After almost a decade, the Historica-Dominion Institute is bringing back the Heritage Minutes, beginning tonight at 6 p.m. First introduced in 1991, the one-minute short films were the ultimate Coles Notes of Canadian history, highlighting iconic Canuck milestones — from the naming of Canada to the 1972 Summit Series — and holding a special place in Canadians’ hearts (mostly because of all the bragging rights). Below, our five favourite minutes from the past.

 

Sam Steele bars an unruly American from entering the Yukon

Admittedly, we’re still not even sure who Sam Steele is, but we do know he was one badass mofo who stared guns down with his piercing — one might say, even steel — gaze, and made us proud that we were living on this side of the border.

 

Jennie Trout becomes Canada’s first woman doctor

Dr. Jennie Trout proved she had brains as well as brawn (and kinda scared the bejesus out of us, especially with that rip!). We still think it’s pretty funny how these guys called women “the weaker sex” but got all scared when she threatened to tell their wives on them.

 

Dr. Wilder Penfield makes important discoveries in neuroscience

We know Dr. Penfield’s discovery was amazing, but the nostalgia of growing up chanting “burnt toast…I smell burnt toast!” to our annoyed parents means a little more to us. (Also, we like to think that this clip was the precursor to Nic Cage’s burnt toast freakout.)

 

Laura Secord aids the British in the War of 1812

Let’s face it: without this heritage minute, we’d still be thinking that Laura Secord was just the chocolate store where your grandma bought those giant creme eggs at Easter time.

 

Joe Shuster creates Superman

It was a pretty cool moment for us when we realized the Man of Steel was a Canadian creation. Through Joe Shuster’s palpable excitement and vision for his caped crusader, we could feel the thrill of the possibility for our own so-called outlandish dreams coming true.