Posted by Knud on September 19, 1999 at 15:43:56:
In Reply to: Re: dikes posted by Ken on September 19, 1999 at 00:38:23:
I choose to think that you are embarrassed because you don't know anything about Denmark.Don't be embarrassed. Maybe i should be (interpreting everything in a certain way). Well, well.
It is difficult for a nation of 5 mill. inhibitants to be famous (in the USA that is). Maybe you know H.C.Andersen (fairy tales), Niels Bohr (beeing an engineer) or H.C. Oersted (who found/invented the electromagnetism). The philosopher Soeren Kierkegaard, the composer Carl Nielsen. Maybe you know the programming language C+ - invented of a dane. Karen Blixen and Peter Hoegh was/are novelists. Bille August is a filmdirector. Windmills from Vestas - very common in CA. Maersk is a shipping company. EAC too. You certainly know LEGO. Carlsberg (beer) too, i guess. Maybe Novo Nordic (medicin).
Ships and fishing are very important to us. Farming too (pigs - bacon). Nowadays IT too.
I think though, that nowadays we are most proud of our social welfare, our health system and our edcucation-system. Most danes can talk 3 languages (danish, english and german or french) and it's certainly not unusual with more languages spoken. Everything is for free! Like it is in the rest of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland). Denmark is also very USA-friendly (very common to travel in the USA - i've been there twice myself). The danish people is the most travelling people in the world. The oldest kingdom in the world - and one of the oldest democracies in the world. We have an ambivalent relation to the germans - because we have got so many great things(and persons) from them but unfortunatly they have tried several times to make Denmark a "bundesstat" (member of the german "union"). We are an independent Nation - and always have been! But we are dependent of the german economy. I also think that Denmark is that nation, where womens liberation mostly has come through. The majority of students at our universities are women! Football (soccer), handball, badminton, sailing and swimming are our sports. And speedway.
We only have one big fault - we boast too much. Danes really mean they are priviliged. I think that's due to Denmark beeing a very small nation. Denmark against the rest of the world! But one can discuss if it is too much when a well-educated engineer in New York doesn't even know that Denmark is a nation. You could visit Danish Tourist Board, 655 Third Avenue, 18th floor,New York, NY 10017. In dec 99 a catalog will be published in USA, named "Every American has a Friend in Denmark ". See also the attached link for information of Denmark.