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FINLAND QUIZ

Finland just celebrated it’s one hundred years of independence. But do You know the answer to these questions about Finland?

1. Which of the following do we have most in Finland?
a) Cars
b) Saunas
c) Reindeers

B. All the Finns love sauna and there are over 3 million saunas in Finland. With the population of 5,5 million that is more than one sauna for every other citizen. Typically, almost everyone bathes in sauna at least once a week. There’s even a Burger King with a sauna in it! There are more saunas in Finland than there are cars (2,5 million). The number of reindeers is regulated by law, because they consume vast amounts of lichen in the wild. The maximum allowed number of reindeers in 2010-2020 is 203 700.

2. Which animal will most likely harass you while you are having a bite to eat at the Market Square in Helsinki?
a) A reindeer
b) A bear
c) A seagull

C. The seagulls at the Market Square in Helsinki are notorious for stealing anything edible from the unsuspecting people. If you’re not paying attention, they might snatch your ice-cream straight of your hand. The actions to reduce the problem have not been successful, as the bird learns fast. The tourists often feed the birds, which makes them even more aggressive to seek food from people. The seagulls are most aggressive in early summer, when they are nesting.

The brown bear is Finland’s national animal. The bears live in forests, typically avoid humans, and are rarely seen. Reindeers live in herds in the Northern Finland. They are livestock that live in the wilderness, but may wander around villages and roads, so drivers should pay attention and take their time.

3. Finland is often characterized as…
a) The land of a thousand lakes
b) The land of a million mosquitos
c) The land of a billion bikes

A. Finland is often characterized as the land of a thousand lakes. In fact, the moniker is an understatement, as there is a total of 187 888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) in Finland. That means there is one lake for every 30 people. There are also 179 584 islands within the territory of Finland. There are more lakes and islands in relation to a country’s size than in any other country in the world.

4. Estimate Finland’s greatest length from north to south?
a) 1157 km (718 miles)
b) 994 km (618 miles)
c) 833 km (518 miles)

A. Finland’s length is 1157 km (718 miles).

5. At Finland’s northernmost point, the sun does not set for how many consecutive days during summer?
a) 53
b) 63
c) 73

C. Finland is called the Land of the Midnight Sun for a reason. If you visit the north of the country during the months of June and July, you’ll see the sun never drops below the horizon. In fact, the sun doesn’t set for 73 consecutive summer days. On the other hand, the sun doesn’t rise at all for 51 days during the winter (known as polar night).

6. What is Donald Duck called in Finnish?
a) Kalle Anka
b) Aku Ankka
c) Anders And

B. Aku Ankka is the Finnish name of Donald Duck. Kalle Anka is the Swedish version and Anders And is Danish. Donald Duck is more popular in Finland than anywhere else in the world. The weekly comic Aku Ankka has the largest distribution of all weekly publications in Finland.

7. How many public telephones are there in Finland?
a) 10000
b) 100
c) 0

C. There are no public phones in Finland. The last phone booths disappeared in 2007. Instead everyone has a mobile phone – quite literally everyone, since there are over 5 million mobile phones in Finland.

8. Finland has the most heavy metal bands in the world, how many?
a) 43 per 100 000 people
b) 53 per 100 000 people
c) 63 per 100 000 people

B. Finland is said to be the Promised Land of heavy metal music. There are more heavy metal bands in Finland than anywhere else in the world, 53 per 100 000 people. Some of them are world-famous, like Nightwish, HIM or Apocalyptica. There’s even a heavy metal band for children – HeviSaurus – where the band members wear dinosaur-costumes.

9. How much coffee does a Finn consume in a year?
a) 8 kg (17,6 pounds)
b) 10 kg (22 pounds)
c) 12 kg (26,4 pounds)

C. Finnish people love their coffee and they consume more coffee per person than does any other nation in the world, 12 kg a year. That’s twice as much as Italians drink and three times as much as Americans consume.

10. In which of the following “sports” does Finland NOT host World championships?
a) gingerbread eating
b) mosquito killing
c) wife carrying
d) mobile phone throwing

A. Finland does not host the World Championships for gingerbread eating. But there are lots of other esoteric sports that host their annual world championships in Finland, including mosquito killing, mobile phone throwing, swamp football, air guitar playing and rubber boot throwing. The strangest of all is the Wife carrying World Championship, which takes place in Sonkajärvi every July. The extreme obstacle course event has turned into an international phenomenon, with couples from Denmark, Hong Kong and Australia travelling to the country to take part. The grand prize is the woman’s weight in beer.