J. van Deijck Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Just as the title says. Let others know about your country more. Share as much or as little as you want. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AavaMeri Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Finland has public healthcare and education funded by tax money (which explains our high tax rates). Private variants of those do exist too, but while it is somewhat common to have special operations/workplace healthcare done by private healthcare, attending to private schools is really rare. I think it's usually it's some kind of elite school that a rich parent wants to put their kids into, most of the kids just go to the nearest school. A significant equalizing factor is that even our university studies are free of tuitions (you still gotta buy the books and stuff), and you even get a right for state-given funding for your studies as long as you have enough study credits each year. This is intended to help people to focus on their studies and to graduate faster without having to do part-time work aside (many still do part-time work anyway). 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Denim Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Croatia pretty much is a dragon shaped country. Very ace IMHO. Plus, the common meme that "we" blocked Bosnia and Herzegovina's access to the Adriatic sea is not true. Neum corridor is Bosnian territory that splits Croatian mainland territory in two. Which is rare in Europe, as far as I am aware. 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Captain_Tass Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 19 minutes ago, Denim said: Plus, the common meme that "we" blocked Bosnia and Herzegovina's access to the Adriatic sea is not true Untrue, yet really funny for some reason! Anyway, cool fact about Greece time! Uhh... all I can think about right now that I haven't mentioned anywhere else and is not hyperspecific to my personal lived experiences is that during the summer, some people eat watermelon with Feta cheese 😂 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 That was fun to read so far please do more Okay now me. Not all of these are cool probably, but they can be useful in case you visit Belgium has some of the highest taxes in Europe. Like @AavaMeri mentioned about Finland, these go for healthcare, among others, but still people need insurances. Our ID cards have a built-in chip. To read them, you need special ID card readers. If you use one, you have an access to the person's whole history, basically it makes it nearly impossible to have a fake ID in this country. Unless something has changed in the recent years, Visa and Mastercard are not valid here in many places. We have our own system called Bancontact and your card must use this system to work properly. This is probably what everyone knows, but we have three official languages, none of which is our own. They're all 'borrowed' from the neighbours also, our pronunciation is slightly different than of our neighbour countries. Fries have been invented here. We have our own fast food chain which is a response to brands such as McDonald's; it's called Quick. Of course we still have McDonalds, Burger King and Subway here, but KFC has appeared recently and is not available in many places. Belgians have been officially voted the worst drivers in the whole Europe. Not for no reason. We have broken our own record in the longest time without the government... twice. Despite having 'no real government' here, we have several separate governments. Belgium is a kingdom, by the way. It rains here for approximately 300 days a year. Sunny weather is not really normal here We have different dialects every few kilometres. Everyone is welcome here, but if you don't find a job in three months, you will be kicked out. We and Switzerland have the best chocolate in the world, or that's what people think Don't know how is it in the south because it's like a whole separate country to me, but here we have no legal drinking age. We just have a legal purchasing age, which is 16 for drinks below 22% and 18 for drinks above 22%. Here people are friendly but distant, but smiling at strangers isn't that uncommon. If I recall more, I'll be back 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 I'm in the US, so I don't know if I can come up with anything. Most people probably already know quite a bit anyway, since we are kind of the 800 pound gorilla of the world. And also probably know Hollywood is not the most accurate source of info about anything. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 16 minutes ago, daveb said: Hollywood is not the most accurate source of info about anything. That's a cool fact 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nazokashii Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 6 hours ago, AavaMeri said: Finland has public healthcare and education funded by tax money (which explains our high tax rates). Private variants of those do exist too, but while it is somewhat common to have special operations/workplace healthcare done by private healthcare, attending to private schools is really rare. I think it's usually it's some kind of elite school that a rich parent wants to put their kids into, most of the kids just go to the nearest school. A significant equalizing factor is that even our university studies are free of tuitions (you still gotta buy the books and stuff), and you even get a right for state-given funding for your studies as long as you have enough study credits each year. This is intended to help people to focus on their studies and to graduate faster without having to do part-time work aside (many still do part-time work anyway). Ditto all that for Sweden ^^ the free education is ridiculously good. One of the few things I actually really like about Sweden. Though, our teachers get paid way too little - there we could sure learn from Finland, where I've heard that teacher actually get paid pretty well? We also drink the 2nd most coffee in the world, per capita (person and year) - second only to Finland ☺️ (personally, I have never liked coffee) We have some really weird traditions, lots around Christmas time... like celebrating the Italian Catholic Saint Lucia (despite being an extremely secular, but even 'underneath' that protestant, country) on the 13th of december with saffron buns, and having "processions", with people clad in white and candles in the hair/pointy hats with stars, singing and stuff... and for midsummer we dance and sing around flower-clad poles, about frogs with no ears, and the priest's crow going on a car ride without a driver... 🤔 Oh yeah, another Christmas thing is that on Christmas Eve (the "big" day for us), we all watch "Donald Duck's Christmas" on television. (Not personally though for some years) Our words for a/an (an apple, a cat) are "en" and "ett", and there is no explanation for when to use which. It's not even like "these words are masculine or feminine" but you have to learn which are which, no, it's quite simply no reason at all - it's just "what sounds right" 🙈 That's about what I can think of for now... 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SorryNotSorry Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Here in the US, ya work for it, ya earn it, it still ain't yours! What a country! 😄 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calliers Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 We like ice hockey and maple syrup. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Purple Red Panda Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 87% of the world's ent population live in the UK 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calliers Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Here is a cool fact, we live in one of the coolest countries in the world, literally! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 11 hours ago, Calliers said: Here is a cool fact, we live in one of the coolest countries in the world, literally! But your summers are quite warm 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElloryJaye Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Canada had legit $3 bills at one point (very long ago). In fact, you have to go to $9 to reach a denomination that was never issued in this country. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 The US still has two dollar bills. You just don't encounter them much here. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 We have two main types of waffles (Brussels and Liége, both are entirely different) and, in fact, waffles come from here. And we have about 1600 different beers. I'm not kidding. Also, Smurfs are Belgian. So is Lucky Luke. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anomaly Q3Xr Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 On 5/12/2022 at 3:55 PM, daveb said: And also probably know Hollywood is not the most accurate source of info about anything. I am shocked! Shocked I tell you 🤯 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 25 minutes ago, Sammie M said: On 5/12/2022 at 4:55 PM, daveb said: And also probably know Hollywood is not the most accurate source of info about anything. I am shocked! Shocked I tell you 🤯 ...I like that 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 Here's one more about my country: in the 1970s, light beer was served during school lunch. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calliers Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Canada is a monarchy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Canada is the exclusive home to reindeer (a.k.a caribou). Quote 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 21 minutes ago, Calliers said: Canada is a monarchy! And Belgium is a kingdom 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 10 minutes ago, uniQChick said: Canada is the exclusive home to reindeer (a.k.a caribou). What about the ones in northern Europe? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 1 hour ago, daveb said: What about the ones in northern Europe? Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the word "caribou"... Santa’s reindeer are real – and they live in the Northwest Territories 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calliers Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 20 minutes ago, uniQChick said: Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the word "caribou"... Santa’s reindeer are real – and they live in the Northwest Territories 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 @Calliers Did you hear this "Although denied by the Bank of Canada, it is rumored that $100 bills smell like maple syrup." Do you have a new crispy $100 dollar bill? Please, Just sniff one and let me know if there is a truth to that. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calliers Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 18 minutes ago, uniQChick said: Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined. And thus more in land fresh water than any other country.... Also, Canada is the bread basket of North America. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calliers Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 1 minute ago, uniQChick said: @Calliers Did you hear this "Although denied by the Bank of Canada, it is rumored that $100 bills smell like maple syrup." Do you have a new crispy $100 dollar bill? Please, Just sniff one and let me know if there is a truth to that. 🤣 No, I'm a plastic man, I hate keeping cash and rarely keep any more than about 60 bucks on me at any one time.... I'll check for you next time I'm in the vicinity of a 100 dollar bill lol. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J. van Deijck Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 23 minutes ago, uniQChick said: Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined. That's interesting from what I know, Finland has the most lakes in Europe, but north Poland looks a lot like Finland 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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