Everyday Life Contest: Money Money Money

This post is part of the USA versus SWE everyday Life Contest.


In the old times, some coins in Sweden were named "Daler". The origins of this coin were German, and they were called "Thaler" after the place were they were manufactured: Joachimsthal - Joachim's Valley. If you recall from the first match, Sweden uses power plugs with German origins. It's striking how much German technology Sweden has inherited and profited from through the years and yet today many Swedes ridicule Germans. Shame on us! Anyway, when the "Thaler" reached the New World, it was dubbed - you guessed it - "Dollar"!

For years, the Thaler was an internationally recognized coin. Now wasn't that an idea way ahead of its time? Today, as we know, most countries or regions have their own currency. And while modern electronic means of payment in many cases have superseded coins and bills, there are still many occasions where nothing beats the good old Thaler. Part of the charm of coins and bills is how different they look from nation to nation and how each nation's history is reflected in their design.

Regardless, there are some aspects that affect the level of convenience of different coins and bills. Let us make a side-by-side visual comparison of US Dollars (USD) and Swedish Kronor (SEK). As an added bonus, this match contains a third competitor: The Euro (EUR)! Oh, and by the way, Krona means Crown. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy.


In the picture above, the top row contains US coins that are in wide use. From left to right, 25 cents (quarter), 10 cents (dime), 5 cents (nickel), 1 cent (penny).
In the middle row, we see the Swedish coins: 10 kronor, 5 kronor, 1 krona, 50 öre.
Bottom row contains the Euro coins: 2 Euro, 1 Euro, 50 cents, 20 cents, 5 cents, 1 cent.

Note that scales differ from row to row. In reality the 25 cent is just slightly smaller than 1 krona and 2 Euro.

When paying with cash, I find it very important to instantly be able to recognize the coins or bills in my wallet. I don't like standing like an idiot and fumbling to get the amount right. After some time in the USA I still find the coins to be too similar. That is except for the copper coloured 1 cent, but that is a miserable and useless coin anyway. Please, Department of The Treasury, ditch the 1 cent coin and do everyone a favor! And why is it that the dime is smaller than the nickel? Oh, must be the same logic as the one behind the US date format: 05/08/09. Month, Day, Year. Yes, I know that it is tied to the way dates are spoken, but still...

To be completely fair, the 10 kronor is smaller than 5 kronor, also breaking the logic. But that coin is way thicker and has a different color, so it is extremely easy to tell from the other Swedish coins. Sweden has in stages gotten rid of the less valued coins, like 1 öre and 10 öre, and I find the current lineup to be reasonable.

The Euro is the youngest currency and the European Union obviously has taken the opportunity to do things right. The coins are very easily distinguishable from each other and the relative sizes reflect the value.

Next, let us look at the bills of the three currencies.


Here, the pattern from the coin comparison repeats. The US bills are hard to tell from each other at a quick peek. Same color, almost same size, similar print.

Sweden has done a fair effort to both make the bills in different colors and sizes. They are a lot more fun to look at too - aren't they?

And finally we have the Euro, which again is best-in-class. Bills have distinct and different colors, the value is written in clear large print, sizes are different and still they have a consistent look.

Rounding up, the Dollar was crushed in this match. The Swedish Krona performed well, but was ultimately beaten by the outsider Euro's flawless performance.

So summing up, the scores this match were:
USD: 0 points
SEK: 2 points
EUR: 3 points

In this historic match of the USA versus SWE everyday Life Contest, Sweden scored its first victory against USA! Has Sweden finally reached a turning point? The only way to find out is to stay around for the next match!

Everyday Life Contest: Trash Bags

This post is part of the USA versus SWE everyday Life Contest.

It has been a while since the first post, and I have had plenty of opportunities to "discover" subjects for the everyday life contest. Today's post is about trash bags. Yep, you heard it right: trash bags. It is admittedly not the most exciting thing to write about, and probably not a hot topic for your cocktail party conversation. However, I don't think it is an overstatement to say that trash bags are more or less indispensable and actually play an important role in keeping your home clean and neat. Like it or not, you use them daily and once in a while you need to dispose of them.

Now I would not be writing all this if I had not found an interesting difference between Trash Bag Universe in Sweden and the US, would I? Of course not.

In Sweden you typically re-use the plastic bags from the grocery store as trash bags once they have fulfilled their primary purpose. This is simply not possible in the US for two reasons:

• The plastic bags from US grocery stores are completely inadequate for carrying trash. They are tiny, tear easily and are sometimes semi-transparent - who wants to see that three day old banana peel at the bottom of the bag when carrying it out?
• The trash bins are huge compared to the grocery bags. A standard trash bin appears to be 13 gallons, roughly 49 liters.

So, in the US, it seems common to actually buy trash bags to a greater extent. Now, this may seem wasteful (pun not intended), but let us stop for a while and imagine a better world where everyone brought their reusable grocery bags made from fabric when shopping. Yes - even then there would still be a need for trash bags! Ok, I agree, in a perfect world there would be no excess packaging, everyone would compost and there would be no trash, but let's stay realistic. So, accepting that we need trash bags, let us have a look at a Swedish and a US trash bag.


A typical Swedish plastic grocery bag reused as trash bag. Plain, effective and always available.


The US trash bag is more elaborate. It has a plastic strip that you pull out, effectively closing the bag while at the same time acting as a convenient handle. Neat!

So, what is the score of this round?

2 USA : SWE 1

Amazing, USA takes its second consecutive win, with Sweden now lagging behind in the totals! Is this still a game? Come back for the next post to find out! In the meanwhile, be a good world citizen and use reusable bags for your grocery shopping!