Lost the May game

The maypole is hugely popular in Sweden and you can't have a summer without a maypole. In Denmark the tradition has mostly died out and been replaced with the Saint Hans fire, but there's still a few areas where you can find maypoles in Denmark, and a lot of those places have a "catch the flag" tradition.

On some nights young guys from neighboring towns are allowed to try and steal it, so other young men have to guard their maypole, while another team sneaks over to the other town. Fighting isn't allowed, so stealth is everything and it's all in good fun.

I asked a bunch of Swedes and non of them had ever heard of this tradition in Sweden, so it seemed fitting to have Denmark steal Sweden's maypole.

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Lazy Lady

There has been a bit of a problem with Denmark deporting people from other Scandinavian countries if they're pregnant and don't have a spouse or the like in Denmark. This law was meant for people with disabilities or those who are too old to work, and unfortunately it also hits pregnant people sometimes if their home country is safe, and especially if they come from another Nordic country.

This is because people get a lot of monetary support if they are unable to work, so the Danish state can't afford to support people who aren't citizens or have no family connections within the country.

It's super weird that pregnant people are sometimes effected by the law though.

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Just in case

Lego recently launched their first bio bricks and have plans for years.

Meanwhile: Norway is working on their "Doomsday" seed vault.

(Our store is back for 1 month!) Store

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Written by Dayvi
Illustrated by Jenny

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Could have been Matt Damon

NASA asked some Swedish scientists what to do with a dead person on Mars, and this is what they came up with.

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Every time

Every time someone talks about free this or that in the Nordic countries an American will pop his head up and yell "It's paid for with your taxes" without fail.

The thing about people not having to live on the street. Of course we have homeless people, but the system is such that you pretty much have to choose to live on the street. I once worked with a guy who also worked with homeless people and he told me that the people you see on the street are the ones who can't handle being part of society at all. The government doesn't want people to live on the street and there's help to be had, but some people just can't cope with modern life. Living in a house means you have responsibilities like bills and if you have a mental illness someone shows up at your place every week expecting you to take your pills, and that's too much for some people so they just leave. The guy didn't say any of this with any kind of judgment btw. He understood why some people might choose to turn their back on society.

I have friends and family with mental health problems who can't work and some can't be trusted to save money for bills, so the government make sure to put some of the money they receive every month aside for them so they can pay rent and won't have to go without heat or water. They try to keep a roof over everyone's head.

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It's tradition

It's important to keep traditions alive...

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Thanks Ingvar

Thanks Ingvar Kamprad. You furnished most of my home.

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Someone for Everyone

There's this "loud obnoxious American tourist" stereotype. Obnoxious? Rarely. Loud? Yes, every time. A lot of Americans who come to Scandinavia comment on how silent it is, while the Scandinavians around them are thinking "It's not silent. You're just talking so loudly you can't hear the crowd around you"

Luckily for American's there's always the Icelandic people. This isn't a stereotype as such, but anyone who has lived next to Icelandic people know how loud they can be (and I have lived next to MANY), so it's no wonder that Americans tend to love them. Icelandic people also tend to be more "walk up and talk to people" types which fits the American culture quite nicely.

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I'm Batman!

In Sweden Batman is called Läderlappen which translate to The Leather Patch. Originally Denmark used this name too where it could be translated as The Leather Flap (as in piece of cloth), taking it directly from the Swedish word, but it has since gone out of style. So yeah, I suppose Sweden should be saying Leather Patch but Leather Flap is so much funnier.

In Norway he was known as Lynvingen, The Lightning Wing, for a while.

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When cultures meet

Anyone who has been to a Far Eastern country can tell you that it's considered incredibly disgusting to blow your nose in public. Oddly enough it's not looked down upon to sneeze loudly with an open mouth or spit on the street in places like South Korea.

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