What are some facts about Sweden?

Answer 1

Here are some interesting facts about Sweden contributed by the community:

• It has an Ice Hotel
• It has a good women's soccer team
• It is the home of incredibly hot girls, mostly blondes.
• It is the home of ABBA.
• It is the home of IKEA.
• Sweden is the country that, in proportion to its GNP, gives most money to other countries as development aid.
• The town of Södertälje, in the middle of Sweden, has for several years allowed asylum for more war refugees than the USA and Canada combined.
• Swedish athletes have made some groundbreaking contributions to the world of sports. For example, Ingemar Stenmark was the first skier to hit (ride into) the flags of the slalom gates instead of simply riding through them without touching the gates. He thus increased his speed, shortening the runs and forcing a redesign of the gates. Jan Boklöv was at first considered a cheater when he invented the V-style of ski jumping, but it is now the standard jumping style. Björn Borg was, arguably, the one that popularized the double-handed backhand in tennis.
• Sweden was the last country to abolish Asatru (a polytheistic religious tradition, abolished in 1861) but it still survived.
• Sweden has equal inheritance rights for males and females.
• Sweden is not a democracy, it is (currently) a parliamentary two party system with the king deciding the "talman" (the Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden).
• Winter sports like skiing are very popular in Sweden.