184 replies to this topic

[Tom Henrik]

I have noticed that a lot of people often wonder about foreign customs... Do they really eat torched sheep's head in Norway? Do the Finns whip their naked friends with twigs, for then to jump naked into the snow outside? Do the Dutch really eat tulips and wear wooden clogs? Is it true that Northern people are much taller than southern people? Are Eskimoes Indians or Asians?


We all have some vague idea of foreign countries, and we have all heard disturbing tales of foreign food... like Haggis and Slátur... But how much is actually true? We have a good international forum on this site, and some are bound to know the answers.

So, if you have any questions about foreign customs, this is the topic to use. As I opened the topic, I'll start with a question that has puzzled me for some time now...

Why in the name of all that is holy do the Icelanders eat rotten shark meat?!!
They catch the shark, then they let it rot, then they spice it up (to remove the rotten flavour), then they eat it.... Wouldn't it be better to eat it when it is fresh?



(If you don't know the answer, feel free to ask a question of your own. The more question we have, the more fun replies will we get )

[TheVoid]

I don't know the answer to your question, so.....

How can Americans eat peanut butter?
It's the greasiest substance I've ever seen, my liver shudders with just the smell of it. How can you eat more than a spoon and live on to tell?

[Titan]

TheVoid, on Jun 17 2005, 01:29 AM, said:

I don't know the answer to your question, so.....

How can Americans eat peanut butter?
It's the greasiest substance I've ever seen, my liver shudders with just the smell of it. How can you eat more than a spoon and live on to tell?

I will NEVER touch peanutbutter as long as i live, since i know what it's made of..

Let's just say, it's a bi-product from where i work, that is the main substance...
And i have papers on it....

ANYWAY:

Is it true that in SOME USA-states you'r allowed to take road-kill home and eat it?

[Tom Henrik]

Titan, on Jun 17 2005, 12:07 AM, said:

Is it true that in SOME USA-states you'r allowed to take road-kill home and eat it?

Oh dear God, no.    They can't be THAT backwaters, can they?


Although... they do have some fun laws...
http://www.pages.dre...6/lkf_laws.html

[Triton]

People eating their own roadkill happens more down south, but everywhere else people just leave small animals on the road for the municipal/state road maintainers.  In America, if you hit an animal like a deer on a public road and it's a fresh and clean kill, the government can take it and serve it to inmates to keep prison funding low.  Now THERE are people who deserve to eat roadkill every day.  When they're not eating that, they're eating SOS three meals a day for $0.72.

"TheVoid" said:

How can Americans eat peanut butter?
It's the greasiest substance I've ever seen, my liver shudders with just the smell of it. How can you eat more than a spoon and live on to tell?

It's not greasy at all, unless you're getting inferior brands (typical of your average European products--no one buys their crap unless they are naïve).  The good peanut butter is made from peanuts that are ground into paste.

"Tom Henrik" said:

Although... they do have some fun laws...
http://www.pages.dre...6/lkf_laws.html laughing.gif

I'm surprised that your website failed to mention the law in my state where people cannot purchase liquor after 8 PM or on Sundays (except in bars), since most goofballs think that that is a bad idea.

Now, for my questions:  Is it true that German women often answer the door wearing lingerie?

Is it true that incest is legal in many European countries, as long as the relation is at least second cousin?

Is it true that German cars are total crap and inferior to American and Japanese cars?  Oh wait, I think we all know that that is true...

Is it true that anti-Semitism lives on throughout much of Europe?

Is it true that Europeans are so stupid that they hate all Americans for stuff they had no control over?

Is it true that Europeans are so backwards that their governments STILL do not regulate food to keep their people safe from disease?

[A. J. Raffles]

Triton, on Jun 17 2005, 01:46 AM, said:

Is it true that incest is legal in many European countries, as long as the relation is at least second cousin?

Actually in several European countries it's legal for first cousins to marry.   It isn't considered incest, though, because I think their chances of carrying a common defective gene which they might pass on to their children are already extremely low. And that's the only practical reason for prohibiting incestuous marriages. (Never mind that it's a pretty sick idea to marry your own cousin.)
Strangely enough, as far as I know it's only forbidden for close siblings to marry. But other than that they're free to do what they like as long as they're consenting adults.

So yes, Europeans are strange.

[MdaG]

Triton, on Jun 17 2005, 01:46 AM, said:

Is it true that Europeans are so backwards that their governments STILL do not regulate food to keep their people safe from disease?

Uhm nope that's not true. And we're not the ones with a 50% overweight population  

Nah, I'm just kidding with ya.

I'm not sure what you mean by regulation, but in Sweden the government take actions and check imported foods and if they find anything they will draw back the whole shipment from all the shops A.S.A.P.

*edit*

I though incest was having sex with your own kids? If so that's highly illegal.

[A. J. Raffles]

Mdag, on Jun 17 2005, 08:21 AM, said:

I though incest was having sex with your own kids? If so that's highly illegal.

'Incest' means any non-platonic relationships between close siblings. But as far as I know if it's between grown-ups and neither of them sues the other, it's morally frowned upon, but it still isn't illegal.

[taikara]

Mdag, on Jun 17 2005, 08:21 AM, said:

Uhm nope that's not true. And we're not the ones with a 50% overweight population  

Nah, I'm just kidding with ya.

You are?

No, that sounds fairly accurate to me. I would have maybe gone for more along the lines of 60-70% though  

[Tom Henrik]

taikara, on Jun 17 2005, 08:49 AM, said:

Mdag, on Jun 17 2005, 08:21 AM, said:

Uhm nope that's not true. And we're not the ones with a 50% overweight population 

Nah, I'm just kidding with ya.

You are?

No, that sounds fairly accurate to me. I would have maybe gone for more along the lines of 60-70% though  

We were told from the latest medical documents from USA that it was 75% that are overweight, and that about 50% of the entire population are obese.

You are overweigt if you have a little tummy, hell I am overweight. Gotta start training again.  
You are obese when you have trouble walking, breathing, and when your size makes everyday activities difficult.


So... "only" 25% of the American population is overweight.



Anyways.... Yes, you can marry your cousin in Norway, and have as many children you like. However, it is severly looked down upon.

The reson behind this is that the law is an old one that has not been changed for several years. Norway is a big country with very few inhabitants. The entire place has only 4,5 million people living on it. And many years ago this number was even lower. You basically had one small farm here, and another farm waaaay over there. And with lack of decent transportation families lived in areas close to eachother, so most of the people you knew would be your own family. So you married them. At this time there was no law against incest at all.

The laws were created some time after that and it only said that you could not marry  parents or your siblings, but that you could marry your aunt, uncle, or grandparents (Parent +1). Then came the laws stating that you could not marry the above, but could marry your cousins (Parent +2). Then it just stopped, and the law has never been renewed.

The main reason for not changing this law is that you have to wait until all married cousins aren't married anymore. You can't make a law that suddenly brand them as criminals just because they married "the wrong person" 60 years ago.

[Flop]

Quote

Is it true that German cars are total crap and inferior to American and Japanese cars? Oh wait, I think we all know that that is true...

Daimler-Chrysler...

Quote

Is it true that anti-Semitism lives on throughout much of Europe?

Yes, sadly. Is it true that black people are still treated like crap in the US?

Quote

Is it true that Europeans are so stupid that they hate all Americans for stuff they had no control over?

I don't think so, since AFAIK most Europeans don't hate all Americans, but on the other hand I have no idea what stuff you're referring to.

Quote

Is it true that Europeans are so backwards that their governments STILL do not regulate food to keep their people safe from disease?

Already answered, but no, this is definitely not true. In Denmark we have some of the harshest food regulations in the world AFAIK.

Now...How come Dr Peppers is still being made? I'm assuming this is because someone in the USA is actually buying the stuff (for reasons which will always remain an enigma). Can you confirm/deny this?

[Tom Henrik]

Let's not turn this into an argument about which place is the best, people. This is meant to be a fun topic about strange customs, not to throw crap at eachother.

[Doc Adrian]

Here's a Norway question, well two:)

I remember hearing a while back about two languages the Old Norsk and the New Norsk, but I was just wondering how many (Noticably) different manners of speaking Norway has, like do you have different accents in Northern Norway compared to the South (my Family comes from the Southern Coast)

What are some of the more popular sports in Norway in general?

[A. J. Raffles]

Doc Adrian, on Jun 17 2005, 02:02 PM, said:

Here's a Norway question, well two:)

I remember hearing a while back about two languages the Old Norsk and the New Norsk, but I was just wondering how many (Noticably) different manners of speaking Norway has, like do you have different accents in Northern Norway compared to the South (my Family comes from the Southern Coast)

There'd be a noticeable difference (for example the same words may be pronounced slightly differently), but they'd still be able to understand each other. Basically there's two official languages, bokmål and nynorsk, but lots of different dialects. Here's a website which may have some useful information for you: www.sprakrad.no

I've got no idea about the sports, though. Skiing, I suppose.

[Tom Henrik]

How many dialects Norway has?

MANY! We also have different ways of pronouncing the "R" sound. The most common is the sound when you do a fast rolling R, but the most characteristic is the R that is mostly used in the western part. This particular R is like harking up a hairball.

As for the languages, yup. There are two official languages in Norway:
Bokmål and Nynorsk.

Bokmål is the language that has evolved over time and has strong connections to Swedish and Danish.
Nynorsk was created as a result of newfound patriotism in Norway after Norway was finally a country of its own. Some guy (who name I don't remember... might be Kirkegaard.. went around the countryside and wrote down words from each area, then tried to create a language more like the way the common man spoke.

Example:
"I live in Norway, where we have two official written languages."
Bokmål: Jeg bor i Norge, hvor vi har to offisielle skriftspråk.
Nynorsk: Eg bor i Noreg, kor me har to offisielle skriftspråk.

As you can see they are very similiar, and this causes a lot of argument as we have to learn both. It would've made more sense to have two different languages if they were a bit more different. As it is you kinda learn the same language twice.


The most popular sport in Norway is without a doubt football/soccer.