‘The Swedes invented the toilet seat. Twenty years later the Norwegians invented the hole in it’. That sums about up how Scandinavians look at each other. A little mean, but peaceful. But what are the real contributions the Scandinavians have brought the world? The Danes, the Swedes, the Norwegians and even the Finns invented quite a lot! Let’s take a look at our top 10 of Scandinavian contributions to the world!
Top 10 Scandinavian contributions to the world
- Sauna, the Finns loved the beneficial effects of water and heat in a closed room. Nowadays, the sauna is a worldwide accepted way to clean both body and mind
- ABBA , Swedish band that became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music
- The paperclip , one of the big misunderstandings of history as the paperclip was actually patented by an American, the Norwegians thought it was a Norwegian invention until the 1950’s
- Koenigsegg CCXR , according to Forbes Magazine, car minded Sweden (Saab, Volvo) brought the world one of the most beautiful cars ever build
- Dynamite , the world would be unrecognisable without this great invention by Alfred Nobel from Sweden (hilariously, the Nobel price was named after the inventor of an explosive)
- Knäckebröd , popular in armies and schools because of its light weight and simple, transport-friendly shape. Also, it is very cheap and if stored in dry conditions it will keep fresh and edible for a very long time. Talking about (Swedish) efficiency!
- NOKIA , named after a Finnish municipality, NOKIA became one of the leading brands in mobile telecommunications worldwide
- LEGO , build your own world with LEGO. The Dane Christiansen started as a carpenter and ended up with a multinational
- The safety match , Gustaf Erik Pasch patented the safety match when he replaced the poisonous yellow phosphorus with non-poisonous red phosphorus
- IKEA , bought in seconds, build it yourself in days, is currently the widely accepted, matured form of LEGO, the true spirit of efficiency that Sweden offers the world