The 17th of May 1814 was the day when Norway was officially declared as an independent country and the Constitution of Norway was signed by 112 officals. Today we celebrate that Norway is a country of freedom and independence! Therefore, I want to share twenty-five interesting facts about Norway. Enjoy! 1. King Harald of Norway vowed to remain unmarried for life unless he could marry his true love, who was the daughter of a cloth merchant. They both later married with help from the Government of Norway and she became the Queen of Norway. 2. Norway has the World’s biggest sovereign fund, where it has been saving almost all the money it gets from the sale of oil and is worth almost a trillion dollars. 3. Norway introduced salmon sushi to the Japanese. 4. Norway has very strict rules on advertising cars as “green” – saying “cars can do nothing good for the environment except less damage than others”. 5. Norway has a minimum security island-prison where inmates are almost free to do as they wish. The criminals prisoned there are among Norway’s worst, but it has the lowest rate of re-offending in Europe, if not the world. 6. Norway gets 98-99% of its electricity from hydroelectric power, more than any other country. 7. Norway stopped investing money into Walmart after determining that the company is guilty of “serious violations of fundamental ethical norms.” 8. The relative number of English speakers is higher in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands than it is in Canada. 9. Sweden is so good at recycling, it now runs out of garbage to recycle and now imports garbage from Norway to fuel its energy programs. 10. Dying is illegal in Longyearbyen, Norway because the town’s small graveyard stopped accepting bodies after discovering the permafrost prevented the bodies from decomposing. 11. The archipelago of Lofoten in Norway is north of the Arctic Circle. Yet because of the largest positive temperature anomaly in the world relative to latitude, it is teeming with life and has the largest deep water coral reef in the word. 12. The people of Oslo, Norway donate the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree in London every year in gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during WWII. 13. To encourage more men to assume a greater share of care-giving responsibilities, Norwegian law states that 14 weeks of parental leave is reserved for fathers. Norway is the first country to introduce compulsory paternity leave. 14. In 2008, Norway knighted a penguin. 15. It is illegal to spay or neuter your dog in Norway except under specific circumstances regarding health, quality of life, or utility. 16. Voss water is just water from the municipal water supply in Iveland, Norway. 17. In 1999, Norway granted refuge to an U.S. drug smuggler because the Norwegian Supreme Court declared that U.S. prisons do not meet “minimum humanitarian standards.” 18. In 1251, Henry III of England was given a polar bear by the King of Norway. He kept it in the Tower of London, on a long chain so that it could swim in the Thames. 19. In 2011, Norway went through a nationwide butter shortage, where smugglers would often get caught smuggling butter and online auctions for one packet of butter reached as high as $77. 20. IKEA names sofas, coffee tables, bookshelves, media storage and doorknobs after places in Sweden; beds, wardrobes and hall furniture after places in Norway; carpets after places in Denmark and dining tables and chairs after places in Finland. 21. The former Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg used to play Age of Empire as “Steklov”, his KGB code name. 22. In Norway, income and wealth are public record, easily viewable online. 23. The popular 90’s energy drink ‘SURGE’ can still be bought in Norway under the name ‘URGE’. 24. During the Nazi invasion of Norway, the Norwegian King was defended by some members of a local rifle club. 25. Norway has won the largest number of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals of all countries in the Winter Olympics. What do you think about the facts above? Do you have any other fun facts about Norway? Use this thread to celebrate the Norwegian Constitution Day! At the end, I want to wish Norway and all Norwegians a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Is the Steklov thing a joke? Because I was good mates with a person by that name on Age of Empires...
That moment when Norway is better than you... But seriously... #10 Dying is illegal? Do the corpses get charged? What happens to their bodies. I have questions! Questions that need answering! Also - My google translate attempt at Norwegian: Gratulerer med dagen! (that should mean Happy birthday but frankly I have no idea).
Happy Norwegian Independence Day! These facts are awesome, who knew Japan was not the original home of salmon sushi.
The bodies get flown over to the mainland in Norway. So do also those who are dying. Yes, "Gratulerer med dagen" is indeed correct! Great Google Translating-skills Daphnia!
:lol: :lol: :lol: You guys knighted a penguin?!?! :shock: Some very interesting facts. I'm starting to think I was born in the wrong country :lol:
Wow! What an effort for those bodies! It would be sad to have to die way from the island tho, if you had lived there for your entire life. Thanks for the answer chocolate. My next question is about income and wealth being publicly viewable. What sort of impact does that have in society? People don't use it to tease each other? Do scammers use it to target the wealthy?
I heard norway was nice. But then i hear it's tailing behind Sweden and Germany. Awesome thread nevertheless OP! I learned a few new things about Norway today!