# Does every nation on earth have a picnic table? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849 "2017-01-11T02:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/1 "2017-01-11T02:38:30Z")
The very iconic picnic table, with a big flat surface and two attached benches, is a fixture of parks all over the USA. While on vacation here in Australia, I noticed (not surprisingly) that they are basically identical. Which raised the question in my mind… is there any nation on earth which has no picnic tables? Some possibilities: -North Korea (I googled around some, couldn’t find a photo) -Vatican City -Bhutan/Nepal/Tibet -One of the really tiny island nations Not sure if this is the right forum, although I suppose it could be factually answered at least in the positive… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/2 "2017-01-11T02:42:18Z")
Ubiquitous in Canada, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/3 "2017-01-11T03:37:09Z")
I mean, I’m pretty sure there are no picnic tables in the Republic of Sealand and it would be possible to exhaustively scour Vatican City for picnic tables. It’s almost certain that there exists at least one country in the world without picnic tables. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/4 "2017-01-11T03:56:22Z")
That is, my friend, a toughie. Perfect GQ material. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/5 "2017-01-11T04:20:20Z")
I have never seen that kind of picnic table in India, IIRC. (Not that I’ve been everywhere or seen everything in India, but I’ve been there a fair bit.) They have various kinds of outdoor seating, but I don’t recall that kind of solid table with two attached benches. Mostly, IME, if Indians have an outdoor **picnic** as opposed to ordinary open-air dining, they spread out some kind of cloth and sit on the ground. There are picnic tables **manufactured** in India, but I’ve never seen one in use there. I’m ready to be corrected by the better-informed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/6 "2017-01-11T04:47:48Z")
Over half of the Vatican (23 hectares, 57 acres) is taken up by the Vatican Gardens, a private urban garden for the Pope & workers in Vatican City (though guided public tours are available.) I’d expect there are at least a few picnic tables in all that garden space. In fact, in [this picture](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Vatican_Gardens_2.jpg), in the section to the upper left (that looks like a vegetable garden), I think I can see a white picnic table near a tree. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/7 "2017-01-11T06:43:08Z")
They are definitely found in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Also ubiquitous is the concrete version with non-attached, but fixed, seats at roadside stops (l[ike this](http://image.shutterstock.com/z/stock-photo-picnic-table-with-garbage-cans-at-roadside-rest-area-ut-145608838.jpg)). IIRC they occur in Botswana as well. The wooden ones can be found (at resorts) in Mozambique, Seychelles and Mauritius, so strike two tiny island nations off the list. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/8 "2017-01-11T06:58:54Z")
Everywhere in Pakistan. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/9 "2017-01-11T08:18:53Z")
Come to think of it, I didn’t see any in North Korea. Saw plenty of locals picnicking on blankets spread out on the grass, though. Also another vote for Vatican City. There aren’t too many outdoor areas open to the public there, and I didn’t see a picnic table in any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/10 "2017-01-11T09:13:04Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Come to think of it, I didn’t see any in North Korea. Saw plenty of locals picnicking on blankets spread out on the grass, though. This is the usual custom in South Korea, also. A park may also have open-air pavilions in which the picnickers can spread out their repast. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/11 "2017-01-11T09:29:47Z")
They’re everywhere in Israel, too, both wood and concrete. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/12 "2017-01-11T09:44:09Z")
Speaking of picnics in general: From the mouth of a tour guide (in Israel) leading 4-wheel drive jeep tours, as our group stopped for a picnic break at a scenic spot: While he was crouching on the ground to light a camping stove he said: “You can always tell which tourists are Americans: they never sit on the ground.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/13 "2017-01-11T10:09:45Z")
That’s true - in fact, in many cases Israelis will use the table as a buffet, while sitting on the ground on large reed mats. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/14 "2017-01-11T10:32:39Z")
ubiquitous in the UK and across Europe too. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/15 "2017-01-11T10:55:07Z")
We’ve got those in the Philippines, too. They tend to be set under the trees, placed in an open hut, or otherwise have some sort of shade incorporated in the design, [like so](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZaUM7tYlaD0/maxresdefault.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/16 "2017-01-11T11:30:09Z")
Ah, that old Charlie Pride song, “_Sleepin’ under tables in a roadside park. A man could wake up dead. But it sure seems warmer than it is Sleepin’ in my king sized bed…_” ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/17 "2017-01-11T11:35:18Z")
May I expand on the OP? I think we’ll find that most nations have picnic tables…but my question is: “where?”. The OP mentions public parks. But I’ll bet that in America, there are more picnic tables in private homes. (In the back yard, that is.) How many other nations typically have the standard picnic table ( heavy wooden table with wood benches, all in one unit) as a piece of furniture at the family home? I assume that every single family in Australia has one for their barbie (which is apparently required by law 🙂 ) . What about the rest of the planet? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/18 "2017-01-11T11:58:28Z")
Well, there are countries where most homes simply don’t have the kind of space where you’d place a picnic table. How many homes in Cairo have a garden? I’ve seen tables akin to picnic tables in rural-décor restaurants and private dining rooms in Spain, but often they’re indoors. Sometimes they’re a single piece, sometimes the benches are separate, some have folding benches so that you can take it all to the side and the guy who sold me my flat had one that could fold up (you folded the benches under the table, then folded half the table over the other half). ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/19 "2017-01-11T13:42:55Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > ubiquitous in the UK and across Europe too. I’ll second that and give you also Vietnam & Malaysia ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849/20 "2017-01-11T13:58:07Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > How many other nations typically have the standard picnic table ( heavy wooden table with wood benches, all in one unit) as a piece of furniture at the family home? “Typical”, nope. “Not unusuall for suburban middle-class and upper income folks”, sure. I don’t have one, but it turns out most of my friends do, and so do our parents. The braai is way more of an institution here than the barbie in Oz - call us when they make a [national public holiday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Day_(South_Africa))out of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-every-nation-on-earth-have-a-picnic-table/776849.md?page=2)