You want to return what? Finnish library book checked out over 100 years

by Anna Brones on

If you have a tendency to rack up late fees at your local library, you might want to consider moving to Finland. In the southern town of Vaanta, a library-goer recently returned a book that had been checked out for over 100 years. The person who returned it chose to remain anonymous — possibly deterred by the note on the book which stated there was a 10 penny per week charge for late returns. The library did not state whether it would have charged a fine or not. The book was a bound copy of a 1902 volume of Vartija, a religious monthly periodical.

Finland has an extensive library system, with more than 900 libraries for the 5.3 million inhabitants. I wonder how many more Finns have old books hiding out at home.

What strange things have been found on planes?


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Feeling thirsty? Go to Finland

by Jerry Guo on

Tap water in Finland is much purer than many brands of bottled water. A report by the Finnish National Public Health Institute claims that bottled water (13 Finnish brands and 5 foreign brands) contained as much as 100 times more germs than regular tap water.

The explanation is that with bottled water, there’s an “expiration date” as the longer water sits in a bottle, the more likely it’s going to get contaminated with microbes. Mineral water can help with the purity–the bicarbonates in it inhibit bacteria.

I wonder how Finnish tap water compares with Fiji water, which several publications have revealed is extremely damaging to the environment to produce and transport. I think this goes to show that in when you’re traveling in a first-world country, forget about the bottled water. It might just turn out to be good for your health too.

Straight-up Scandinavia: Learning the language of IKEA

by Anna Brones on

I find that either you love IKEA or you hate it; you can probably ascertain my own leanings by the fact that I am writing this article. Coming from a Scandinavian family, we have friends who used to have stuff shipped from Sweden to the US before the store made its American debut — some people are just truly committed. But seriously, the company’s basic idea was pretty cutting edge back in the 50s when it started designing furniture. “Affordable solutions for comfortable living,” as the company’s motto goes, went along with flat pack and consumer assembled pieces. How intelligent to reduce costs by reducing the volume of a piece of furniture.

IKEA is a Scandinavian institution gone global, and despite whether you love it or hate it, you are bound to end up with one of its products at some point. I mean really, who can resist sleek Scandinavian design? And when you do find yourself with that Nordic sofa, bookcase, or lamp, you might be interested to know exactly what all of the funny names mean. Pyssla, Svala, Visdalen, Gök? Although it may seem like a jumble of Viking vowels, there is some method to the madness. IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kamprad was actually dyslexic, and he found that developing a system where products were named after places and things made it easier for him to remember them. Learning Swedish is great, but learning IKEA? Even better. A guide to deciphering the system that defines the IKEA language, thanks to a little help from the The Guardian:

Scandinavia unite:
Sofas, coffee tables, bookshelves, media storage and doorknobs — I agree, that last one is random — are named after places in Sweden; beds, wardrobes and hall furniture after places in Norway; and carpets after places in Denmark. And don’t think Finland gets left out; Finnish cities and places are the namesake for dining tables and chairs.
In the kitchen
Kitchens themselves — no, cooking in an all-Scandinavian setting does not require you to make meatballs — are normally named after Swedish grammatical terms. Going with the theme of cooking, kitchen utensils are named after spices, herbs, fish, fruit or berries. And just because Scandinavians are such believers in functional things, great words like Burken (meaning “the jar”) describe a line of spice jars.

Vad heter du? What’s your name?
Men’s names tend to go to chairs and desks while materials and curtains are women’s names. My mother has a nice set of place mats and chair pads named after her. I however, with a standard Scandinavian name like Anna, am far too common and get nothing.

Keeping the kids amused
IKEA’s great kids selection — I always get sucked in by the fun colors and random assortment of crazy stuffed animals — are named after mammals, birds and adjectives.

If you think you have all of that down, and have mastered the list of Scandinavian places and words, you can play the IKEA Game, where IKEA product names are picked at random out of a database and your job is to guess what the product is.

And if you are one of those IKEA-dreading individuals, you might want some help with IKEA survival during your next visit.

Straight-up Scandinavia: Reindeer and a national holiday up north

by Anna Brones on

In the far north of Sweden lies Lapland, a place known for snow, the summer midnight sun, and lots reindeer. This is the land of the Sami people and today, February 6th, marks the yearly, festive celebration of their national holiday.

An indigenous group of northern Europe, the Sami inhabit large parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. They are known for their reindeer herding, a traditional occupation that has been handed down over generations. Unfortunately this year’s big holiday celebration is marked by a reindeer crisis; almost all of the grazing grounds having been declared disaster zones. Excess snow has led to much of the winter pasture land being inaccessible to the reindeer, and all but two Sami villages have had to apply for catastrophe aid.

The Sami are a strong people however — how else could you cope with almost all day winter darkness? — and despite the dreary reindeer situation, festivities are not being put on hold. Jokkmokk’s yearly market is a center of activity as people from around the region, both young and old, gather to sell traditional crafts to the hordes of tourists that flock in for the occasion. For this northern part of Europe that is stereotypically known for its calm and reserved personalities, the national holiday is an energized event. Elin-Anna Laber was quoted in The Local as saying, “Jokkmokk’s market is sort of a Sami equivalent to Milan fashion week.” Who knew the far north could be so crazy?

Why the Finnish are such smarty-pants

by Jerry Guo on

Why is it that some relatively minor country always wins out over Japan or Germany or the UK (the US doesn’t have a chance) for having the brightest kids in the world? This year, it’s Finland. Hong Kong came in second. Both economies barely make a dent when it comes to global superpowers, yet they’ve managed to churn out quite a number of smarty-pants.

For Finland, the clue lies in an educational system where there’s no such thing as tuition and high school students receive freebies like meals and books. Still, it’s a bit surprising that not more Asian countries are topping this list, considering how hard students are pushed there. For instance, it’s not unusual for kids in China to begin studying for the college entrance exam in 7th grade. And that’s if the kid’s somewhat of a beach bum.

The list was based on testing high schoolers in each of the countries. What that made me think about was exactly how much fun and leisure time students from these countries have? Is it just me or does it seem that the Fins still manage to throw some good parties? Kind of interesting they’re so smart without seeming like bookworms.