10 Things I Learned in my First Year in Sweden 

”Mil” actually make perfect sense. Why dont you just say 200 kilometer? Well, why dont you just say 200 000 meter? I understand the confusion regarding the ”name” mil. So your issue should actually be the name of the measurment, and not the logic in use of the measurment.

10 Millimeters makes 1 Centimeter 10 cm makes 1 decimeter 10 decimeters makes one meter 1000 meters makes one km 10 km makes a mil Is this not an easier way to measure a distance than an imperial way? And we will not even go into Fahrenheit. Hope you enjoy your stay here. We are a strange but lovely people

If americans could actually bother to take their shoes off when entering a house or apartment they would soon realise the benefits of a skohorn 😂

Ok, but the shoehorn is the best thing EVER

We actually don't really like Amazon and not many Swedes are buying from them now that they're in Sweden. The reason is the poor conditions for the workers. In Sweden worker's rights are really important and we have strong trade unions. So the launch of Amazon in Sweden was not really something most of us liked.

I always get so frustrated when I visit someone and they don’t have a shoehorn :/

we use shoehorns in whole Europe. it makes it easier to put your shoes on. I'm french and we have always used shoehorns in France. And living in Sweden i use it several times daily. Especially since i never untie my shoes.

As a swede I always get really shocked when i can hear peoples real voice on shows like cops, or like in "To catch a predator" where they show their voice, face and name! I can't get used to it. The robot voice is epic. You can't live without it, that's illegal! Ring åklagarn!

I'll just say this once and for all regarding shoehorns. Sweden like the rest of Northern Europe has a no shoe indoors policy, combined with very small hallways in apartments and harsh winters the shoehorns are a gift from above. Because when you put on your double or maybe ever triple layer pants, comfy scarf, warm hat, and heavy winter's coat you are not in position to bend knees down to put on boots in the very small hallway. So the shoehorn solves the issue of not having to risk tripping over and like a turtle on its back recover. Plus it eliminates tearing on the back end of the shoe from the repeated friction motion, so it makes shoes last longer.

I hear foreigners comment on Swedish queuing and I'm just like... how the hell do you function without it? Wouldn't it be terribly chaotic to not wait in line?

About Amazon, I really hope we kick them out as soon as possible.

It's really important to understand, that things happening in Stockholm, most likely isn't normal anywhere else in Sweden.

As a Swede that live in Canada I'm surprised that you didn't mention how Swedes love to form organizations, I think there is an old joke about when three Swedes get together they elect a President, treasurer and a secretary - and I think that's pretty true lol

The "Swedish Mile" (which is also used in Finland and Norway) is from the 17th century, so it's basically older than the USA, but it wasn't standardised until the 19th century when SI units were introduced in Sweden. There are still super old mile stones standing here and there along old roads all around Sweden.

throwback to that one time tunnelbanan blurred a pigeons face LMFAO 😂😂

Packages can be home delivered often, any time you order something online you get several shipping options on checkout. We dont like delivery men ringing our door and giving us social anxiety, better to pick it up at nearest store (which you will be at anyway regurarly)

Why on earth you would not use shoe horns? Makes life that much easier.

20 mil: 3 syllables 200 kilometer: 7 syllables Think that’s the biggest reason, except for collective habit of course😊

I never bother with untying my shoes, so I use shoehorns all the time

The Scandinavian mile is technically a remnant of the old Swedish imperial measurements. It was originally 18,000 alnar (cubits). And that was almost exactly 10 km so it stuck around.

5:00 this is also because swedes hates situations like these we would rather take the queue number to ensure this wont happen

Paddel is kind of new in Sweden, came a couple of years ago. For the last 10-20 years different sportactivities have been trending, much like fashion. Before paddel it was climbing, before that it was bicycling and before that squash and so on.

I mean, 20 “Swedish miles” makes perfect sense. It’s just like using “kilometer” instead of “meter”. So you saying that you can just say 200 kilometers and that the “Swedish mile” makes no sense, is the same as me saying that kilometers makes no sense because you can just say “1000 meters”, or that kilograms is illogical and you should just use 1000g.

The robot voices and blurred faces is for privacy, it is completely understandable. I would never want my face and voice in a show like that

A little help! As Swedes, we do not laugh at our way of life. We are proud of how we live. Here are the explanations: 2:13 Customer service, I can agree that something is wrong here. 3:44 No cash. This has led to robberies against banks and shops has basically disappeared. But with the help of Bank code, we can transfer money from the accounts we have via cellphone. We can also pay with Swich. We can also use Swish between us privately. If I ask a friend of mine to buy a thing from a store that I do not have time to visit but need the thing XX for the evening. Then I can use Swish and transfer money using that Bank ID to that person's bank account. 4:25 Queue system with number. Swedes love order and Justice. They do not know you have a case. They are used to taking a note with a queue number. 5:49 The reason why there are no fountains is that the pipes to the fountains must be dug down at least 2 meters (6ft) otherwise there is a risk that they will freeze if there is a long cold winter. Fountains can often only be used for four, maybe a maximum of five months. then they must be discharged into water. Risk of them freezing! 6:03 Singing at parties and also for spirits has been a tradition since Viking times. About 1000 years ago. Do not forget that the United States is young! 6:44 Sweden and Norway use miles pronounced "meal". There are in Scandinavia Nautical mil and Sea mil. Sea mil is 1852 meters. Sweden and Norway also had land mil. That were in Norway 11,295 m and in Sweden 10688 meters. Norway and Sweden decided during the Union (which Sweden and Norway had 1814 to 1905) to agree that 10 Km = 1 mil. Sweden and Norway are the only countries in the world that uses 10 x 1Km = 1 mil. 9:42 Shoehorn. In the United States that is not an Arctic country in the United States retains you put on your shoes inside. We do not do that in Sweden. If we did not use shoehorns, we would wear out the shoes. We would need to tie up and tie the shoes many times a day. Shoe horns are not so strange!

I am so shooketh that mil is specific to Sweden (and norway). Like what?!? It's convenient tho so more countries should using it

It's still the metric system. 10km is 1 metric mile. It's the same mile in France and Germany or even Japan. It's easier to say 20 miles than 200 km. Same way you say 1 foot instead of 12 inches. Edit: I stand corrected. Apparently Scandinavians are the only ones that use mil. You learn something new every day.

The robot voice makes the show at least 50% funnier

Tip! You can also use the shoehorn as a backscratcher😁 Especially the ones from Ikea with the snakelike handle😌

We don´t use the imperial system. We use the metric system. That is what a swedis mil is based on

Getting this in my recommended 1 month after posting, obviously going to the comments to see if my fellow Swedes had done their job in explaining Mil and Shoehorns. I am very proud of their work! There are probably already comments about the blurring and robotic voice, but I couldn't see any of them explaining it so here goes (with a bit of added fun): It's actually illegal to not protect their identity, and even things like their voice - that in some cases can be very specific for a person - isn't allowed to be in the shows since that might be used to reveal their identity. If a person isn't convicted of a crime you're not allowed to show anything that can reveal their identity basically. These rules has been eased up the last couple of years, but when I was younger even pictures in newspapers like "Have you seen this person?" were pixelated to the point of no recognition. Which made it virtually impossible to know if you had seen the person they suspected of a crime because the picture could resemble both your grandfather and your dog at the same time. Oh well, enough of this mini-rant. Hope you all have a great day!

Sjorhorns are extremly good for keeping your shoes nice. If you take them of snd put them on all the time withput shoehorn you either have to untie and then tie them. If you use a shoehorn the back of the shoe stays fresh and doesn’t brake and you don’t have to keep undoing them all the time. It is actually so much faster!

Swede here. I agree with you with the most parts... But... 1. the queue thing... Just respect the queue. 2. 1 mile is 10 km. It makes sence in all of europe 3. Just like American football, it´s your country only. 4. The shoehorn is more used in Sweden, as we don´t wear our shoes inside and make it easier for people to put them on when leaving.

You didnt take a Queue number? That made my heartrate go up, and not in a good way. Yes, im Swedish.

A Swedish/Norwegian mile is 18000 cubits (alnar / alen) long, later reused as 10km due to it's appropriate the same length. Why use it... 5 mil = 2 syllables 50 kilometer = 7 syllables.. An other reason is one less significant number..

Okay this may not be a common sentiment, but I get genuinely flustered any time a package is delivered to my door. For one, you need to be around to sign for it, which can be tricky depending on your schedule, and I personally get very anxious about people seeing me in lounge wear, or catching a glimpse of my disorganised hallway or kitchen or whatever, not to mention having to talk to a stranger. Besides, most of the time the store your package is sent to is your closest grocery store (we rarely have to cover the sort of distance some people in the US may have to), so it's supposed to make it easy to just pick up a package along with a carton of milk or whatever? And, as a final note, environment. Even if I had the option for front-door delivery, I wouldn't take it, because just the thought of adding my name to a list that will contribute unnecessarily to emissions fills me with environmental guilt. Rather just walk or hop on my bike.

Shoehorns are great if you can use them to get away from having to tie your shoe laces - which is especially nice for elderly as they often don't want to bend down if they can avoid it because of back pain/ache :P If you're having a bit a trouble getting in your shoes because they're too narrow, they shoehorns help you aswell and you won't have to tug away at the heel/back end of your shoes as that will wear them out a bit quicker :P

One mil is 10km, it fits perfectly into the metric system. And it's useful in making shorter numbers, much the same way one wouldn't use grams for weighing a pesrson. Also, shoehorns are useful for certain types of shoes.

Great video! About the swedish mil. It does make sense, or atleast simplifies a distance. It's easier to use fewer numbers, otherwise you might aswell say 200000m. But I understand that it must be confusing when not used to having used it your whole life. Especially when you're used to the imperial mile! Cheers :)

I see that there is already several comments about the Swedish "mil". If you check the "Scandinavian mile" in English Wikipedia you see that the Swedish and Norwegian "mil" was defined as 36,000 feet, but Norway had longer (bigger?) feet than Sweden. Swedish "mil" was 10,688 meter, Norwegian "mil" was 11,295 meter. Despite Norway and Sweden being in a union, the metric system was introduced in Norway 1875 and in Sweden 1879. I don't really know, but I guess the union was a contributing reason to redefine the "mil" to 10 kilometers. Note however that the Danish coordinated "mil" is 7532 meters since 1835, where there previous was different "mil" or "miil". The Finish "peninkulma" is also 10 km nowadays, but literally was "the distance at which you can hear a dog" if I understood it correctly.

Your list shows stuff that's underrated and that's the cool thing about it. I never would've guessed stuff such as the packages, and in the end, it's info other youtube channels don't tell you about, so thanks ♡

29 year old native swede here, this video is literally the first time I have ever heard of Padel. Also shoehorns are amazing.

Yeah, this customer service thing is quite frustrating. Sometimes I wonder if they split up responsibilities too much just in order to create more jobs for themselves.

The "Swedish shuffle" sounds like when I tried to go through customs at LAX. I was sent to stand in so many different cues just to end up in the first one I stood in before being let in the country. It took me about 1,5h. So it seems to be an universal thing.

Next time I will say it is 218723 yards away instead of 20 mil got it!

You can have packages delivered at home, but if you're not at home when they deliver it, they leave you a note (or text message or similar) letting you know where you can get it or what phone number to call to have it delivered again.

As people pointed out you can often get home delivery at a higher price. Since we have minimum wage higher than pocket change and high gas prices, home delivery is often pretty expensive.

Mil is actually from before the metric system, but it was like 30 meters off of 10 km so when switching to metric they redefined it to 10 000 meters.

Well, using a shoehorn makes it a lot easier to fit your feet into your shoes! If you get used to this item you cannot manage without it, trust me.

It really sounds like you object to traditions that are different than yours. The service issue is very similar in the US, depending on Business, you are talking to. Shoehorns are used in the US as well, but are more common in Sweden, because it is considered rude to wear your shoes indoors. In the winter months you tend to have very dirty, and rugged shoes, so many people carry slippers when they enter a home. Mil are covered by many others here, so you understand. The queuing systems are made so they can handle volume. It will seem silly when you are alone, but the situation you describe, when the attendant was not in the room, how does he/she know that you did not get a ticket? If this has happened to you countless times, its more a question of learning. The singing at dinners is a tradition, that is mostly around snaps, there are songs that date back hundreds of years, some are bawdy, some are romantic, I suggest learning some of them. A dear friend of mine said that as his grandfather grew deeper into dementia, he did not recognize him, but he recited three “nubbe visor” he had never heard. There are reasons why traditions are created, some may be irritating, but just think what other cultures think of Americans.

don't mess around with the waiting-lines in sweden or you are going to have a-lot of people stare at you menacingly.

Regarding packages: so much dishonest in that piece. It all depends on the site you order from. Most sites let YOU decide wheter or not you want it shipped to your apartment/door or the closest convenience store (that acts as a post office). You can also choose to get notified when the package has arrived, how to get notified and lastly; how fast you want it delivered (usually with a price difference of $1-2). Also a bit dishonest to say "take a trip" to the post office. Most swedes living in a city has a maximum of 10mins walking distance to a convenience store. And if you don't - you usually live in a house. And if you live in a house - just get it delivered to your door. Package thieves aren't as big of an issue in Sweden as in the US. And if you're afraid of it being lost, you can most of the times ask the delivery company, while ordering a product, to ring on your door bell when the package has arrived. If you by some reason don't live close to convenience store, can't get it shipped home (the option might not be available for that certain product or webpage), aren't home during working hours and aren't bothered to get it from a convenience store - you can most of the time get it delivered to your workplace.

Shoehorns are a lifesaver! When I hurt my back I seriously couldn’t put on shoes without a shoehorn, they are the greatest. They also help your shoes to live longer because you don’t damage the heel of the shoes as much when using a shoehorn.

Shoehorns are the best,i use them all the time.

I'm Norwegian, and one of my mates gave me one of those long shoehorns as a birthday present once. And I absolutely love it. I use it all the time, and it makes things so much easier. It's awesome.

There actually used to be public drinking fountains in Sweden. They became less and less common due to maintainence/sanitary issues. Last one I saw was in Örebro and that was rusty and gross by the mid 1980's.

Well we used amazon UK, US or Germany until we got it and packages do get delivered to your door if you choose that delivery option but yes standard is to the the closest pick up point.

I have never played padel or even seen it played, but then, I know nothing about sports.

With the exception of the UK, all cars in Europe are stated in MIL or KM (10Km (1000m) is one MIL. (10,000 meters)

1:30 hey that’s me! 😉

The shoehorn, is the best invention since the wheel. :)

The mile is not specific to sweden, and the logic behind the mile is the same as every other unit of measurement in the metric system?

You're not wrong about the shoehorn situation. I've always used them.. and now that I'm in my 50's.. well.. they are great. Eventually You'll see the light. (Yes, I'm a swede.. well duuh.) ;)

Ok i'm swedish and I don't know what the heck padle is.

Shoehorn is so practical!! You can stand up and put on shoes so faaast and you dont hurt your finger trying to put on shoes the normal way

Seriously there's nothing better than a long PROPER steel shoehorn. Its so satisfying to use.

Use th metric system, sins 10 kilometers is eaquel to 1 sw mile makes a lot of sense as 10 deciliter eaquels 1 liter, all the metric mechements works all in the same way

Im a swede and i love all the positivity you and the people are spreading in the comments❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you, thank you so much😊

Go a few weeks or months with pain in the knees and you would scream out loud for anyone to bring you the shoe horn.

Surprised you only mentioned passive aggressiveness once 😂

Me and most of the people I know use e-mail for customer service, just provide your phone n0 so they can call you if needed.

The Scandinavian mile makes a lot of sense based in you guessed it: history. In olden times, the Scandinavian roads had mile stones placed at an interval of 36.000 feet. That converts to roughly 10 km depending on the foot measurement used. When Scandinavia introduced the metric system, the mile stones were left behind and the concept of a "mil" was kept, but now set to 10 km/10.000 m.

The packaging one isn’t really true. You usually get to choose if you want it delivered to your home or your closest post office. It will usually take one more day tho, that’s why many people choose to get their packages one day earlier and go pick it up instead

Regarding ques: Went to the Systembolaget this afternoon. No one was queing outside, but the store was full (no one was allowed to enter). There was this attendant outside telling me so, and hence I tried to figure out were the Line was supposed to start (from left of the entrance, of from the right). While thinking 🤔, this local came up and stood to the left, upon which one customer left the store, and enters she, nonchalantly allthough I was the first one there. Had to just suck it up, not having managed to figure out where the que was at since there were no physical entities forming it. 1 minute of my life went wasted. So it goes; it is what it is, and all that jazz. Trevlig helg!

Shoe horns are mainly for tight shoes or shoes that can easily get creases in the back, think about any kind of dress shoe/boots. Most people don't use them that often but has one hanging at the entrance :P. I agree with you on the robot voices though, some of them are so extreme that there is no way you can hear what they are saying lol. But I feel like there are situations where it should be used, for example someone who is being in danger (victim of some sort) or maybe when people can loose their job etc. The country is quite small and has a lot more variety in dialects, so even if you blur their face they can be easily recognized from their voice. Kul video iallafalll, hoppas du laddar upp mera :)

I've recently undergone 12 surgeries in one knee. No shoehorn = impossible to go out. I'm trapped inside without the shoehorn. Disguised voice = consideration and responsibility.

Hey, don't hate on the Swedish mile! Then you might as well say that Stockholm is 200 000 000 millimeters away. I realize from the comments that if there is anything we like more than fika it's the mil ;)

can you now do a list of 10 things you learned in your first year in sweden that you like? :)

the robotic voices is becouse in sweden personal integrity is more important than how entertaining a tv-show is. :)

Sorry but it should be mil [mee-l] as you say ’feel’. Not mile. I don’t understand swedes who says mile when speaking english, that is imperial system. So, there is full logic behind saying 10 mil instead of 100 km. And no logic to saying 10 miles when you mean 100 km.

I have lived in Sweden for 40 y, and never heard of the sport "padel", must be something that have become popular or "hip" lately.

I love this! You're right, I've heard all about fika like a million times but never any of these things! I would definitely like to hear more weird things you've noticed!! Also lol shoehorns... Icelanders also love them?! no clue why.

I can say i love my shoehorns, have 5 of them xD

To be fair, the Swedish mile (which is based on a merger of several (at least four, though two main ones) different miles that pervaded the Nordic countries since far before the metric system was invented) fits very nicely into the metric system since it's 10 kilometres, and decakilometre or whatever it would be called using the standard prefixes doesn't quite sound as good, and it's very much more practical to talk about car travel distances with it. It's also sometimes called a metric mile, though that can be confused with a metrification of the English mile to 1 500 metres that sometimes gets used.

Imported (adopted) Swede here. Loved the vid! Specifically for going for things not usually found on the regular "Top ten differences...." vids about Sweden that you can find. :) No. 3 brought a big smile to my face. Absolutely not saying you are wrong but still made me smile. Same with No 8 :) I think I have at least 3 shoe horns, but almost never use them (like low single digit numbers per year).Regarding our lack of water fountains... If I go out for a walk in the city and have a water bottle that could use a refill (I usually carry an old ½ liter bottle during summer or otherwise warmer days), I just walk into basically any café or store and politely ask if I could refill my bottle, and have yet to be denied :). Really hope you will like your stay and looking forward to future videos :) Ps. If you want/need tips on traversing any cultural barriers, just ask :) d.s.

i dont get how anyone could ever be upset about shoehorns, like whats so bad about not having to bend and hurt your fingers everytime you put on your shoes?, its faster, you can stand up straight and you dont have to hurt your fingers when you have tighter shoes etc.

A shoehorn will save your shoes, to last longer and not break by the heal. Also some shoes really require it to get your feet inside.

The thing with a queue number when there is no queue. I always just look at the cashier and ask: Hey, do I need to take a queue number? Works every time.

I am a swedish student in Uppsala and we have a whole book for our drinking songs, it's called a "sångbok" and is really fun! :) Also, paddel is a cult in sweden. Everybody plays paddel and it's very popular.

Shoehorns are used to easily put your foot in the shoe, great for older people that csn't bend down to their shoes. It also prevents the back part of the shoe getting destroyed by your heel if you just force your foot in. God tier accessory.

"I don't know a single drinking song in English" - the US national anthem started as one :)

When you live in a country that is 2035 KM long and the avg distance between cities/towns is about 20 km, you tend to want to lower the numbers somewhat. Also most cars count fuel usage in Liter/10 KM and a car use to run on 1/10 (0.6/10 now days) so it was also an easy way to calculate fuel usage on trips in casual conversations.

Ser du stjärnan i det blå, ta en sup så ser du två, tar du mera ser du flera, stjärnor små (Snapsvisa / Drinking song)

About postal services and package pickup. It's cost and environment question in play. Shipping companies asks always (If the function or service is available) if you want it to be shipped to nearest postal service desk or your door. Companies always provide the closest postal service/pick-up point, so you can walk down and pick it up at the point (Usually it's a grocery store) - This way you will keep your and the company shipping the package costs down, also minimize the use of transportation and preserve the environment. We are quite big on the "Save the planet" thing :D Granted, some small communities or with no close pick-up point can choose to have the package shipped to their door. But usually in those instances, even then people tend to pick the option of getting their package at the pick-up point. Which as I said, usually a grocery store, that is conveniently along the way back home from work where I tend to stop to get groceries for the dinner that evening :D Sorry for the late comment, just got your video popped up and I got intrigued.

I get your frustration, but moving and living in the US for a forenger is WAY worse! From my experience, your first point so is NOT typical Swedish! 🙃

One thing that is good to know is that it can be next to impossible to buy a ticket for a train ride on short notice if you're in a place where the train station is unstaffed . Only way is to order it via online purchase sites. Make sure to have a smart phone.

Born and raised in Sweden and I have never ever heard of Paddel 😂

Shoe horns are a absolutely essential accessory.

Lovely video! But I think you're shopping from the wrong sites. Shipping is almost always free 😂 Find good sites and choose the right shipping type (then you can even get it delivered to your door, bit you have to be home, as they still need your ID to deliver it!) // Swedish

The Swedish mile used to be a weird customary unit that was repurposed and made metric-compatible. After all, everything in metric comes in 10s. 10 cm is 1 dm, 10dm is 1m and so on. So 10km being one mile makes sense.