Discover the North: Top 9 Unbelievable Fun Facts About Scandinavia You Can't Miss

1. Finnish Folks Say "Hej!"

Hold onto your lingonberries and prepare for a Finnish twist: Swedish is officially spoken in Finland by a tiny 5.2% minority, but don't be fooled – Finland Swedish is simply a variety of Swedish, not a separate language, leaving Finnish folks everywhere saying "Hej, we're more Swedish than you thought!"
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Danish Syllable Splitting Stød

Here's a Danish tongue-twister for vowels haters: "stød" isn't a secret club against vowels, but a linguistic tickle that'll split your syllables into giggle-worthy bits! The serious reveal: Stød is a unique linguistic feature in Danish where a creaky voice, or glottal stop, divides a syllable into two parts, highlighting the language's diversity and complexity across various dialects.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Did you know there's a town called Hell in Norway, with its own Blues festival and a Miss Universe winner? Discover the devilish charm of this frosty destination.

=> Fun Facts about Norway

3. Norse Reverse Vending Magic

Ever find yourself swimming in bottles post-house party and wondering how to make a splash towards a cleaner environment? Look no further than Norway's refundable cure: The Scandinavian nation utilizes reverse vending machines for bottle and can recycling, clocking in impressive return rates of 93% for containers and 80% for cans circa 2005. With a deposit refund ranging from 10p to 25p, the Norse folks prove that turning trash into treasure is indeed an eco-friendly fairytale come true!
Source => lifeinnorway.net

4. Sweden's Caffeine Crusade

Forget the "fika" and get ready to take a caffeinated journey: Swedes consume a staggering 6.5 kilograms of roasted coffee per capita annually, guzzling down a national total of 67.4 thousand metric tons each year, making Sweden one of the world's leading coffee-consuming countries!
Source => statista.com

5. Scandinavia: Happiness HQ

If happiness were a contagious disease, Scandinavia would be ground zero for the most delightful pandemic ever: All the top seven happiest countries in the world for 2021 are located in Northern Europe, with Finland leading the joyous charge, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, according to the World Happiness Report analysis of GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and corruption perception.
Source => worldpopulationreview.com

6. Finnish Multilingual Superheroes

Who needs small talk when you've got big brains? Finland's very own linguistic superheroes leap over language barriers in a single bound and laugh in the face of awkward conversational pauses: The majority of Finns learn at least one foreign language like English, German, or French during their school years, breaking the stereotype of the "silent Finn" while still valuing meaningful communication and genuine invitations, making them your reliable allies in any office or lunchtime setting.
Source => jyu.fi

7. Volvo's Life-Saving Gift

In a nutshell, Volvo must have been a fan of the saying, "Better safe than sorry", because they practically gift-wrapped us in safety by inventing the modern three-point seat belt: In 1959, the Scandinavian car manufacturer developed the life-saving contraption and made it available for free to other vehicle makers – talk about a game-changer! Today, more than one million lives have been saved thanks to this essential and mandatory car accessory, proving that sometimes the best presents come with no strings attached, just seat belts.
Source => volvobuses.com

8. Iceland's Volcanic Romance

If Iceland had a dating profile, it might say, "I'm into long walks on volcanic beaches and hot springs are kind of my thing": Sitting on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull away, Iceland is a hotspot for volcanic activity and geothermal energy, boasting an ever-changing terrain of geysers and rugged landscapes.
Source => guidetoiceland.is

9. Denmark's Never-Ending Coastline

If Denmark's coastline were a star-studded Hollywood party guest list, it would go on forever and outshine even the most glamorous event: Seriously, its 7,300 km of coastline rank it as the 27th longest in the world!
Source => irland.um.dk