In 2016, the Swedish Tourism Council created a single phone number that connected the caller to a random Swede for you to have a conversation with. In the 79 days it was open, almost 200,000 calls were made with a combined 367 days worth of conversations. theswedishnumber.com/
Generally speaking, a Dane speaking Danish can understand and be understood by Norwegians speaking Norwegian, and Swedes speaking Swedish. This is because the languages of Scandinavia are considered "mutually intelligible". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norβ¦
Finns werenβt originally considered βwhiteβ in the United States, they were linked to Mongols and called βChina Swedesβ due to not speaking an Indo-European Language en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defβ¦
Ara Abrahamian, Greco-Roman wrestler for the Swedes in the 2008 Olympics, lost a semifinal due to a controversial ruling. The refs refused to review match video. Ara calmly accepted the bronze medal, then placed it on the mat and walked off. The IOC gave him a lifetime ban from the Olympics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araβ¦
In 1710, Russian forces attacked the Swedes by flinging plague-infected corpses over the city walls of the capital of Estonia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisβ¦
"Hit Me Baby One More Time" was written by a Swede who meant the chorus to mean "hit me up on the phone one more time" but mistranslated it ew.com/music/2018/10/23/bβ¦
According to old danish law, any dane is entitled to beat any swede with a stick, if they try to cross ΓΆresund when its frozen. And yes, specifically with a stick. historycollection.co/40-uβ¦
In 1897, 3 Swedes attempted to be the first people to reach the North Pole. They travelled by hot air balloon but crashed after 65 hours. 33 years later, a ship discovered their camp, along with their dead bodies, journal, and camera. They'd survived for weeks by killing and eating polar bears. bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazinβ¦
Sweden and Spain got into an argument in 1434 about who was more Gothic and deserving of higher honors. The Swedes claimed direct descent from the Goths. The Spanish claimed that only lazy Goths had stayed in Scandinavia while the heroic ones conquered Spain. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotβ¦
Swedes can find out each other's salaries with just one phone call to Swedish equivalent of the IRS. The person whose information is accessed is also informed who accessed it. businessinsider.com/swedeβ¦
During the Norwegian Butter Crisis of 2011, two Swedes were arrested for illegally smuggling more than 250kg of butter into the country. The police destroyed the confiscated illegal butter. telegraph.co.uk/news/worlβ¦
Swedes use the term 'Curling Parents' for overprotective parents who - as in the ice game - sweep out all trouble in front of their kids nytimes.com/2018/10/03/opβ¦
Max Martin, a 43-year-old Swede, has co-written more #1 singles than anyone since the Beatles. His credits include "I Want It That Way", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "It's My Life", "Since U Been Gone", "I Kissed a Girl", "Shake It Off", and much more. thedailybeast.com/articleβ¦
Today I learned of MΓ€rket, a tiny island divided by the finnish-swedish border. When the finns inadvertedly built a lighthouse on the wrong side of the border, the swedes agreed to trade it for an equal spot of land on the other side, causing the border to zig-zag. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%Cβ¦
Homosexuality was still classified as an illness in Sweden in 1979. Swedes protested by calling in sick to work, claiming they "felt gay". mentalfloss.com/article/6β¦
Sweden's tourist association has create a "Call a Swede" phone number which is assigned to random de facto 'ambassadors' with no training or expectations. The goal is to provide an unfiltered view of Swedish life. adweek.com/adfreak/swedenβ¦
In 1979 swedes would call in sick for work, claiming 'they felt gay' as a protest on the fact that being gay was still considered an illness. mentalfloss.com/article/6β¦
When in 1961 the Swedes salvaged the Vasa warship, sunk in its maiden voyage in 1628, they found a statue of 20th-century Finnish runner and Olympian Paavo Nurmi, which was placed on the ship as a prank by students of Helsinki University of Technology the night before the final lift en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasβ¦
In the late 70's, in protest of homosexuality being classified as an illness in Sweden, Swedes called in sick for work with a case of "feeling a bit homosexual" translate.google.com/tranβ¦
Earlier in 2016, Sweden released a telephone number that would put you in touch with a random Swede. More than 32,000 Swedes agreed to take the calls by downloading an app, answering upwards of 180,000 calls from all over the world. poughkeepsiejournal.com/sβ¦
An Irishman called Peter Lacy is considered one of Russia's greatest generals his tactics helped to defeat the Swedes at Poltava and he managed to cross The Crimea to battle the Turks when others had failed due to his knowledge of weather and tidal patterns russianireland.com/index.β¦
Blue Swede's 1974 hit, "Hooked On a Feeling," is actually a cover of a cover song. The original, recorded by BJ Thomas in 1968, lacked the famous "Ooga-Chaka" intro. It was Jonathan King's cover version that added the memorable intro in 1971. youtu.be/Wqt_iZBvtCo
In 2013, Lufthansa offered to their Swedish customers the chance to live rent free in Berlin for a year if they legally changed their name to "Klaus Heidi". 42 Swedes did. theatlantic.com/internatiβ¦
Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" is a cover of a cover. The original was performed by B. J. Thomas in 1968 without the "Ooga-Chaka-Ooga-Chaka" intro, which was added in by Johnathan King in his 1971 cover. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooβ¦
Sweden used a tiger painted in blue and yellow as its national slogan during the second world war. The phrase "En svensk tiger" has a double meaning, it both means "A Swedish tiger" and "a Swede keeps silent" to emphasis the strategical stances of warfare. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_β¦
In 1945 14 US soldiers were quartered into a German brewery. It briefly became a 'military brewery' and supplied allied troops. 300 years before that, the Swedes did the same in the 30 Years War. schwarzbraeu.de/en/brewerβ¦
Today I learned of Eva Ekeblad (1724 β 1786), the Swede who discovered how to make flour and alcohol out of potatoes while in her early 20s. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaβ¦
Swedes make "alcohol trips" to Germany where they stuff their car with alcohol and bring it back to Sweden because it's cheaper in Germany, and German stores in Puttgarden even specialize in Scandinavian "alcohol-tourists." hejsweden.com/en/the-swedβ¦
James J. Hill, Canadian-American railroad executive, also known as "The Empire Builder", was quoted: "Give me snuff, whiskey and Swedes, and I will build a railroad to hell." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamβ¦
In 1897 three Swedes attempted to reach the North Pole via hydrogen balloon. Their remains were discovered 30 years later along with their chilling photographs and journals. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._β¦
When Swede Anna BΓ₯genholm got trapped under a layer of ice in a river for eighty minutes, her body temperature decreased to 13.7 Β°C (56.7 Β°F) β the lowest survived body temperature ever recorded in a human. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annβ¦
Traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right on 3 September 1967. Approximately 90 per cent of Swedes already drove left-hand drive vehicles at the time en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagβ¦
In 1897, a team of Swedes attempted to reach the North Pole via hot air balloon. They disappeared but decades later their remains were discovered, along with chilling photographs documenting their last days. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._β¦
George S. Patton competed in the first Modern Pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Sweden. He was highest placing non-swede at 5th place. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoβ¦
During the Christmas season in Sweden, a drink called Julmust outsells Coca-Cola products. The population of 9 million Swedes drinks 45 million liters of it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julβ¦
Danes Norwegians and Swedes can understand each other, but Norwegians understand Danish and Swedish far better than Swedes or Danes understand each other, and vice versa. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danβ¦
At the battle of Trafalgar there were 22 nationalities involved in fighting on the British side, Swedes, Norwegians, Prussians, Russians, Maltese, Italians, Africans and 361 Americans. historyhouse.co.uk/articlβ¦
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