— what’s your damage?

31.10.2023

30.09.2023

31.08.2023

— which is the northernmost ferry connection between sweden and denmark?

31.07.2023

— what is the name of the world famous patisserie in vienna?

30.06.2023

— where are europe's only wild monkeys?

There is a large population of Barbary Macaques on the rocks of Gibralter in the south west of Europe, making them the only monkey native to Europe. Barbary Macaques once ranged right across Europe. [Wild Ireland]

31.05.2023

— what was the city of new york originally called?

29.04.2023

— on which building sits big ben?

Some of the United Kingdoms’s most famous buildings are Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge – and Big Ben. The structure is an icon of British culture and is one of the country’s most prominent symbols. What is not usually not thought about is that we use “Big Ben” as the name for both the tower and its biggest bell. The largest bell is formally known as the Great Bell or the Great Bell of Westminister. Therefore, the question is, on which building sits Big Ben?

11.03.2023

— in which swedish local newspaper did a notice about a burning piece of paper become a talking point?

IN LATE AUGUST 2012 A notice was published in the Swedish local newspaper Smålands-Tidningen. This is what is said:

A piece of paper burned in Nässjö NÄSSJÖ A piece of paper lying on the ground burned in central Nässjö on Friday evening. Someone had lit the piece of paper on fire and left it on the ground. The burning paper was found and extinguished by a person who lived in a nearby house. (Smålands-Tidningen, aug. 2012) (Text translated by author)

If you had a Facebook-account in late 2012 and if you were a Swede, the chances of you seeing this in your feed was pretty big. This notice, according to Swedish newspaper Resumé (2012), had been shared thousands of times on different social medias. 

Resumé och Expressen (2012) – another Swedish newspaper – both contacted Smålandstidningens editor-in-chief and publisher Mats Ottosson. In the interview with Expressen Ottosson explained the publishing of the notice was a mistake. “[...] we must publish things that are relevant and of course, it is not a burning piece of paper. Something like this is never meant to be in the paper.”

However, the question is how was this published? Ottosson’s answers the question in the two before-mentioned articles. In the Resumé article, he said the text was a “classic local newspaper miss” as a result of the summer’s news drought. But, in the Expressen article, he means it had nothing to do with news drought, while at the same time clapping back at other news media.

25.02.2023 | 0.5k words

— in which children's books are there "mucklor"?

“MUCKLORNA” – IN ENGLISH KNOWN AS “mucks” – was created by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist (1946–) for his children’s books of Pettson och Findus in 1984. The books are about a man, his cat and their adventures on a farm. The creatures have existed in every book, but it was until När Findus var liten och försvann (2001) the name mucklor was used. 

What a muckla is, is not entirely known. As depicted by the books, mucklor are small animals, usually, they stand on their hind legs, have long ears and a long nose, and a tail. Their fur (?) can vary in colour: green, orange and red are some examples. It can be suggested that “mucklor” is the name for their species, as when two mucklor are talking to each other they mention their names, Plums and Kuling. 

A thing that is interesting about the creatures is that Findus – besides the reader – is the only one who can see them. Pettsson cannot, which has created some problems as mucklor likes to steal Pettsson’s socks for fun. The mucklor never seems to speak or affect the story either, although they are often seen hiding on every page. In fact, the only book in the series where they actually do interact with the story is in the before mentioned När Findus var liten och försvann (2001).

The book was published in 2001. It tells the story of when Pettsson decided to get a cat and the first time after Findus moved in. Findus, as the curious cat he is, decided to go on a little adventure around his house. Going through a hole in the stair to the attic, Findus sees two mucklor and greets them. The text does not mention them and instead only says what the cat does next. He continues forward and is now at the back of the house, where a badger scares him into a wooden box. He starts to cry but then he hears small voices. This is the first time mucklorna are mentioned:

There were two such animals that lived in the house. Findus had met such before. They could appear anywhere, so he didn’t think it was strange that they were suddenly inside his box.

Mucklorna tries to comfort him and they tell a tale of when they found a cat in a box. “Once upon a time there was a muckla” the other one says. Findus asks if they can help Pettsson find him, but they answer that they can’t as Pettsson cannot see them. Although, they can give him clues as to where Findus is. 

31.01.2023

— under what name is felix kjellberg better known?

PewDiePie; Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (/ˈʃɛlbɜːrɡ/ SHEL-burg, Swedish: [ˈfěːlɪks ˈǎrːvɪd ɵlf ˈɕɛ̂lːbærj] ( listen); born 24 October 1989), better known as PewDiePie (/ˈpjuːdiːpaɪ/ PEW-dee-py), is a Swedish YouTuber known for his Let's Play videos and comedic formatted videos and shows.

21.12.2022

– what is pelle svanslös girlfriend’s name?

24.11.2022

– which author was nominated for the august prize 2018 for her sparsely populated area action jag for ner till bror?

Karin Smirnoff, (born 24 September 1964 in Umeå) is a Swedish writer and author. [Wikipedia n.y.].

25.10.2022

– in which body part can you get iritis?

Iritis (i-RYE-tis) is swelling and irritation (inflammation) in the colored ring around your eye's pupil (iris). Another name for iritis is anterior uveitis. The uvea is the middle layer of the eye between the retina and the white part of the eye. [Mayo Clinic n.y.].

30.09.2022

– who shot gustav iii at the masquerade ball in 1793?

28.08.2022

– where does vasaloppet start and end?

Vasaloppet (Swedish for 'the Vasa-race') is an annual long distance cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March. The 90 km (56 mi) course starts in the village of Berga, just south of Sälen in western Dalarna, Sweden, and ends in the town of Mora in the central part of the province. [Wikipedia n.y.].

THE FIRST VASALOPPET TOOK PLACE on 19 March 1922. The idea for the race was first published in Vestmanlands Läns Tidning in February of the same year, the baby of the local newspaper’s editor-in-chief Anders Pers. He was inspired by the former Swedish king, Gustav Eriksson (birth name of Gustav Vasa/Gustav I), who during the winter of 1520/1521 traveled from Mora to Sälen to escape the tyranny of the Danish king (Vasaloppet 2022; 2022; Wikipedia w.y).

In his article Anders Pers writes:

Why can we not take on Mora-Sälen as a national ski race, take it on right now, when we celebrate the 400-year-anniversary of Gustaf Eriksson’s act of liberation? It was but here, the pendulum turned the other way, the happy direction in his and Sweden’s life.  — from “Ett nationellt skidlopp”, Vestmanlands Läns Tidning, 10 February 1922

Gustav Vasa’s journey in Dalarna The history of Vasaloppet started in 1520. Sweden was in a union with Denmark and a large portion of the Swedish population was dissatisfied with the Danish king Kristian II. Gustav Eriksson was one of those that showed his dissatisfaction which caused him to be jailed in Denmark. He did manage to escape to Kalmar, from where he started to travel north, trying to get framers to join him against the king. He was met with reluctance as they wanted peace. So his last resort was the farmers in Dalarna who were known to be against most of the king’s decisions. During his time in Dalarna, he was hunted by Danish soldiers, but because he was protected and hidden by people he meet he was not caught (Vasaloppet 2022).

About a month into his travel he stood before Mora church and talked to the masses. Eriksson was informing the people of Mora about Stockholmes blodbad (Stockholm’s blood bath), where both his father and brother were murdered. He was wondering for how long people were going to accept this tyranny and encourage them to take up arms against the king. The townspeople were hesitant and needed to discuss what to do. But as the Danish soldiers came closer, Eriksson needed to flee west, to Norway (Vasaloppet 2022).

28.07.2022

– what is origami?

Origami is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word "origami" is used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. [Wikipedia n.d.].

27.06.2022

– which swedish person is on the swedish thousand-kronor note?

The 1000 Swedish Kronor features the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Swede Dag Hammarskjöld. On the front of the Ett Tusen Kronor bill is an olive branch with leaf and the United Nations logo. The back of the 1000 kronor note shows a mountain range, representing the Nordic region of Lappland. [Leftover Currency n.d.].

THE NEW KRONOR BANKNOTES WERE introduced in October 2015, changing the images that had adorn the bills since between the late 1980s and early 2000s. The face of the 1000 kronor note changed from Gustav Vasa to Dag Hammarskjöld (SvD Näringsliv 2013).

During a press conference in April 2011, Johan Gernandt and Leif Pagrotsky, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the General Council of the Riksbank, announced the new images of the Swedish banknotes. The General Council had chosen people “who have made positive and important contributions to Sweden’s cultural heritage during the 20th century”. They also believe new faces will show the different parts of the country in a “positive and representative way” (Sveriges Riksbank 2011; TT 2011).

DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD

Dag Hammarskjöld was born in 1905. He was the son of the former Swedish prime minister, Hjalmar Hammarskjöld. In 1953 Dan Hammarskjöld became the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). He showed an interest in making the UN stronger and making the work of Secretary-General a more central position in the organisation. Hammarskjöld also tried to protect smaller states, which made him a discussion between the United Nations’ Security Council members who represented the powerful countries at the time (Hadenius 2020).

Hadenius (2020) tells that Hammarskjöld through skillful work could get American pilots freed from Kina in 1955. A year later, in 1956, he created the first UN peacekeeping force as part of efforts to end the war between Egypt and Israel.

In 1960 the Congo Crisis broke out. Hammarskjöld wanted to help by sending in UN-troops to the country. However, his efforts stopped in 1961, when he died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (currently Zambia) on his way to a meeting with the Congolese politician Moïse Tshombe (Hadenius 2020).

THE BANKNOTE’S DESIGN

In April 2012, the Riksbank announced the winning graphic design for the banknotes. It was designed by the graphic designer Göran Österlund (TT 2012).

The observe motive depicts Dag Hammarskjöld himself. The United Nations emblem is shown right beside him, as well as the UN headquarters. The UN headquarters are made up of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1 (Sveriges Riksbank n.d.).

The backside motive is of Lappland, “an area of natural beauty of great interest to Dag Hammarskjöld” (Sveriges Riksbank n.d.).

FUN FACT: 1000 KRONOR BANKNOTE IS HARD TO COME BY

The 1000 kronor banknote has had problems being seen in and used by the Swedish public. SVT Nyheter Dalarna and Sydsvenskan reported back in 2013 and 2016 respectively, that the public had not seen the banknote in months, some not even in years (Assmundsson 2013; Johansson, Y. 2016; Mothander, J. 2016).

Before you could go to the bank to get the note, but since over the years banks have successively stopped cash handling and the highest currency you can get from the cash machine is 500 Swedish kronor. According to Leif Jacobsson, project leader project manager for the banknote and coin project at the Riksbank, the bank does know how many 1000 kronor notes are in circulation, however what they do not know are exactly which banks and people have the banknotes in their possession (Assmundsson 2013).

In 2016, Handelsbanken did not possess the 1000 kronor banknote as there was not enough space for the banknote in the “cash machine” since the 200 kronor bill came into circulation (Johansson, Y. 2016).

References

Assmundsson, M. (2013, April 16). Riksbanken: “Vi vet inte var 1000-lapparna finns. SVT Nyheter Dalarna.

Hadenius, S. (2020, June 26). Dag Hammarskjöld. SO-rummet.

Johansson, Y. (2016, February 25). Vart tusan tog den nya tusenlappen vägen? Sydsvenskan.

Mothander, J. (2016, February 26). Fiasko för nya tusenlappen. Expressen.

Sveriges Riksbank (n.d.). 1000-krona banknote.

Sveriges Riksbank (2011, April 6). Sweden’s new banknotes and coins.

SvD Näringsliv (2013, March 25). Så blir Sveriges nya tusenlapp. Svenska Dagbladet.

TT (2011, April 6). Hammarskjöld på tusenlappen. Svenska Dagbladet.

TT (2012, April 24). Österlund formger sedlarna. Svenska Dagbladet.