10 Things You May Not Have Known Were Scandinavian

The (former) Vikings blow my mind every day.

Ah, Scandinavia. I remember when I was younger and thought Scandinavia was just one country. Years later, I know better now and may have slightly become intrigued (...more like obsessed) with the few countries that brought us IKEA, Lego, and much more. Here are a few things you may not have realized were Scandinavian.

Via scandikitchen.co.uk

And for the purposes of this article, we are including Finland and Iceland, even though, yes, we know, they're not "Scandinavian," per se, but Nordic.

The Cheese Slicer.

The origins of how to cut cheese come all the way from Norway. The cheese slicer, or Ostehøvel in Norwegian, was invented by Thor Bjørklund in 1925.

The Sauna.

Via theconsul.org

The Finns take full credit for the recreational activity -- or more like way of life -- that is sauna. Sauna culture is a very important tradition in Finland and the rest of Scandinavia. Finland itself is home to 5 million people and over three million saunas.

The Egg Chair.

Via hivemodern.com

Also known as the Jacobsen chair, the egg chair was invented in 1958 by the Radissen Hotel in Copenhagen. Today, it is a staple in any minimalist style home and can also be found in McDonalds' all over the world, after the restaurant's furniture and design revamp in 2011.

The Most Subscribed YouTuber.

Via forbes.com

Felix Kjellberg, also known by his YouTube name, PewDiePie, is the most subscribed user on YouTube with a total of 54 million subscribers. He is most known for his Let's Play commentaries. Kjellberg originally hails from Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Open Faced Sandwich.

Via en.wikipedia.org

So this one wasn't necessarily invented in Scandinavia proper, but today, it is a very traditional and active part of Scandinavian cuisine. It is called smørbrød, smørrebrød or smörgås in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, respectively. The sandwich consists of anything you want pretty much, with only two rules: rye bread must be used, and both sides cannot be eaten together, but separately.

The World's Most Popular Music Streaming Service.

Via support.spotify.com

Not only are the Swedes killing the pop music game, but they're also killing the music streaming service game. Apple Music, who? Spotify was founded in Stockholm in 2006 and officially launched two years later in 2008.

The Act of Taco Fridays.

Via tacocleanse.com

No, you read that correctly. In America, we have become familiar with the concept of Taco Tuesdays, but in Scandinavia, it's Taco Fridays and it's pretty much a big deal - especially seeing that Mexican food in Europe has nothing on America's, but they're getting there (...sort of). Note: most common in Norway and Sweden.

The Personification of Christmas.

Via santaclausreindeer.fi

We know him, we loved him. We left him milk and cookies every Christmas in the hopes that even if we made the naughty list, his sweet tooth would change his mind on our behavior throughout the year. So where exactly did Santa Claus come from? None other than Rovaniemi, Finland of course! Except there wasn't enough snow there for his kingdom so he moved over to the North Pole, apparently.

The Weird Show With The Puppets.

Via en.wikipedia.org

I know we all remember this very weird, yet addicting show on Nickelodeon back in the day. Though originally airing in the United States, the show LazyTown is actually Icelandic in origin. It is based upon the children's book from 1991, Áfram Latibær! and was created by Magnús Scheving, who starred as Sportacus on the series until 2014.

The Zipper.

Via ucanzippers.com

We can thank the Swedes for another great invention...that always seems to malfunction at some point or another. The modern-day zipper was developed by Swedish-American inventor Gideon Sundbäck in 1917. The name of his first patent on the model? A 'separable fastener.'

And this list isn't even the half of it. Thanks to Scandinavia for also bringing us H&M, ABBA, Skam, etc. etc. etc. Thank you. We love you.

Via pinterest.com