8 Things You Need To Know For August 26

We did it; happy Friday — Andrew from Narcity here! ☕

Off The Top: Texas thieves made off with a Swarovski-crystal-encrusted vibrator valued at $10,000 USD — and I'm thinking that's probably for the best; that device is an incredibly painful injury waiting to happen.

In Case You Missed It

1. The World's Coolest City Is In Canada & So Is No. 14

We're all well aware how cold Canada can be but it may surprise you to learn how cool it is, too. After surveying over 20,000 readers, Time Out has released its list of the world's 33 coolest streets — and not only is Canada one of only a few countries boasting multiple entries, Montreal's Rue Wellington secured the top spot (!!), beating out some of the world's most beautiful and bustling boulevards. Here's MTL Blog's Thomas MacDonald to break down Time Out's rationale for the lofty superlative.

• What Else? Coming in at No. 14 on the list is Toronto's Ossington St. Mira Nabulsi has the deets here — though it's odd that both she and Time Out neglected to mention that a certain newsletter writer lives right off the strip.

2. Unexpected Allies Emerge In The Lisa LaFlamme Fallout

In the days following Lisa LaFlamme's shocking ouster as chief anchor at CTV News, national brands have launched ads that allude to one of the reported reasons for her ouster: that the 58-year-old dared to let her hair gracefully revert to its natural grey. As Sarah Rohoman reports, Dove Canada doesn't mention LaFlamme by name in a new campaign about women in the workplace with greying hair, but Wendy's Canada does cite LaFlamme in a tweet featuring its mascot with grey hair in lieu of it's trademark red locks.

• My Take: This bodes well for my career-long ambition of having Dr. Pepper Canada sponsor my receding hairline.

3. The Most Underrated Things To Experience In Vancouver

Vancouver might not be home to any of the world's coolest streets (according to some lists, anyway) but Canada's west coast metropolis still has plenty going for it. However, feel free to avoid the tourist traps altogether, Ashley Harris advises. Instead, check out some of these local recommendations for underrated attractions and hidden gems — including an alternative to the perpetually packed Granville Island.

HEY YOU! You should sign up for the email version of the Canada Morning Brief right here. It's better than this version. Trust me.

What Else You Need To Know Today

🎉 HOLIDAYS
Happy National Dog Day and National Toilet Paper Day. It's not entirely clear why someone felt the need to invent a day to commemorate a personal hygiene product that everyone already uses without much thought or protest but there you go.

🎵 NOW PLAYING
"Hold Me Closer," the long-awaited track from Britney Spears and Elton John — which is a re-imagining of the latter's "Tiny Dancer," in the same vein as Dua Lipa and Elton's "Cold Heart" — has officially dropped. It's Britney's first new track in six years and she marked the occasion by deleting her Instagram.

🏜️ SAND-SKATCHEWAN
Did you know that southern Saskatchewan is home to 1,900 square kilometres of sand dunes that literally look like a scene out of The Mummy? Katherine Caspersz makes the case for visiting the Great Sandhills.

📌 JOB BOARD
Listen up, grapplers, cage-fighters, kung fu masters, circus strongmen, stunt people and all other purveyors of cartoonish pugilism: an upcoming docuseries project produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is looking for talent to play real-life wrestling stars of old, Patrick John Gilson writes.

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Bearded baller James Harden turns 33 years old today. Hometown Toronto Maple Leafs veteran Wayne Simmonds is 34. John Mulaney has been circling the sun for 40 years (and doing that great Law & Order: SVU bit for at least a decade). Chris Pine and Macaulay Culkin, which would be a really weird buddy cop movie, were both born on this day 42 years ago. Melissa McCarthy is 52.

Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — the newsletter that sincerely believes that a Macaulay Culkin renaissance is possible.

Let me know your top three breeds of dog at andrew.potter@narcity.com (or harangue me on Twitter if you'd like).

Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here Monday to help close out August.