We have a few members from Sweden. Things you didn't know about us/our country. - The population of the entire country is only about 9 million over a 450,000 km2 land area (London has 7 million people over only 1500 km2. New York more people than total population of Sweden.) - Alfred Nobel, a Swede who invented dynamite - The countryside is empty and stunningly beautiful - When you go into a Swedish home you take your shoes off - Beer comes in three strengths; low, medium and high alcohol content - IKEA (Ingvar Kamprad - founder of IKEA) - H&M (cloth store) - ABBA, Roxette (pop group) - Volvo, Saab - A few celeberties from Sweden: Victoria Silverstedt, Malin Åkerstrom, Stellan Skarsgard, Björn Borg, Anita Ekberg, Greta Garbo, Dolph Lundgren, Peter "Foppa" Forsberg, Peter Stormare, Marcus Schenkenberg, Max Martin, Elin Nordegren (Wife to the golfplayer Tiger Woods) - The cars must stop for you when you cross the street as a pedestrian. - Everyone drives with their headlights on all the time - You drive on the right, and all passengers are required to wear seatbelts - Schools in Sweden are free of charge, from primary school to university level. - There is no toll fee on the highway. - Nature is available for everyone in Sweden. This right is called the “right of public access”. But it comes with a responsibility as well; Don't disturb - don't distroy. - You can drink the water directly from the tap everywhere in Sweden. - Alfred Nobel was Swedish. Nobel Prize winners are awarded during a ceremony in Stockholm on 10th December every year. - Stockholm is Europe's Green Capital 2010. - By the early 1900s, 1.2 million Swedes had emigrated to USA. Today there are about 10 million people of Swedish heritage in the USA. - Sweden is considered the third largest exporter of music in the world - Sweden is the second largest consumer of coffee in the world, following Finland.apa - Meatballs - Carl von Linné (1707-1778) is probably the most famous Swede of all times. He was a botanist, physician and zoologist and laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclatur (family name and species) plants and animals which today is used all over the world - There are 300,000-400,000 moose in Sweden. These can cause severe car accidents and a popular road sign is the "warning of moose" sign. Each autumn, the Swedes engage in moose hunting and approximately 100,000 are killed each year. - 7.5% of all Swedes play golf (600,000 people). There are 500 courses in Sweden - The home of incredibly hot girls, mostly blondes. - Sweden is the country that, in proporton to its GNP, gives most money to other countries as development aid - The country produces 80 per cent of the world’s production of fermented herring. - Swedes suck at customer service - Taxes are sky high - Fuel prices are very high - A significant minority of Swedes dispose of their dead pets by flushing them down the toilet. - Mobile phone Sony Ericsson comes from Sweden ------------------ I'm sure there are more intresting facts about us
Thank you for all the interesting facts! Indeed a beautiful country (from what I have seen in the media/satellite TV & internet):t-cheers: I was/is fascinated with the Scandinavian county's! Clean, mostly dust free and oh-so beautiful.:eusa_danc Also glad to hear that RSA is not the only country with SKY-HIGH fuel prices:t-banghea We definitely beat you in the taxing department, SA is the most taxed country on this beautiful planet of ours Volvo, ABBA & Nokia :eusa_clap
God bless high taxes, seriously. I wish they were higher! And the blondes of course! Another fact: Swedes will rather stand than sit next to someone on the bus. Sunny, what's wrong with IKEA?
Well, he must be doing something right. Afterall he is one of the richest people in the world (Ingvar Kamprad , founder of IKEA) "IKEA Founder Ingvar Kamprad made headlines in early 2004 when Swedish business magazine Veckans Affarer reported that he had surpassed Bill Gates as the world's wealthiest person. While IKEA's unconventional ownership structure makes this the matter of some debate, there is no doubt that IKEA is still one of the largest, most successful privately held companies in the world, with over 200 stores in 31 countries, employing over 75,000 people and generating over 12 billion in sales annually. - In 2009 his Net Worth: $22 billion"
^ Sorry, Finland:eusa_doh: Nokia, Mikka Hakkinen, Kimi Riakonnen etc. We supply SISU Diesel (Swedish) parts in our range as dealer for AGCO, now that is a superior diesel engine which already comply with Tier 4 regulations With Land based engines, Marine engines, Propulsion engines and Gen. Power. IMO the cleanest industrial diesel engines currently available.
^ We do get our stock through Swedish supply chain, so then the country of origin is Finland!? Oh my! I suppose some components and parts are manufactured in Sweden or some of the logistics are done from there.
Just Me, I am sure I could research this but I'd prefer to get an answer directly from a local, like you. How is the weather there year round? I'd presume it gets very very cold, but what are summers like?
And freakin' expensive! But, apart from the relativily cold weather, it's the only Swedish 'disadvantage' I can think of.
