# Norway, isn't that in Sweden? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389 "2004-03-10T01:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Pez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@Pez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pez)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/141 "2004-03-17T12:47:47Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Hold on a minute! > There’s a _NEW_ Zealand??? Oh yes. The old Zealand is a part of Denmark, the island with Copenhagen on it if I remember correctly. It’s called Sjælland I think in danish. I am shocked and surprised that you don’t can’t tell the scandinavians apart, it’s very easy: the danes talk with a potatoe stuck down their throat, the norwegians are the ones talk in a silly sing-song way and the swedes are the ones obsessed with evils of the government. The finlanders are the happy smiling ones who will never drink. BTW I know where New Zealand is also, it is almost exactly on the other side of the globe from me, and with the drilling they’re doing here now I guess well have a tunnel there soon. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/142 "2004-03-17T12:48:50Z")
> [@msklystron](#): > > Comic Rick Mercer questioned ordinary Americans about Canada. In one question he referred to our Former Prime Minister as Jean Poutine. (The man had been in office at the time for two terms I think.) No one caught it, at least not on tape. You know, I don’t know if I ever heard of poutine before coming to the SDMB. 5 years ago, I may have said"no, that’s not his name, I think" and never known that poutine was something you eat. Usually we can only name the guy who retired to draw Doonesbury and the current guy that moonlights as a defenseman for the NJ Devils. 😉 \*\* Gum\*\*, Good one! ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/143 "2004-03-17T14:35:12Z")
_posted by **Pez** _ > [@](#): > > The old Zealand is a part of Denmark To make things complicated; Zeeland is also a part of Holland [or the Netherlands] How come Denmark and Holland get mixed up so much? Can it be the **D** in ‘Dutch’ - like the D in Denmark? Can it be that both countries are as flat as a pancake? Both countries have a lot of blonde people? Both countries are sexually free? Both countries have a weird language? 😉 Thanks, **lurkernomore** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/144 "2004-03-17T22:55:32Z")
So am I the only one that thinks the whole Scandinavian area looks like a giant penis? (Maybe after a particularly hard night). That’s how I always find it on the map 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/145 "2004-03-18T12:33:51Z")
> [@PictsiePat](#): > > So am I the only one that thinks the whole Scandinavian area looks like a giant penis? (Maybe after a particularly hard night). That’s how I always find it on the map 🆒 Have you seen the [2 euro coin](http://www.onepointzero.com/images/2euros.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/146 "2004-03-18T17:22:11Z")
> [@msklystron](#): > > Iceland and Greenland were Danish colonies??? Doesn’t matter, hardly anyone goes there. Iceland was NEVER a Danish colony, you take that back! You take that back right now! I can’t hear you… tralalala… Doesn’t matter??? Hardly anyone goes there??? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/147 "2004-03-18T20:52:19Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Nope, [Australia is] the largest island in Australasia. We don’t want those Kiwis feeling left out, now, do we? [Australia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia) is a continent whereas [Australasia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia) is only relevant when discussing the flora and fauna of the region according to [Wikipedia](http://wikipedia.org). ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/148 "2004-03-18T21:44:28Z")
Floater: I rest my case. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![HoldOnThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@HoldOnThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldOnThere)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/149 "2004-03-18T22:18:51Z")
Why is geography important anyway, it’s not like we’re driving there. What difference does it make if another country is 2000 miles to the left or 1000 miles to the right? It’s knowing and respecting a country’s culture and people that matters, not it’s location. ---
**Author:** ![HoldOnThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@HoldOnThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldOnThere)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/150 "2004-03-18T22:22:17Z")
> [@gum](#): > > And to put things in perspective: Europeans get to learn about Europe first, at school. Then the rest of the world - sparingly > > I guess people in Africa do the same: African countries first. > > So why should Americans have to know where Norway is? \* [I’ll make an exception to Denmark, \*\*WinstonSmith\*\*. Everyone should know that :D]\* > I find it amazing enough that you have to learn all 52 states and capitals by heart. > > Again, stereotypes… Speaking of which, why do we need to learn the capitals of each state anyway?? Maybe 100 years ago it mattered because they were the centers of commerce. Name one thing you have to go to the state capital for today? To me it’s useless trivia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389.md?page=7)