Someone rotten from the State of Denmark: Dane of War’s homeland focus
I think most people have heard of Denmark, but in actuality, I’ve discovered that a lot of Americans don’t know a damn thing about it. From “Oh, you speak Dutch” to “Isn’t Denmark someplace in Sweden?” I think I’ve heard it all.
As the official “foreign guy” here at Geekcentricity, I’m bound by oath to Queen and Country to tell you about my country. Here’s a brief look at the facts before we get into the juicy bits:
Capital: Copenhagen
Total Area: About the size of Ohio
- total: 43,094 sq km
- land: 42,394 sq km
- water: 700 sq km
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Population: 5,432,335 (July 2005 est.)
Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (a small minority). English is the predominant second language (although it often isn’t spoken very well).
Literacy: 99.9%
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2%
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy (This means that a Monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution)
Currency: Danish krone (DKK)
Interesting tidbits
- In 1989 Denmark become the very first European country to legalize same-sex marriages and offer for gay partnership the same rights as for heterosexual couples.
- Walt Disney got the idea for Disneyland after visiting Tivoli, our famous amusement park in Copenhagen (which often smells a lot like piss, to be honest).
- Brands like our Carlsberg beer and Lurpak butter are world-famous. And tasty.
- British people love our bacon.
- Our flag is the oldest national flag on Earth
- We’re only about 31 meters above sea-level. Global warming is really going to frak us up.
- We’re supposedly the “happiest place on Earth“
- The age of consent is 15.
- The age at which you are considered an adult is 18.
- There are 443 named islands in Denmark, 76 of which are inhabited.
- Danish women have the lowest incidence of obesity in the EU.
- Denmark has had no less than 14 Nobel laureates, including 4 in Literature, 5 in Physiology or Medicine, and one Peace prize.
Chances are pretty good that at some point in your life, be it as someone watching a movie, seeing a sporting event or listening to music – you’ve seen or heard a Dane (or a part-Dane). Here’s a list, complete with Wiki links, to show you just how many Danes you probably know:
List of famous Danes
Actors
- Iben Hjejle
- Katja K
- Mads Mikkelsen
- Viggo Mortensen
- Brigitte Nielsen
- Connie Nielsen
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
- Ulrich Thomsen
- Sven-Ole Thorsen
Atheletes
- Bjarne Riis
- Brian Laudrup
- Martin Kampmann
- Michael Laudrup
- Michael Rasmussen
- Morten Andersen
- Peter Schmeichel
Authors
Business Moguls
Comedians
Directors
Models
Musicians
Philosophers
Scientists
- Harald Bohr
- Aage Bohr
- Niels Bohr
- Thomas Fincke
- Georg Mohr
- Jakob Nielsen
- Julius Petersen
- Thorvald Thiele
- Caspar Wessel
- Bjarne Stroustrup
- Anders Hejlsberg
- Tycho Brahe
- Ole Rømer
- Hans Christian Ørsted
List of famous Danish Americans
Artists
Actors
- Amy Adams
- Jessica Alba
- Bridgette Andersen
- Alexis Bledel
- Erika Christensen
- Hayden Christensen
- Eric Dane
- Eliza Dushku
- Buddy Ebsen
- Scarlett Johansson
- Matt Le Blanc
- Michael Madsen
- Virginia Madsen
- Leslie Nielsen
- William Petersen
- Peter Sarsgaard
- Jessica Stroup
- Elijah Wood
So as you can see – I’m in some pretty good company!
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