Whoever said that TV rots your brain couldn’t have been more wrong. Watching the second season of The Amazing Race Canada has taught me a thing or two about our fabulous country. Read on for a few quick facts about the land we call home. 1. Calgary is home to North America’s fastest zipline. Located at the WinSport Canada Olympic Park, the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics, the zipline begins at the top of a 90-metre ski jump tower. Riders reach speeds of 120 kilometres per hour on the 500-metre ride that includes a 100-metre drop. 2. There are 300,000 Canucks who call Hong Kong home. The race took contestants abroad for the first time in series history this season with a flight to Hong Kong (courtesy Air Canada, natch). While completing a series of challenges in the city, contestants were among 300,000 other resident Canadians (not to mention countless Canuck tourists) who comprise a portion of the Hong Kong’s population of more than seven million people. 3. The Royal Canadian Mint manufactures coins on behalf of 72 nations. The Royal Canadian Mint, located in Winnipeg, produces upwards of 20 million coins every day. Not only does the plant manufacture Canadian currency, over the years it has produced currency from 72 countries around the world including Spain, Costa Rica, Portugal, Brazil, Czech Republic, Bahamas, Philippines and United Arab Emirates. 4. We lost 359 Canadian soldiers from across the country on Juno Beach. In the episode “Lest We Forget,” teams raced to Normandy, where they visited the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, the final resting place for 2,044 Canadian soldiers who died during the Second World War’s Battle of Normandy. The historical journey later took racers to Juno Beach, the shores stormed by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day of June 6, 1944. The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. Photo courtesy Bell Media