Maps: Norway vs. Sweden (Learning America Smarter)

Link to larger size, Link to original post on dieselsweeties blog. Thanks, R Stevens and crew!

[#1 posted by loops , February 8, 2008 8:26 AM]

I love the way it says Björk for Iceland.

[#2 posted by Visa , February 8, 2008 8:59 AM]

Hey, what's this?! Santa Claus and sauna are part of Finnish heritage, not Swedish or Norwegian. Wikipedia knows it:

Santa Claus

The American version of Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, while Father Christmas is said to reside in Finland.

Sauna

A sauna (pronounced /ˈsɔːnə/, or as Finnish [ˈsɑunɑ]) is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities. These facilities derive from the Finnish sauna. The word sauna is also used metaphorically to describe an unusually hot or humid environment.

[#3 posted by steve rimjobs , February 8, 2008 9:20 AM]

Good, but I think lutefisk is Norway only. The swedes have their own scary fishdish: surstrømming.

[#4 posted by Maurik , February 8, 2008 9:21 AM]

Yeah wtf, Sauna is 100% Finnish!

But the debate of whose babes are hotter is still on going... I still think norway.

[#5 posted by romulusnr , February 8, 2008 9:23 AM]

Porn? Vodka? Naked saunas? Sounds like Sweden FTW. And you still get death metal. I can totally live with Abba in exchange for all that.

[#6 posted by vespabelle , February 8, 2008 9:25 AM]

How could they forget Norwegian lefse?

[#7 posted by nuages , February 8, 2008 9:38 AM]

Putting saunas in sweden is just plain insulting to Finn's. It's such a predominate part of Finnish culture--there being about 2 saunas for every 5 finns--especially since Sweden destroyed so much of Finnish culture when they conqured it. It was the Finns who in World War II would have a Sauna back at base camp. When they pushed the front forward they would leave someone behind to tend the stove, incase they had to fall back. The first thing they did when they succedded in moving forward and had to build a new base camp was to build a new sauna.

[#8 posted by rauz , February 8, 2008 10:02 AM]

@steve rimjobs: we eat lutefisk in Sweden too, especially around christmas.

[#9 posted by absimiliard , February 8, 2008 10:09 AM]

@Rauz,

Not as much lutefisk and us Minnesotan Swedish descendants do.

*twitch* *shudder*

Give me lefse anyday. It doesn't tarnish spoons, and I've never seen a cat throw it right back up after eating it. (which I have seen w. lutefisk)

Lefse is also actually tasty, whereas lutefisk is practically the polar opposite of tasty.

Yigg.

*twitches some more at memories of lutefisk, painful memories*

-abs

[#10 posted by greenshinobi , February 8, 2008 10:27 AM]

This is brilliant.
"Hates Sweden" is spot on when it comes to many Norwegians. Why do they hate them. As a Norwegian even I can't give you a straight answer. Only theory I got is envy.

[#11 posted by clothingoptional , February 8, 2008 10:30 AM]

Lingonberries = Cranberries for MEN!

[#12 posted by almostlucid , February 8, 2008 10:37 AM]

The Nobel prize is Swedish too.

[#13 posted by rstevens , February 8, 2008 10:44 AM]

ALMOSTLUCID: The Nobel **Peace** Prize is in Norway.

[#14 posted by mghuntb5 , February 8, 2008 10:46 AM]

Can't forget about a-ha in the Norwegian circle. Also, trolls have to be on the map somewhere.

[#15 posted by steve rimjobs , February 8, 2008 10:52 AM]

@10# Could be because the swedes ruled us for a couple of hundred years and robbed all that they could. Yeah, it could be that.
Also, you will be hard pressed to find a sane Norwegian that hates Sweden today. Its more a joke now really.

[#16 posted by Takuan , February 8, 2008 11:03 AM]

there are sane Norwegians?

[#17 posted by urso , February 8, 2008 11:39 AM]

Anyone know why "Australia" is mentioned in a Venn diagram about Northern European geography?

[#18 posted by sbutton , February 8, 2008 12:02 PM]

The Venn diagram at the right is a reference to the Australian indie-pop band "Architecture in Helsinki". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2bqsWU1R3k

[#19 posted by sd37 , February 8, 2008 12:10 PM]

I think the point is that the saunas in Sweden are Naked...or is that the sauna users?

[#20 posted by mokey , February 8, 2008 12:17 PM]

They left out my favorite Swedish export - crustcore. Sweden, Japan, and Minneapolis are numbers 1, 2, and 3 for greatest crust. To be fair, though, Norwegian metalheads fucking burn down churches. So that's pretty badass.

[#21 posted by jcar , February 8, 2008 12:32 PM]

I think a Norway vs. Kenya diagram is necessary.

[#22 posted by mannakiosk , February 8, 2008 12:34 PM]

"Lutfisk" (Swedish), "Lipeäkala" (finnish) is eaten in both sweden and finland too. "Lut" means lye, otherwise not used much in cooking, I'd presume.

Saunas in finland are more naked than in sweden. Also, finns slap themselves and eachothers with branches of birch (with the leaves on, it's very nice). Unrelatedly, Björk means birch.

The Nobel Peace prize winner is chosen by norwegians, the rest of the nobels are chosen by swedes.

[#23 posted by Jericho , February 8, 2008 12:44 PM]

They forgot Techno Viking and Swedish meatballs.

[#24 posted by mannakiosk , February 8, 2008 12:58 PM]

And about sauna. Yes, that is very much more finnish than swedish. In Finland many apartment blocks are built with a sauna in *each* flat. You're not likely to find a sauna in an apartment in sweden unless it was put there by a finn living in Sweden.

[#25 posted by Jinglefritz , February 8, 2008 1:53 PM]

Man! I thought Sweden and Norway were just other names for Denmark. Well I'll be ...

[#26 posted by Moon , February 8, 2008 2:17 PM]

The capitol of Norway is pronounced OOOO-Schloo, BTW.

[#27 posted by consideredopinion , February 8, 2008 2:29 PM]

Elements required:

Whaling habits in Norge
Another Venn bubble for Denmark
Iron ore for Sweden
At centerpoint: pan-Scandiavian cooking (and what an uncomfortable alliance that is too)

[#28 posted by Jericho , February 8, 2008 3:27 PM]

Also, Sweden is missing Skwisgaar Skwigelf, and Norway is missing Toki Wartooth.

[#29 posted by MrPeach , February 8, 2008 3:31 PM]

Hey! No PirateBay?!?!? What's up with that?

And yes, I'm wearing my yellow shirt today! ^_^

[#30 posted by Chris L , February 8, 2008 9:42 PM]

Notice the superfluous quotation marks for Europe.

(I would love to live in Björk someday.)

[#31 posted by BijouxBoy , February 8, 2008 10:02 PM]

#17: The joke is that Americans' knowledge of world geography leaves something to be desired. It's called dry wit.

[#32 posted by zuzu , February 9, 2008 1:30 AM]

What about Swedish meatballs and/or Smörgåsbord? or that Conan O'Brien thinks Sweden Sucks? or the Swedish chef muppet?

I'm happy with TPB and lingonberries though.

[#33 posted by minamisan , February 9, 2008 1:53 AM]

Can someone please do one for Germany and Austria now? because i'm not 100% sure what the differences are either. i bet i know one name that'd be in the center section, though...

[#34 posted by raisedbywolves , February 9, 2008 5:12 AM]

Hah! This is so cute.

Personally I think we need a Washington vs. Washington D.C. one in order to aid me in telling various Europeans where I come from... Here's a hint, their American geography knowledge is *not* better than our European geography...

[#35 posted by zeta , February 9, 2008 6:27 AM]

Oh yeah. While you obviously know the 15 german states by name or the 100 french departements?! Europeans at least don't confuse Austria with Australia.

Plus: What is it with naked saunas? Are you not supposed to be naked in any sauna? Isn't that part of the whole concept?

[#36 posted by BijouxBoy , February 10, 2008 12:02 AM]

Dudes and dudettes! The joke is about COUNTRY names. I.E. WORLD awareness. Not prefectures or departments or states. Kinda like the notion of New Zealand being joined to Australia with a bridge. I couldn't believe it when I met the SECOND American who wanted to drive from NZ to Aussie! But hey, who's poifikt anyways? Not me!

[#37 posted by elNico , February 11, 2008 1:51 AM]

@#33 minamisan

I think you'd find it would be Adolf AND Arnold...

[#38 posted by lolailo , February 11, 2008 3:15 AM]

Americans are so funny, I was on vacation in New England last year and several people told me:
You are Swedish, oh, you have such good cheese and chocolate over there don't you?
to which I just nodded. I don't really feel like explaining European geography and how Sweden and Switzerland are two different countries.

US Americans should be given things, such as, maps, and South Africa :)