The Canadian-est invention ever

It’s a reliable sign of the end of the Canadian winter. No, not the lengthening days, the appreciable warmth of the sun on a frosty day, not even the first day you decide you can safely leave the house in shoes rather than fur-lined mukluks. Spring is truly on the way when the already long (but impressively fast-moving) queues at Tim Hortons lengthen appreciably each year with non-regular Timmy’s fans in the first few weeks of March. It is that annual late winter rite, the Roll Up the Rim to Win contest, that brings them out of the woodwork.

I’ve been lucky so far this year, at least compared to last year when I fruitlessly rolled up more rims than I could count for bupkis. This year, I’m on my third free coffee. And you know I love free. Over the course of the year, I drink hundreds of cups of Tim Horton’s coffee, and they buy my loyalty with three free coffees a year. Not a bad strategy on their part.

But I’ve been thinking about this whole Roll Up the Rim thing. I mean, is that not the least hygenic contest you can possibly think of? I’m going to slobber all over this paper cup, then I’m going to tear off a bit and hand it over to the clerk. I’m surprised the folks at Tim Horton’s aren’t wearing latex gloves while this contest runs.

How do you roll up your rim? I’m a chewer, myself. I work my lower incisors in under the rim and do a back-and-forth kind of mastication to loosen the roll, and then pull it up. It’s not too pretty, so I try to remember to use my thumbnail and the side of my index finger, rather than my teeth, if I’m in polite company.

And then I read about this guy in this morning’s Citizen. He invented a Rimroller, “a plastic device the size of a bottle opener that cleanly slices open and unrolls a rim in one fluid motion.” They’ll be selling it at Lee Valley Tools (one of my favourite stores for gadgets and whimsical indulgences) for the most excellent and affordable price of $1.95. Get yours here!

Canadian ingenuity. Ya gotta love it.

Edited to add: Now you too can win your very own Rimroller! See this post for details.

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

9 thoughts on “The Canadian-est invention ever”

  1. We have Tim’s in Michigan. Thanks for the reminder to go this week and try to win some free coffee although I generally end up with bupkis as well.

  2. Seriously? A tool? LOL, only in Canada. I have to admit, my Timmie’s visits probably triple during RUTRTW time. So far I’ve won 3 “Please Play Again” prizes, lol. And I’m a wiggler, I use my thumbs and forefingers to wiggle the rim up.
    If it wasn’t minus a whole freakin’ lot outside, I’d be tempted to walk over to the tower for a large double-double and a lemon-cranberry muffin from the Timmie’s counter there.
    And I love Lee Valley too. I get so excited when the new catalogue comes in.

  3. I’m a little sad that there isn’t a BBQ for me not to win 43 times over during this contest. I can’t think of anything more quintessentially Canadian than the opportunity to win a backyard BBQ by chewing open a Tim Horton’s coffee cup! Except maybe winning that BBQ with while wearing fur-lined mukluks and contemplating spending your birthday in Alert Bay to watch an eclipse. And humming Tragically Hip’s “Courage.” Heyyyy, I think I’ve just come up with Tim’s next commercial. And, oddly, I have a craving for something. Can’t quite put my Lee Valley Tool on it….

  4. I use a travel mug and don’t get the cups since I work for an environmental department. It breaks my heart. Yesterday a group of us decided that Timmy Ho’s should have something akin to a roulette wheel that you can spin if you are not getting a cup with a rim. Not sure how this would play out in real life but it would be good for them to go a little more green!

  5. I’m a cup ‘squasher’… if you flatten the cup, the rim rolls up really easily ๐Ÿ™‚
    P.S. I actually *have* a Tim Horton’s bbq from a few years ago – sadly, I didn’t win it, I just knew someone who knew someone who owned a Tim Horton’s store and let me have their display model for a good deal. Sometimes I pretend I won it, though, just to make myself feel better about all the money we spend there ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. I read the same Citizen story this morning over breakfast and thought “why the heck didn’t I think of that first?” He’ll do quite well – at least in March anyway!

  7. I only ever won coffee and Food but I so want the vechile espically this years Car.
    SO I will be hitting Timmy’s every chance (and every toonie ) I get!

  8. I could’ve used this today…took me damn near everything in me to unroll that damn rim…just so it could tell me that I am a loser.

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