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12 FACTS ABOUT SWITZERLAND THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND
23 Sep 2014
"What are some of the most mind-blowing facts about Switzerland?" appeared as a question on Quora. Below we are printing some of the best answers.
1. If it starts heavily snowing during nighttime, there will be so much snow that it will completely cover the roads and make it nearly impossible to drive. But you can bet the roads will always be cleaned by 8 a.m.
2. In case of nuclear war, the Swiss have bunkers capable of fitting 100% of the country's population.
3. In case of war, highways can be converted into landing-and-takeoff runways by quickly removing the grade separations.
4. Swiss army pilots never go to supersonic speeds during training. Because Switzerland is so small, it's impossible not to violate the border of another country while flying so fast. According to my Swiss friend, "Regarding the supersonic flights, they now have an agreement with France that allows them to fly into France and back in order to go supersonic."
5. In Lausanne, to optimize taxation on garbage collection, they standardized bin bags and included the tax in the price. If you throw out more stuff, you pay more. And apparently, if you're not using the bins to throw your daily leftovers out, you might get into trouble.
6. Despite its size, Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. It's really fun to see the Swiss from different parts of the country speak English to understand one another. Their German differs from the "classic" German language. It's called "Swiss German," and from what I've been told it does not have a written representation. All of my German buddies say they can hardly understand it. Although the size of the country is relatively small, ironically many Swiss have trouble when asked to sing their anthem.
7. Swiss chocolatiers developed techniques to make chocolates with gold. Yup — edible gold. How luxurious is that?
8. If the Swiss want to block off the country, they can do it with very few soldiers, because the tunnels and many highways have steel tubes that can be raised at the touch of a button to block access. Trees that were planted long ago, in the event of invasion, would be cut to land across roadways, making roads impassable.
Also, in the event of war, the country can be rendered impassable by armoured vehicles in less than one hour. All bridges have bomb boxes, and all direction and distance signs (e.g., Geneva 50 km that way) can be dropped from sign posts with a central switch. Some mountains contain massive military bases and foothills are hollowed out for hangars and tank bunkers. (via Josh Trutt, Michael Klein, Daniel Carroll)
Marshall Eubanks says he was driving in Switzerland once, years ago, and saw a fighter jet taxi out of a mountainside and take off. His understanding is that these underground airforce bases are now used for storing records and other valuables.
9. Their cars look practically new. You get a ticket if you don't get a dent or scratch fixed immediately.
10. Many companies employ people to do things like bookkeeping that could easily be automated. As a society, the Swiss have decided that low unemployment benefits everyone enough to make it worthwhile employing those people.
Flickr/j
11. Many people rave about Switzerland's public transportation. One single ticket can get you across the entire country using all different types of vehicles — bus, train, boat, cable car, etc. They also have a system whereby trains arrive just before the full hour or half hour, and leave just after, so you'll typically change trains within 20 minutes. Train speeds are maxed out and optimized for interchangeability and speed on the network.
12. They pay unemployment for about two years, which in itself isn't unique, but it includes paid vacation. Travelling and accommodation elsewhere are included.
Of course that's not all. Switzerland is an amazing country, and if you've never been there, I highly recommend you visit. It's wonderful.
23 Sep 2014
"What are some of the most mind-blowing facts about Switzerland?" appeared as a question on Quora. Below we are printing some of the best answers.
1. If it starts heavily snowing during nighttime, there will be so much snow that it will completely cover the roads and make it nearly impossible to drive. But you can bet the roads will always be cleaned by 8 a.m.
2. In case of nuclear war, the Swiss have bunkers capable of fitting 100% of the country's population.
3. In case of war, highways can be converted into landing-and-takeoff runways by quickly removing the grade separations.
4. Swiss army pilots never go to supersonic speeds during training. Because Switzerland is so small, it's impossible not to violate the border of another country while flying so fast. According to my Swiss friend, "Regarding the supersonic flights, they now have an agreement with France that allows them to fly into France and back in order to go supersonic."
5. In Lausanne, to optimize taxation on garbage collection, they standardized bin bags and included the tax in the price. If you throw out more stuff, you pay more. And apparently, if you're not using the bins to throw your daily leftovers out, you might get into trouble.
6. Despite its size, Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. It's really fun to see the Swiss from different parts of the country speak English to understand one another. Their German differs from the "classic" German language. It's called "Swiss German," and from what I've been told it does not have a written representation. All of my German buddies say they can hardly understand it. Although the size of the country is relatively small, ironically many Swiss have trouble when asked to sing their anthem.
7. Swiss chocolatiers developed techniques to make chocolates with gold. Yup — edible gold. How luxurious is that?
8. If the Swiss want to block off the country, they can do it with very few soldiers, because the tunnels and many highways have steel tubes that can be raised at the touch of a button to block access. Trees that were planted long ago, in the event of invasion, would be cut to land across roadways, making roads impassable.
Also, in the event of war, the country can be rendered impassable by armoured vehicles in less than one hour. All bridges have bomb boxes, and all direction and distance signs (e.g., Geneva 50 km that way) can be dropped from sign posts with a central switch. Some mountains contain massive military bases and foothills are hollowed out for hangars and tank bunkers. (via Josh Trutt, Michael Klein, Daniel Carroll)
Marshall Eubanks says he was driving in Switzerland once, years ago, and saw a fighter jet taxi out of a mountainside and take off. His understanding is that these underground airforce bases are now used for storing records and other valuables.
9. Their cars look practically new. You get a ticket if you don't get a dent or scratch fixed immediately.
10. Many companies employ people to do things like bookkeeping that could easily be automated. As a society, the Swiss have decided that low unemployment benefits everyone enough to make it worthwhile employing those people.
Flickr/j
11. Many people rave about Switzerland's public transportation. One single ticket can get you across the entire country using all different types of vehicles — bus, train, boat, cable car, etc. They also have a system whereby trains arrive just before the full hour or half hour, and leave just after, so you'll typically change trains within 20 minutes. Train speeds are maxed out and optimized for interchangeability and speed on the network.
12. They pay unemployment for about two years, which in itself isn't unique, but it includes paid vacation. Travelling and accommodation elsewhere are included.
Of course that's not all. Switzerland is an amazing country, and if you've never been there, I highly recommend you visit. It's wonderful.
