Ever wonder who the most famous Canadian is? Researchers at MIT have deduced — by entirely scientific means — that it is Avril Lavigne.
A recently launched Massachusetts Institute of Technology online research project proposes to quantify fame throughout history, with an interactive website called Pantheon.
Researchers have collected data on people from 4,000 B.C. to 2010 who had a Wikipedia entry under their name in more than 25 languages. According to MIT researchers, longevity helps. So do tangible achievements more than wealth.
The world's who's who through time is fun to play with — it's categorized and cross-referenced by place of birth and domains of fame. While painters, philosophers and scientists top many lists, Avril Lavigne, Jim Carrey, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion and Pamela Anderson make up the top five famous Canadians in Pantheon rankings.
There are 121 Canadians over all who made the list, including writers (Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen), politicians (Stephen Harper, Pierre Elliott Trudeau), athletes (Wayne Gretzky, Terry Fox) and even porn stars (Sunny Leone, Shyla Stylez).
Pantheon's top 10 famous Canadians:
1. Avril Lavigne
2. Jim Carrey
3. Justin Bieber
4. Celine Dion
5. Pamela Anderson
6. Leonard Cohen
7. Michael J. Fox
8. Bryan Adams
9. Frank Gehry
10. Nelly Furtado
