Hey there, it's Kathy. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to History of the 90s

early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime.

Hey there, it's Kathy. History of the 90s is off this week, but in its place, we bring you an episode

of Canadian History X hosted by Craig Baird. If you grew up in Canada in the 1990s, you probably

learned a lot about the country's

history, not in school, but on TV. That's also where you probably first developed the fear that the

smell of burning toast meant you were about to have a seizure. That's because that important

information, along with stories about Canadian inventions and disasters, was served up to you

in bite-sized history lessons called Heritage Minutes.

In the episode you're about to hear, Craig Baird shares how the owner of the Montreal Expos

funded the revolutionary idea that helped change how Canadians viewed their culture and learned

about their history.

History of the 90s will be back in two weeks with a brand new episode.

Until then, please enjoy Canadian History X.

It was sometime in summer in the early 1990s.

I took a break from whatever yard work or farm work I was doing,

and I sat down with my lunch in front of my TV.

I don't remember what I was watching. It's been 30 years after all. But when the show went to commercial, my life changed.

This commercial was not selling something I could buy in the store. Instead, it advertised Canada's

history. Thinking back to that day, I believe it was the story of James

Naismith and the birth of basketball. In it, a janitor climbs up to get a ball from a basket

and laments the task of getting the ball. When it suggested that a hole be cut in the bottom,

...