Skip to main content

Netherlands Quick Facts

I should be studying for a test I have in about 3 hours but the other author on this site is giving me a hard time for not posting as often as I should. I had a neat idea about the happiest countries I read somewhere but that will take some time to put in order. Instead I found some neat little Netherlands fun facts.

One big caveat, I've lived in Indiana my whole life and haven't (although I plan too) visited the Netherlands. I'm going off someone elses notes and opinions on these. Although most were taken from a website called discover the Netherlands which I'm guessing means it's fairly truthful. Enjoy. I added my personal comments after each....

+ People in the Netherlands eat raw herring with onions on top (It sounds weird but I bet it tastes great!)
+ Amsterdam has 1,281 bridges (I believe it. They have enough water to go around)
+ When Dutch schoolchildren pass their exams, they hang a Dutch flag and a school bag outside their homes (Time to celebrate! Hopefully I'll get to do the same tonight....)
+ One quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level (Explains all the dams)
+ The International Court of Justice is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (You may have alread known that but it's neat to see The Hague in the news and know where their talking about)
+ Dutch is also spoken in Belgium, northern France, Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (Time to get learning)
+ The Dutch are the tallest people in Europe (That's Viking blood for you. Rik Smits!)
+ Amsterdam is built entirely on piles (I'm guessing they are referring to the below sealevel thing so it was built on something solid to keep it from washing away)
+ Almost every Dutch person has a bicycle and there are twice as many bikes as cars (Keeps folks healthy I bet)
+ About 30% of all Dutch babies are born at home
+ You'll find flowers in almost every Dutch living room (I'm guessing mostly tulips)
+ Most Dutch people speak at least one foreign language (Seems every other country besides America speaks at least one other language. We need to catch up)
+ After Scandinavians, the Dutch are the world's biggest coffee drinkers (Guess it doesn't stunt your growth after all!)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was ...

Comment Reply - Protestants

So I've been called out. I had my first comment yesterday stating that during their fight for independence in the Netherlands, Protestants were under oppression in England. I love reading about history but am no History major myself or professional so I appriciate the comment. I remember that happening but I focus on items that interest me. Which is why I've focused on the Netherlands area. So I guess I'll go into it a little more. The Netherlands have always been a very open and free society to live. Think Amsterdam today. In a way I guess you could compare it to Las Vegas or New Orleans. So I have no doubt that some Protestants moved to the Netherlands to escape the oppression and help fuel the independence. People or all walks of life, races, and religions were welcomed. This accepting attitude helped to fuel the competition between England and the Dutch in the 17 and 18th centuries as they raced to gain a trade monopoly over each other. This ties in nice with why I'...

Ray - Forest Boy

Remember around a month ago when the news story hit about Ray the Forest Boy who randomly showed up one day in Berlin, Germany? Well I forgot to post this but it has been found out who Ray the 'Forest Boy' actually is. 20 yr old Robin van Helsum of Hengelo Netherlands (100 miles east of Amsterdam). What allowed the police to finally determine who 'Ray' was? His stepmother. She recognized his picture on the news. He went missing 9 months ago. Now that he has been exposed as a hoax and not the Forest Boy who had been living in the woods for 5 years; Robin may face stiff fines and penalties for the extra police time and work put into his case which could cost as much as $40,000. 'Ray' originally walked into Berlin claiming he had been walking for 5 days after spending 5 years living out of a tent in the 'wild' where he had buried his father. One Berlin police officer said that there were things right from the start that did not match to his story. Lik...