Facts about Finland that are not on Wikipedia. How does the land of 1000 lakes live?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

What do Finns celebrate on February 14th, why do Finnish deer have antlers glowing, and how hot Finnish guys like to have fun?

Let's get to know Suomi - the land of a thousand lakes. Although in fact the number of lakes in Finland is measured in hundreds of thousands. And there are about the same number of islands.

Since a quarter of the country is located in the Arctic Circle, the Northern Lights can be admired all year round.

In recent years, the country's territory has been increasing by about 7 square kilometers every year. This is due to the melting of glaciers, which, losing mass, cease to press on the continental plate, as a result of which it gradually rises from the sea.

As you remember from the school history course, from 1809 to 1917 Finland was part of Russia. More than a century has passed since then, and the Criminal Code of Finland still begins with the words "We, Alexander III, by God's advancing mercy, the Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia …"

Three wars between Russia and Finland is a topic for a separate difficult issue, let me know with a like and a comment, if interested. And now you will see such facts that cannot be found in Wikipedia and the program “Heads and Tails”.

The population of Finland is approximately 5.5 million people. The number of saunas is 2, 2 million. That is, one sauna for 2-3 persons. Saunas are everywhere. There is even a Burger King restaurant in Helsinki.

The happiest

According to the World Happiness Report, in 2018 and 2019, Finns were recognized as the happiest nation. To assess national happiness, 6 factors are used: GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom of citizens to independently make vital decisions, generosity and attitude towards corruption.

But most likely, the secret of simple Finnish happiness lies … in coffee with snacks: here the highest rate of coffee consumption in the world - 12 kilograms per person per year. And about the same amount of sweets every Finn eats a year. The country even has a candy day that parents organize for their children on Saturdays.

Finns are not only the happiest, but also the most honest: ten years ago, a social experiment was carried out: wallets with family photos, contact information and cash equivalent to $ 50 were scattered across 16 major cities around the world. 11 out of 12 "lost" wallets were returned to Helsinki. In financially elite Zurich, only 4 finds were returned, and in Lisbon - only one, moreover, by a couple of tourists from Holland.

Ecology

While in neighboring Russia people and cars get stuck in a snow-salt porridge in winter, in Finland the roads are sprinkled with granite crumbs. And in the spring, the washing machine collects these stones. In particular, in Helsinki, the same crumb can be used for several years in a row. And where does the salt go from our roads - it is better not to look for an answer to this question, you will sleep better.

Another form of concern for the environment is the application of reflective coatings to antlers to make animals visible on the roads at night. Speaking of deer, here's another curious fact for you:

The Finnish Sami, this is such an indigenous people of Northern Europe, had a distance measurement unit called PoronkUsema. It was approximately 7.5 km and indicated the distance that the reindeer could walk until it wanted to take a break to pee. Today this word is used for any distance that is difficult to measure in advance.

In Finland, 99% of garbage never ends up in landfills. The main method of waste recycling at the moment in the country is incineration. Waste is burned to generate energy and heat. More than half of such waste is 60%. The remaining 39% are successfully processed and find a "second life" for themselves. Another figure is that 96% of electricity production from garbage is not accompanied by carbon dioxide emissions.

In Finland, waste processing complexes provide entire small towns with heat and electricity. Each municipality may have different approaches. Somewhere gasification technology is used, somewhere - the use of organic matter and fermentation of biogas, somewhere technology of fuel production and combustion in boiler houses with energy generation. Lahti is a model for environmentally friendly waste management, where, thanks to municipal regulation, housing associations in apartment buildings are required to have as many as seven types of waste containers: for biological, energy-containing, mixed waste, paper, cardboard, metal and glass.

In the country, almost 90% of the bottles used are returned for recycling. Finland is aware of the "garbage reform" that began in a number of Russian regions in 2019. And the Finns are ready for joint projects, especially in the northwest region.