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chrisblaalid

DID you know this about MY country?

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I want to start a fun(ish) game... Were people tell funny facts about theyr country...

Fact:

Each December Norway gives a Christmas tree to the United Kingdom as thanks for the British assistance during World War II. A ceremony takes place to erect the tree in London's famous Trafalgar Square.

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Did you know that Glendale, CA has the biggest fire station in west of the Mississipi River?

Units:

Battalion 2

Engine 21

Truck 21

Rescue 21

Water Tender 21

OES Water Tender 11

Truck 721

Engine 721

Engine 821

Rescue 721

Rescue 821

Battalion 21

Pic:

fs21.jpg

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Did you know...

Canada has the busiest highway in North America

Canada invented peacekeeping and basketball

Every year the Netherlands sends tulips to Parliament Hill as a thanks to the Canadian troops who liberated their country in WWII

Canada's entire military budget is equal to what the USA spends repairing rust on their military vehicles :happy:

canada_flag.gif:wub:

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Did you know that the Netherlands is a country? not freakin' Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is it's CAPITAL. Not a COUNTRY!

Remember that. ;)

(This is not a reply to admntrs, about that parts of the Netherlands. Canada liberated the most of the Netherlands. And Zwolle, the city where I live, was liberated by ONE Canadian soldier, Leo Major! :) )

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In Canada, our opposition leader just died

And our government still has a Governor General that is appointed and speaks on behalf of the Queen... Yeah, most Canadians don't know that, let alone the rest of the world.

Quick fact about the US also:

Money printed is not federal property, it's only loaned by the banks to them? As with most countries actually, tis the debt they keep talking about ;)

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Umm fact about Indiana...

Did you know that my home town of Schererville, IN is the Crossroads of America? People just call it that because they just drive through Indiana to 'cross over' into Illinois. Nah, it's actually where US 30 (East and West) and US 41 (North and South) meet. You can take those roads accross the country. :cool:

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Did you know that Canada has more square miles of awesomeness per person than any other country?

After visiting there every year for 5 years with scouts I'll have to agree 100% with this. The minister of healths office was a great host when the sars outbreak happen and my own country wouldn't let me back in for a week. I had the happiest scout troop in the world when they put us up in hotel and everything. rofl

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In 1873 a New Zealand newspaper published a hog-wash about the alleged outbreak of war between Russia and England, due to this Russian warship entered the port of Oakland, then attacked an English ship and captured high-ranking officials. This article has raised the country's panic, which, together with the declaration of war between Russia and Turkey, after a few years forced the government to establish a system of coastal fortifications. With this "fear of Russian" New Zealand has got seventeen forts with the latest weaponry.


In the 19th century Russian citizens knew little about the U.S., and about Americans manners had misperceptions. When in 1853 the Ministry of Education of Russian Empire has sent Joseph Hamel to America to get acquainted with the state of science, Nicholas I approved the trip, stating: "To oblige his by secret order, that he had no right to eat human flesh in America."


Only in Russian language and some languages of former Soviet republics - @ sign is called a "dog".


In many languages, a Roller coaster called "Russian mountains". Contrastingly, in Russian, they are called "American mountains".

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In Germany, Berlin-Friedrichshain exists the oldest professional firefighters HQ, over 150 years.

In Berlin-Karlshorst was the capitulation of Germany in 1945 (WW2) signed.

Karlshorst and Friedrichshain both in East Berlin.

On Potsdamer Place exists now the American Embassie, it was planned before Cold War (at Cold War Russian Zone exact at Branderburg Gate, East Berlin too).

Berlin-Tempelhof, Airport was the air bridge for allied forces by the great blockade in West Berlin (Planes called "Rosinenbomber"); now is closed for recreation. Berlin-Tegel, the second Airport of West Berlin is planned to close. Berlin-Schönefeld (East) is an update for the consolidation from this three airports.

Germany was export champion world wide.

Germany stands for quality.

Emergency-Games was invented and published in Germany. ;)

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I can't help my self :P

You know you have lived in Sweden too long when:

When a stranger on the street smiles at you, you assume:

a: he is drunk

b: he is insane

c: he's an American

d: he's all of the above

A friend asks about your holiday plans and you answer "Oh, I'm going to Europe!" meaning any other Western European countries outside the Nordic region.

3. You see a student taking a front row seat on the bus and wonder "Who does he think he is?"

4. Silence is fun.

5. Your coffee consumption exceeds 6 cups a day and coffee is too weak if there is less than 10 scoops per pot.

6. The first thing you do upon entering a bank/post office/chemist etc. is to look for the queue number machine.

7. You accept that you have to queue to take a queue number.

8. The reason you take the ferry to Finland is:

a: duty free vodka

b: duty free beer

c: to party hearty...no need to get off the boat in Helsinki, just turn around and do it again on the way back to Sweden.

9. You associate pea soup with Thursday. (You have to be Swedish or at least live in Sweden to get that one)

10. "No comment" becomes a conversation strategy.

11. You hear loud-talking passengers on the train. You immediately assume:

a: they are drunk

b: they are Finnish

c: they are American

d: all of the above

12. You give up on trying to find fat-free food and pile on the butter, cream and sugar.

13. You know how to fix herring in 105 different ways.

14. You eat herring in 105 different ways. (I hate herring)

15. Your front step is beginning to resemble a shoe shop.

16. You are no longer scared of Volvos and Volvo drivers

17. You know that "religious holiday" means "let's get pissed."

18. When you're hungry you can peel a boiled potato like lightning.

19. You have conversations with people outside when it is –10C.

20. It no longer seems excessive to spend 1,000kr on alcohol in a single night

21. It's acceptable to eat lunch at 11.00. (Isn't it?)

22. You find yourself debating the politics of the social democrats.

23. You have only two facial expressions, smiling or blank.

24. You wear warm clothing when it's 25 degrees plus in April - because it's April.

25. You wear shorts and t-shirt when it's barely 10 degrees in July - because it's July.

26. You get extremely annoyed when the bus is two minutes late.

27. Your wife watches TV while you look after the kids.

28. You've been engaged for four years and don't have any plans to get married.

29. You assume that anyone who apologieses after bumping into you is a tourist.

30. You get into a Mercedes taxi cab and think nothing of it.

31. You understand that when a colleague asks you out for "a drink," it will probably be a long night with a severe hangover the next day.

32. Seeing a young woman with lit candles stuck to her head no longer disturbs you.

33. You start to differentiate between types of snow.

34. When offered a bottle of beer the first thing you look at is the alcoholic percentage.

35. You think it is normal EVERYTHING is regulated and you obey the rules voluntarily.

36. You no longer snigger when your kids ask for a Plopp when you're out shopping.

37. Hearing the words f*ck, wh*re, shag and Swedish curses on daytime TV seems perfectly normal.

38. You expect to find the glove you dropped in February hanging on a post in June

39. Pigs say ”nerf nerf”, frogs say ”kvack, kvack” and roosters say ”kuckeliku”

40. You know that ”Extrapris” goods are cheaper, even though your English mind translates the word as ”extra price”

41.Your husband is very long instead of being very tall

42. You ringed somebody yesterday instead of you rang them.

43. You start looking at socialbidrag (welfare) less as an absolutely desperate last resort and more as a way of life.

44. You take two hour naps at work and the idea of losing your job never crosses your mind.

45. You take your shoes off when entering a house while visiting your family in Australia.

46. You think horse meat is a totally acceptable sandwich topping.

47. You are no longer offended by the fact that you are a Swedish size XL when at "home" you are a medium.

48. If a friend says that he/she would like to get together with you, you instinctively reach for your pocket calendar.

49. You own a pocket calendar.

50. You ask for a Big Mac and company outside of Sweden.

51. You say “I’m almost annoyed” when you’re as furious as humanly possible.

52. You find it completely natural that otherwise sensible people dress up in silly hats on several occasions during August while they’re eating crayfish and drinking as much vodka as they can.

53. You have no idea what "The X-files" is but you watch "Arkiv X" as soon as it's on TV.

54. A 25 % sales tax on just about everything is no big deal.

55. VD is the boss, not something you need to get medical treatment for.

56. You can use bra, fart, and slut in the same sentence without giggling.

57. You refer to weeks by their number.

58. You don't understand why your friend from Mississipi took offence when you referred to him as a yankee.

59. It's perfectly normal to hear teenage girls say "****" as a swear word.

60. You have learned how to schedule your bouts of illness so you don't get sick on weekends. Because if you do get sick on a weekend you have a hard time getting to see a doctor and you've wasted a weekend. It's much better to be sick on a Monday so you can call in sick. That way you can extend your weekend!

61. You stop thinking you're being yelled at every time you hear "Hey!"

62. It is your birthday YOU have to make the cake

63. You either run for the last pendeltåg at 1 am or choose to party on until 5 am when they start again rather than endure the horrific night bus home, as a taxi ride would require taking out a 2nd mortgage.

64. You find yourself eating bay-con for breakfast and talking about Bill Clin-ton and taking a trip to Lon-don.

65. A dime is yummy not currency

66. You know that "fan" is a swearword, and not an admirer or an air conditioner.

67. All of your conversations resemble a chess game, with each participant quietly and patiently awaiting the other to finish their turn.

68. A seven-year-old with his own mobile phone seems perfectly sensible.

69. Your wallet contains more plastic than a Hollywood superstar.

70. You can tell the difference between the different radio stations.

71. You aimlessly chat using SMS.

72. When someone asks you "Hi, how are you?" you actually take time out to explain how you are.

73. You are no longer surprised when you see full-frontal male nudity in a commercial or on TV.

74. You make fun of tourists.

75. You can pick out the real blondes from the fake blondes.

76. You learn to let the BMW's, Audi's, and Mercedes do whatever they want.

77. Paying $800,000 for a 3 room (living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen) house in a suburb of Stockholm seems cheap.

78. You accept that the best answer for a question is always "Jag vet inte" meaning "I don't know".

79. You think it's acceptable that builders start banging and hammering at 5.30am.

80. You are accustomed to every other front page headline in Expresson or Aftonbladet being about some food/drink/activity being dangerous for your health.

81. You're used to seeing dog owners picking up the dogs’ heaps in little black plastic bags.

82. You're not surprised anymore when hearing about an old petrol station being turned into a mosque.

83. You know that twenty hundred is a year, not an hour.

84. You don't even think about what you are saying when you are off to the shop to buy your favourite brand of cat food, and you say, "Be right back love, I'm just gonna go get some Pussi"

85. You think an hour and a half cycle on your washing machine is a "quick wash".

86. You talk of –10C as ”10 degrees cold”, when in Australia +10C would be considered cold. And who else calls +1C, ”one degree warm”!

87. When someone asks you for "sex" you assume they mean half-a-dozen.

88. You don´t eat the jacket on your potato.

89. Nobody fights to get the "parsons nose".

90. Your shed becomes the first stage in the recycling process and you can't get in it for bags of paper/cardboard/bottles, refundable glass/plastic, recyclable glass/plastic/ containers/etc.

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You know you have lived in Sweden too long when:

LOL =)


Wow, Russia is the biggest coutry in the world.

So what else do we have in Russia?

We have bears of course!

Lots of different bears. Some of them wear lapti and play balalayka all day long, some of them drink vodka all the time, some of them can fly, some live on the Internet, some went into politics and some are just hanging out in the streets.

We do have THE BIGGEST problems with the street bears. For they cause the greatest traffic jams ever, especially in Moscow, So we have the special bear-movement schedule and our goverment has to keep special shoulder strap werewolves on duty to control the bears.

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Did you know that the Netherlands is a country? not freakin' Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is it's CAPITAL. Not a COUNTRY!

Remember that. ;)

(This is not a reply to admntrs, about that parts of the Netherlands. Canada liberated the most of the Netherlands. And Zwolle, the city where I live, was liberated by ONE Canadian soldier, Leo Major! :) )

Thanks...I've been to the Netherlands including Amsterdam so I know a bit about it. I also know it was mostly Amsterdam they liberated, but there were other parts like you said.

Adding to Newfoundking- Did you know Canada's head of state and commander in chief is the Governor General, not Prime Minister?

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