited months before he officially unveiled its design to the country, all while aboard the international space station.

Chris Hadfield flew up to the space station with a new $5 bill, to unveil several months later.

Chris Hadfield flew up to the space station with a new $5 bill, to unveil several months later.

But the most impressive technology comes from that transparent design element within the bill itself:  the unprinted polymer film that looks like a ‘window’ actually functions as a magnifying glass!

20 bill2

I didn’t believe it when I heard it, until I took out a few bills and did a test. Sure enough, when I held the 20 dollar bill over some text, it actually magnified it. (which would have come in really handy had I known this a few days earlier, because I couldn’t read a restaurant bill having left my glasses at home)

But it gets better….I pulled out another bill, a $50 dollar one, to see if it worked on that one as well, and it seemed that the higher the denomination, the greater the magnification.

50 over book

The 50 had an even stronger magnifying effect than the smaller bills.

The 50 had an even stronger magnifying effect than the smaller bills.

Experimenting a little further, I realized that if you flipped the bill over and looked through the transparent window from the reverse side, the polymer actually reduced the size of whatever was underneath, just like a normal magnifying glass.

Curious and impressed, I did further research, trying to discover what the reason was behind the magnifier window, and after digging through government websites (no easy task), I found it buried in their actuarial and census recommendations: apparently, because of the increasing number of ‘grownups’ in Canada, (read ‘aging population’) the banknotes were designed to do exactly what I could have used them for in the restaurant (i.e. magnifying type when glasses aren’t readily available).

How GREAT an idea is this!

[especially for an April Fool’s Joke! Have a fun day!]

Jane with Hat Tanzania

Jane Canapini is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada and the North American Travel Journalists Association. She established GrownupTravels.com in 2014 to share information and tips based on personal experience so her readers could get the most out of their travels.

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