I received a request to do a post about something weird in Sweden. Konstigt is the Swedish word for weird. I've had to think a lot about what I think is weird because to be honest, I don't think things really are so weird here or even so different really. So, here's the best I could come up with. I included something I think is weird about the US too because I think that's only fair and I like things to be fair. :)
The Swedes talk about something called the Swedish mile when discussing distances. This threw me for a big loop. At first I assumed it was just like every mile but it turns out the Swedish mile is 10 kilometers or about 6.2 English miles. I think that's pretty weird. But when you think about it an English mile being 5280 feet is pretty strange. Let's all just agree on one universal measurement and stick to that, deal?
In the US identity theft is a big problem because if someone else gets a hold of your card or just the card number then they can go crazy with it. But in Sweden (and all of Europe and probably even more of the world) they use debit cards with chips in them thus eliminating this problem. You have to have the card with the chip and the pin code to be able to get in to the account, even when checking the balance online or making an online purchase. There are portable chip readers at restaurants and I even have a chip reader here at home to check my balance. I think it's pretty weird that so many other countries have found an easy solution to this problem and the US doesn't seem to make any steps in the right direction.
What do you think is weird about where you live?
Love Always,
Matilda
The Swedes talk about something called the Swedish mile when discussing distances. This threw me for a big loop. At first I assumed it was just like every mile but it turns out the Swedish mile is 10 kilometers or about 6.2 English miles. I think that's pretty weird. But when you think about it an English mile being 5280 feet is pretty strange. Let's all just agree on one universal measurement and stick to that, deal?
In the US identity theft is a big problem because if someone else gets a hold of your card or just the card number then they can go crazy with it. But in Sweden (and all of Europe and probably even more of the world) they use debit cards with chips in them thus eliminating this problem. You have to have the card with the chip and the pin code to be able to get in to the account, even when checking the balance online or making an online purchase. There are portable chip readers at restaurants and I even have a chip reader here at home to check my balance. I think it's pretty weird that so many other countries have found an easy solution to this problem and the US doesn't seem to make any steps in the right direction.
What do you think is weird about where you live?
Love Always,
Matilda
2 comments:
I agree with you on both... but you missed the "rest of the world measuring system" and the one in the US. What I mean by that is the miles, ouces, pounds, etc and the rest of the world using kilometers, kilograms, etc...
Definitely, something that was impressive for me about the US are the issues with ID theft. How is it that a country that has more power that any other one could be having such issues with ID.
I must say that I find very "weird" that the US, having so much money, doesn't have a good health system (available to everyone!). I'm paying a high car insurance just to have the full coverage in case I get into an accident, since I know that being sick here it's much more expensive that any other place in the world. When I first arrived I was planning on signing up for a "goverment health insurance" but later realized that there was no such thing here...
That is something that I find very weird... the rest, nice people, great weather and beautiful scenery! :)
Take care there!
Regards,
Gonzalo
I agree with the ID theft thing! My Aunt's checking account information was just stolen. All they did was make fake checks with a random persons name on it and then they put my aunts routing number and account number on the bottom. They ended up finding 7 different checks with 7 different people's names on them and they all had her account info at the bottom. Its totally getting out of control here.
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