16 Photos Proving That Sweden Is an Entirely Different World With Its Own Rules

The country that is known for the band ABBA, its furniture, and many other things, has a lot of interesting details about its culture. For example, people in Sweden have a cultural thing called fika. The point of fika is to drink coffee, communicate with people, and eat sweet cinnamon buns. There are quite a few facts about Sweden that make us think it may be a parallel universe, where people have a unique way of thinking and treating the world around them.

We at Bright Side have read some opinions of people that either live in Sweden or have been there before, and we were really impressed.

“In Sweden, we have trash cans with WiFi.”

• Great, now I can sit next to this trashcan for a few hours! © Wannton47 / Reddit

In Sweden, they have their own measurement of volume.

It’s a centiliter. This is a soda can of 33 cl, which is 0.33 liters.

Insurance companies return the money to their clients if the income plan is exceeded.

“I received a letter from my insurance company. The message is this: ’Last year, we earned way more than we had expected, so we return some of the profit to our clients. Your 245 crowns will be returned to your account.’ I was shocked.”

Abandoned bicycles in Sweden get a second life through an interesting method.

“Sweden would be a totally different country if it didn’t recycle everything. Once a year, all abandoned bicycles get an orange sticker, and if the owner doesn’t take the bicycle, a special service removes it.

Then these bicycles end up at thrift stores where anyone can buy one they like for a good price. Everyone is happy and the streets are clean.”

In Uppsala, there’s a road sign that reads, “Careful, cat with kittens is crossing the road.”

Only in Sweden can you get a reminder on an ice cream pack to recycle it after using.

“One of the key details in sustainable community design here in Sweden is underground separated waste management vacuum tubes.”

“In supermarkets, we have paper bags instead of plastic ones. They are thick and can be used for compost later.”

“We collect organic waste too. As you can see, you can put meat, fish, tea, coffee, vegetables, and bread into it. Very convenient, actually.”

In Sweden, there is an island of Vrango where cars are not allowed.

“This island is just 1 hour away from Göteborg. Cars are not allowed there and the population is about 400 people.”

A waste recycle station right at someone’s apartment building

“We have an apartment recycle room and these cool tubes for waste, compost, and newspaper/papers.”

In Sweden, buying sweets is a lottery.

“This candy and marmalade are sold by weight. They can be sweet, sour, salty, really salty, or spicy, and there are vegan ones. There’s also licorice. It can be sweet, salty, or spicy.”

“Sweden: a mini-library right in front of a supermarket! Love this Swedish culture of love for libraries and books.”

“Why do Swedish houses always look amazing? Do you guys get taught it in school?”

Almost every pet is insured and registered, and dogs don’t wear muzzles.

• Because there are very few homeless pets in Sweden, getting a pet is a big and important step, so the future owners are really responsible about it, and they usually get insurance for their pets because vet clinics are extremely expensive. © taemiru / Pikabu

Here in Sweden, the ice-cream truck goes around. All. Year. Long.

• I’m moving there just for that alone. © SpicySteampunk / Reddit

Also, Sweden is incredibly beautiful.

Have you been to Sweden? Do you know some other facts about it that might surprise people?

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