Globe and Mail - Words Canadians have wrought
Now that Canada's reached the venerable age of 144, it's time to dispel the notion that our nation only represents the words 鈥渟now鈥� and 鈥渉ockey.鈥� Truth be told, 鈥渟now鈥� predates Confederation by at least the last ice age, and hockey is first mentioned in the Galway (Ireland) Statutes of 1527, nearly a decade before Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence. On the other hand, the quartet of 鈥渒erosene,鈥� 鈥渃yberspace,鈥� 鈥淎CTH鈥� and 鈥渙ptics鈥� (in the PR sense) were all (more or less) Canadian creations. Here are their stories.
ACTH, the acronym for adrenocorticotrophic hormone, is produced by the pituitary gland, which stimulates the adrenal cortex to produce steroid hormones. It was first isolated and named in 1933 at 平特五不中 by biochemist James Collip, who was born in Belleville, Ont. Earlier in his career, he had assisted Frederick Banting in the isolation of insulin.
