September 15, 2026 • 42 mins
Pack your bags and grab your bike, because today we're taking a virtual trip to Denmark—a land where treasure-hunting is encouraged, Walt Disney stole his ideas for theme parks, and there are very specific ways to eat your sandwich. Plus: A shocking conspiracy involving the Swedish Chef.
This episode originally aired on January 28, 2025.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
You're listening to Part-Time Genius, a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Guess what, Mango?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
What's that, Will?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So I think we've established by now that you and
I are fans of the Muppets. Actually, as I'm thinking
about it here, it's probably been a minute. We haven't
talked about the Muppets in a minute. So let's go
ahead and establish it. Mango, what do you think about
the Muppets?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
I'm into them.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I'm a fan. You're in favor. You're in favor of
the Muppets. I love the Muppets as well. So we
have now established it. But here's one thing I actually
never knew before this week. It's that the Swedish chef
wasn't born in Sweden. This guy has been living a
lie this whole time. We actually should have talked about
it in our big episode on lies just last week.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
This feels like such a scandal. So what do you
mean he's not from Sweden?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, if you were to make the mistake of asking
a real Swedish person what they think about the Swedish chef,
they would tell you, I'm sure with a great deal
of annoyance, that there is nothing inherently Swedish about the character.
So most of the chef's dialogue is just a bunch
of made up nonsense words that sound I guess vaguely Scandinavian.
And according to Swedes, the character's sing-songish accent is actually
(01:09):
much closer to that of Norwegian or Danish. Actually, I'm
curious whether that's true or whether they're just like trying
to pass it off on somebody else. But, you know,
it's much more like those two dialects than it would be,
you know, speaking with Swedish inflections.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So when he's saying like Bjork, Bjork, Bjork, that's not, uh,
that isn't Swedish.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Believe it or not. I mean, here's what's funny to
me is that in the Muppets books and screenplays, that
word Bjork is, is almost always spelled with a special
Scandinavian vowel that looks like an O with a slash
through it. You know what I'm describing there? Tellingly that
vowel doesn't exist in the Swedish language, but it does
in Norwegian and Danish. And even though a lot of
(01:49):
people think that the chef sounds Norwegian, all the hard
evidence points to him hailing from Denmark.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I love how serious we're taking this. So what is
the hard evidence you're talking about here?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well, I got a little confused because I thought this
whole episode was on The Swedish Chef, so I'd done
a whole lot of research. But anyway, for starters, the
co-creator of The Swedish Chef, Muppet Show head writer, Jerry Jewell,
was of Danish heritage himself, and he wrote all the
chef's dialogue.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Which I guess explains how that Danish letter wound up
in all those bjorks.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
That's exactly right. It also explains why the German version
of The Muppet Show renamed the character The Danish Chef.
The voice actor in the dub thought Henson's accent sounded Danish,
so he wrote new dialogue incorporating Danish words and mimicked
the accent of his Danish friends.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So did Henson or Jewel ever acknowledge that their Swedish
chef sounded, you know, more Danish?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Not directly, but someone on the team seems to have
realized the mix-up. Because in 1985, this was 10 years
after the character's debut, the studio finally went on record
about the chef's origins. According to the gatefold cover of
the Muppet Review VHS, you probably still have a copy
of this, and I quote, Few people know it, but
the Swedish chef was actually born in Denmark. But his
(03:04):
parents moved to Sweden when he was just a baby.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I am so glad we got to the bottom of
this mystery. But when we chose Denmark to kick off
our new travelogue series, I did not think that we'd
start by talking about the Swedish chef.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
No, I didn't either. But here we are. I know
we'd be excited to go to both locations. But today
we are focused on Denmark. And I like to keep
you on your toes. So it was fun to kind
of bounce around there. But I do think the story
shows that despite the many points of overlap between Scandinavian
language and culture... These countries are much more distinct than
many of us realize, and lumping them all together just
(03:39):
makes us look a little bit silly. So in the
spirit of not mistaking all of Scandinavia for Sweden, let's
take a trip to Denmark, the land of little mermaids,
salty licorice, and the not-so-sweetest chef. Let's dive in.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Let's go!
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Hey there, podcast listeners. Welcome to Part-Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson.
And as always, I'm joined by my good friend, Mengesh Hatikader.
And on the other side of that soundproof glass, showing
some Danish pride with his Danish flag coffee mug, that's
our friend and producer, Dylan Fagan. He's actually got the
whole studio decked out in red and white today. Yeah,
I was going to say. It's crazy. It's impressive. It's impressive.
(04:33):
A lot of red and white. There are Danish flags
hanging from the ceiling. Another one in front of his desk.
He's even got a little paper one flying from his
Danish pastry. It's Feels a little bit overkill to me,
but like, you know, you said Danish people would probably
be on board for this, right, Mango?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, so Dylan is obviously hitting the mark perfectly once again.
But the Danes are actually much bigger fans of their
national flag than most people of most countries. They fly
it for all kinds of occasions, including things like birthday parties,
graduation ceremonies, funerals, and even at Christmastime. And it might
sound strange, but for many people in Denmark, displaying the
(05:10):
flag is a way to express festivity rather than nationalism.
And that's because the design of the flag has been
ingrained in Danish culture for centuries. Even before it was
officially adopted as a state symbol.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I kind of love that for it to mean something
even bigger than, you know, just borders. So how far
back does it go exactly?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So all the way back to June 15th, 1219 CE
at the Battle of Lundinisa. And that's when, according to
Danish legend, the country's red and white flag fell from
the sky as a sign of God's favor. Some people
think it's a miracle banner. It just arrived in the
nick of time. And it happened when the Danes were
currently locked in a losing battle against the Estonians. Now, luckily,
(05:52):
it wasn't just soldiers on the battlefield that day. There
was an archbishop, Sunnison, who had accompanied King Voldemar II
on his crusade to Estonia. And when he saw how
badly the Danes were faring, he raised his arms to
the sky and began to pray for some heavenly assistance. Now, suddenly,
this red lambskin banner bearing a white Nordic cross began
(06:13):
fluttering down from the sky. And King Voldemar takes up
this flag. He waves it about his head and he
urges his troops to fight on. And now all of
a sudden they believe that God's on their side. The
Danish forces rally at the side of the flag and
they go on to win the day. The banner that
had changed their fortunes became known as the Danabro, the
cloth or banner of the Danes. And soon after it
(06:35):
was adopted as a royal symbol and then as a
trading banner, a military ensign, and finally in the early
19th century as an official flag of Denmark.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
That is a pretty cool history there. And it's no
wonder the Danish people love their flag so much if
there's a bunch of like cool lore surrounding it. But
I am guessing, not to put too much doubt on it,
but I'm guessing there's not much historical evidence in support
of this whole story, though, right?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Yeah, so Denmark's victory that day was likely due to
reinforcements sent in by allies and not the divine intervention
of this, you know, heavenly flag. But that's not to
say there wasn't a falling flag at all. Red and
white flags with crosses were frequently used by European crusaders
between the 11th and 13th centuries. And the motif was
a symbol of Christianity rather than the specific nation or
(07:18):
the people. So if you think about that, it's totally
possible that a flag was there during the battle and
it maybe even fell onto the battlefield from like a
castle nearby. and it helped boost the troops' spirits. But
like I said, for many Danes today, the flag represents
more than just the government or nation of Denmark. It's
the symbol of the Danish spirit in general, the people,
(07:40):
the history they share. It sort of like pulls all
of that together. And Gabe pointed me to this interview
with a Danish professor. His name's Torben Kjersgaard Nielsen. And
he says the different perceptions of the Danish flag are
exactly what makes it such an effective national symbol. As
he puts it, Everyone uses and interprets the Danish flag
in their own way. And paradoxically, this is what makes
(08:02):
it a uniting symbol.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, I mean, that does seem like a pretty unique relationship. Actually,
speaking of Danish symbols of solidarity, have you heard about
Denmark's protest pigs? Is this something on your radar?
Speaker 1 (08:14):
I feel like I've heard the phrase, but I don't
know what it means.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, protest pig. So it's actually a special breed of pig.
I'm going to show you a picture here that was
bred specifically to resemble the country's beloved flag. What do
you think? I love it. It's pretty wild. And you
would think that it would have bright red or that
maybe what you're picturing and the white that's on it.
But the fur is a little bit more of a
(08:37):
copper color and it only has one vertical white stripe. So,
you know, the Nordic cross is incomplete. But as far
as breeding a pig that looks like your flag, I'd
give them an A for effort on this one. Of course,
it does help that Denmark's flag is fairly basic. Just
imagine trying To breed a pig with 50 stars on it.
You know, I think somebody out there now is going
to try, but it's not easy.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I hope so. And of course, like all the stripes, too.
But you call this a protest pig. So what exactly
is it in protest of?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Well, this is something that goes way back. And this
goes back to the 1860s when Denmark was wrestling with
Prussia for control of the southern Jutland Peninsula. So Denmark
wound up losing the war, and when Prussian authorities took
control of the area, they instituted new laws banning public
expressions of Danish pride, including raising the country's flags. Of course,
(09:28):
we just talked about how important this flag is to them.
That did not sit well with the Danish farmers who
lived in that disputed southern region. So in a clever
act of defiance, they began cross-breeding their pigs to make
them better resemble the flag of their homeland. I love
this so much. So the program succeeded in producing a
red pig with a vertical white belt across its shoulder. Now,
(09:49):
only a few dozen of those two-toned pigs are still
alive today, but pork remains closely tied to Danish politics.
And Denmark's national dish is fried pork belly served with
boiled potatoes and a bechamel sauce, and it's traditional to
eat the meat on election night. According to Scandinavia Standard, quote,
the practice of eating valflesk, or election meat, is a
(10:11):
tongue-in-cheek reference to the over-promises made by politicians on the
campaign trail.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
That's so funny and so snarky. I really love it.
But now that we've talked a little bit about Danish history,
we should probably get our bearings by covering a few
of the basics. So for starters, Denmark is a Nordic
country in Northern Europe. It consists of the Jutland Peninsula,
which you obviously mentioned earlier, and a string of more
than 400 islands in the North Sea. It shares a
southern border with Germany, which still controls the bottom third
(10:40):
of the peninsula. And to the north, just across the sea,
are Denmark's Scandinavian siblings. So Norway and Sweden. Denmark is
the smallest of the Scandinavian countries with an area of
just 16,600 square miles or a little less than twice
the size of Massachusetts. But it actually has the second
highest population of the three countries with 5.9 million people
(11:02):
compared to Norway's 5.5 and Sweden's 10.5. And Denmark also
has the most temperate climate of the trio, thanks to
the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
You know, I actually always forget that Denmark is technically
an island nation, but it does explain why Danish Vikings
got so good at sailing. You know, they had lots
of nearby places to practice.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah. And really the only part of Denmark that isn't
an island is the large flat Jutland region, because it's
the part that juts out of Germany. It's home to
the city of Aalborg in the far north, which is
often ranked as the happiest city in Europe, as well
as to Denmark's second largest city, Aarhus, which is a
lively cultural center on Jutland's east coast. But even though
(11:44):
Jutland is the largest landmass in Denmark, no matter which
part of the country you visit, You're still never more
than 32 miles from the sea. Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
That's wild, yeah. As interesting as Jutland sounds, I do
have a feeling that most people forego a trip to Denmark's, quote,
second city in favor of visiting its first, which is,
of course, Copenhagen. Located on Zeeland, the largest island in Denmark,
the capital city of Copenhagen started out as a fishing village. Now,
this was during the Middle Ages. And in those days,
(12:13):
most of the residents made their living by fishing for herring.
So for the first hundred years or so, the coastal
fishing town wasn't really of much strategic importance for the
Danish crown there. But when a wave of pirate attacks
began to pose a threat to Danish sovereignty, one of
the king's advisors took control of the town and started
building these fortifications, you know, and this kind of protecting
(12:34):
the inner harbor there. With his added security, this harbor
town grew into a flourishing trade center and eventually renamed Copenhagen,
which means Merchant's Harbor. So the city's transformation from a
humble fishing village to a bustling seaport culminated in 1343.
And this was when King Valdemar IV declared it the
capital of Denmark.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Which is quite the glow up. And it sounds like
this is all kind of thanks to a band of pirates, right?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
In a roundabout way, yeah. Actually, that's great that I
said that because speaking of roundabouts, we'd be remiss if
we didn't mention that Copenhagen is, of course, the best
city in the world for bicyclists, which is fascinating. But
more than half of the city's 640,000 residents commute to
work or school by bike. Think about that. That's more
than 300,000 people in the city that are traveling cumulatively
(13:25):
800,000 miles every single day. And they do all that
pedaling along Copenhagen's 250 miles of dedicated bike lanes, which
pedestrian tourists are advised to keep well clear of. Cyclists
actually have the right of way on those lanes. So
if you try to walk through them, you're liable to
get clipped, verbally shamed, or maybe even both.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
It's amazing to see how dominant cycling is in Copenhagen.
And I even saw that they have angled trash cans
throughout the city now so that people can toss their
garbage while biking. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, I mean, the Danes took to cycling culture from
the moment bikes arrived in the 1880s. They were viewed
as an equalizing force in society, providing a fast, low-cost
means of transportation to people of any social class. And
because of the country's terrain being mostly flat, bikes were
useful nationwide, whether you're commuting to work in a city
or just tooling around in the countryside for fun. So
(14:17):
the pastime has had its ups and downs over the
last century or so, but in recent decades, cycling has
made a massive comeback, to the point that 9 out
of 10 Danes now own at least one bicycle. In fact,
reports say there are now more bikes than people in
Copenhagen and five times as many bicycles as cars.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
That really is incredible and probably a big reason why
Copenhagen often tops the world's list of greenest cities, right? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
You know, while I don't want to dissuade any listeners
from renting a bike during their visit, it can be
pretty intimidating to hop on a busy bike lane when
you really don't know your way around. So with that
in mind, what do you say we run through a
couple of our favorite places in Copenhagen that are perfectly
accessible without a bicycle? I love that.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
But first, let's take a quick ad break.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
You're listening to Part-Time Genius, and we're sharing our must-see
stops when touring Copenhagen. All right, Mango. So Denmark's largest
city has no shortage of iconic sites, from the dizzying
corkscrew spire of the Church of Our Saviour, to the
famous Little Mermaid statue honoring Hans Christian Andersen. But if
you had just one day to visit Copenhagen, where would
you spend it?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So this might sound strange, but my pick would be
the Tivoli Gardens amusement park. It is like this compact
little island of whimsy right in the heart of the city.
And it's just a few steps from Copenhagen's central station.
And as that prime location might tell you, this is
no cut-rate carnival. It was inspired by the parks and
(15:55):
gardens of other European cities, most notably the Tivoli Gardens.
and the Vauxhall Garden in London. So there's a big
focus on manicured flower gardens and outdoor entertainment like live
music and pantomime plays.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
So this is more sort of like an old school
pleasure garden than a modern theme park, I guess.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Definitely. But Tivoli does have its fair share of mechanical
rides too. A lot of them are newer additions, but
some of them have been there since the early days
of the park. For instance, Tivoli's oldest and most popular
ride is a 1914 wooden roller coaster known simply as Rutschenbanen,
or roller coaster. It's one of just a few left
in the world that still features a live brakeman on
(16:37):
board of every train.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
That's a great word for roller coaster. I'm going to
try to commit that to memory. But I also love
that roller coaster brakeman is a viable occupation in Denmark.
It's like every middle schooler's dream job. All right, so
the oldest ride is from 1914, but how old is
the park?
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Well, the grand opening of the park goes way back
to 1843, which makes it the second oldest operating amusement
park in the world. The other one also happens to
be in Denmark.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Okay, yeah. They're in some old parks. I'm honestly impressed
they've been able to hold on to such prime real
estate for that long. I mean, most European capitals... don't
exactly carve out space for a sprawling amusement park right
in the middle of their downtown.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Yeah, I mean, to be fair, the park wasn't ever
meant to have such a central location. Tivoli Gardens was
founded by this guy named George Carstensen, and he fell
in love with Pleasure Gardens while traveling abroad and wanted
to bring his own park on the edge of the
Danish capital. It was kind of a tough sell at first,
but he eventually won the Danish king over and by
(17:40):
telling him that, you know, when people are amusing themselves,
they're not really thinking about politics. So Carstensen's charter allowed
him to use roughly about 15 acres of land just
outside the Copenhagen city limits. It's an area that had
once been the site of the city's old fortifications, but
the park didn't stay outside the city for long. And
that's partly because Copenhagen continued to expand throughout the 19th century,
(18:05):
eventually growing around the gardens and making it part of
the city proper.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I mean, it definitely sounds more fun to have a
roller coaster in the center of the city than a
bunch of rundown forts. So good call there.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I think it's pretty smart. And when Tivoli Gardens opened
in 1843, the locals were amazed by just how much
the familiar grounds had changed. Like these used to be
barren fields and they were turned into these lush gardens
that were filled with like exotic plants and flowers. The
crumbling ruins were replaced with pavilions modeled after foreign architecture,
and the park was almost something like from a fairy tale.
(18:37):
That was especially true at night when thousands of colored
lamps would light up the gardens. Speaking of fairy tales,
one of the park's earliest and most famous proponents was
none other than Hans Christian Andersen. Now, he visited Tivoli
Gardens during its very first season, and his favorite part
was the Chinese pavilion. Anderson was so inspired by his
visit that he wrote an original fairy tale set in
(18:58):
China called The Nightingale, and he used the Tivoli Gardens
Pavilion as the model for the Emperor's Palace. And in
later years, the park returned the favor by incorporating Anderson's
fairy tales into its attractions. So guests at Tivoli Gardens
can now watch a stage show based on the author's work,
and even board a dark ride called The Flying Trunk,
which takes riders on a whirlwind tour through 32 of
(19:21):
Anderson's fairy tales.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
You know, it's interesting because one of the few things
that I'd heard about Tivoli Gardens before doing this episode
is that it helped inspire the Disney theme parks, which,
of course, have their own rides based on Anderson's stories.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Yeah, so Walt actually took a trip to Tivoli in 1951,
so just four years before he opened Disneyland. And he
went there with his good friend and TV star, Art Linkletter.
And the two of them spent the day gathering ideas
to use in Walt's future park. According to Linkletter, Disney
took notes on every aspect of Tivoli Gardens. And we've
(19:55):
heard this about Disney before, that he was just obsessive.
So he wrote down notes on everything from the rides,
the foods, to the number of trash cans they had.
So while Tivoli is very much its own thing, you
can find traces of its influence all over the original
Disneyland and in other theme parks as well. Hmm.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
All right. Well, as fun as this place sounds, amusement
parks aren't exactly for everybody. I don't quite get it
because I love amusement parks. And the thing is, though,
you do have to pay to get in. So I
guess I'll go in a slightly different direction for my pick.
And I'm going to recommend heading to a different part
of the city that's just as colorful and unique as Tivoli,
but with no admission fee. It's called Freetown Christiania. And
(20:34):
although it's just a short walk from the trendy waterfront
area of Nyhavn, it feels worlds apart from any other
neighborhood in Denmark.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
I actually think I read about this place. Like, it's
a hippie micronation right in the middle of the city, right?
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yes. So Christiania was founded in 1971 when a few
hundred young squatters took up residence in this deserted military
barracks area. And this is less than a mile away
from the seat of Danish parliament. Now, you might call
them hippies or nonconformist or idealist, but whatever the case,
they wanted to experiment with a different way of life.
One that was more laid back than the conventional city living.
(21:11):
So they had this motto translated into English that was,
live life artistically, only dead fish swim in the current.
So I thought this was pretty good. So with that
in mind, they used the land and the existing infrastructure
to set up an autonomous commune or Freetown, as they
described it, which they claimed was politically distinct from the
surrounding city and from Denmark itself. So in fact, when
(21:34):
you enter the area today, there's actually a sign announcing
that you're leaving the European Union, even though the Danish
government has never recognized Christiania's independence.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
So I'm so curious, because like, how does a place
like this exist? Like, you think the city would have
shut it down if it's really kind of a rogue
state or whatever?
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely been threatened before, especially in
the late 1970s, when the place became a hub for
drug dealers as well. But So far, the city has
mostly looked the other way and left Christiania to its
own devices. So, for example, the commune has its own flag,
its own common law, and even its own system of government,
with all the decisions being made jointly at these monthly
(22:13):
meetings that they have. So the residents don't pay rent
for their homes, the storefronts either. Instead, they pay a
monthly user fee, which kind of helps pay for the
communal infrastructure and building projects and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
I love the idea of a user fee for your town,
but that sounds so wild. So how many people actually
live there?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
So there's just under a thousand people. There's about 220 kids,
770 adults or so, including a hundred or so who
are still there from the original takeover, actually.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
And so what can you do there if you decide
to visit? Well, the best way to make sense of
what you're seeing is to take a guided tour from
a local. So they are offered daily during the summer. Otherwise,
visitors are free to wander the 17-acre grounds that are there,
and there are tons of public art displays to check out,
a bunch of eclectic shops selling handmade crafts, and there's
always some kind of concert or live performance going on.
(23:06):
You can also just take a walk along the winding
forest pathways or stroll along the lake that borders the community.
It's definitely not your usual tourist fair, but if you're
interested in alternative lifestyles, a trip to Freetown deserves a
spot on your itinerary.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That sounds fascinating. But I'm curious about the drug trade
that you mentioned. Is that still a problem there? Because,
you know, I'm just kind of wondering, is this the
type of place you take kids or don't take kids?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Well, that's the thing. So for decades now, the most
notorious part of Christiania was this touristy main drag called
Pusher Street. And it was lined with all kinds of
stalls selling souvenirs and junk food. But in one particular
stretch known as the Green Light District, vendors would openly
sell marijuana and hash. And those are illegal in Denmark, actually.
And in truth, the activity divided the community. Some residents
(23:52):
even took it upon themselves to dismantle the stalls to
avoid a government crackdown. But, you know, no matter how
much backlash they faced and no matter how many police
raids their community was subjected to, the stalls and the
dealers just kept coming back.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I mean, that's got to be so frustrating for the
families that are just trying to live around there and
raise their kids in that area.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yeah, and it also created a really paranoid atmosphere, I guess.
So the visitors were discouraged from taking photos, were told
not to run outdoors because, as one sign put it,
it makes people nervous. And sadly, there have been some
violent incidents in the past few years. But the good
news is that these tragedies spurred the community to take real,
decisive action. And in 2024, residents voted not only to
(24:33):
shut down Pusher Street, but to actually rip it up
piece by piece. So on April 6th of last year,
residents held a community-wide celebration. As they dug up the
cobblestones of the 100 meter long alley, they tore down
the pusher stalls once and for all. And the plan
is to use the space to build a new communal
housing development, which Copenhagen government has agreed to fund now
(24:55):
that the drug trade has been squashed. But despite any
controversy over the years, Freetown is actually one of the
most popular tourist destinations in the entire city. And with
these recent shakeups and decisions, now's probably the best time
in decades actually to go check it out.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I mean, it sounds fascinating. Okay, so now that we've
seen a few of the sites of the Danish capital,
let's talk a little more broadly about what to do
while in Denmark. But before we get into that, let's
take another quick break.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
So Welcome back to Part-Time Genius. All right, Mango. So
you're traveling abroad in Denmark. You're hitting all the tourist hotspots.
(25:42):
But what's something you can do to really feel like
a local? Like what would you say is your must-try
Danish pastime?
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Well, aside from election meat, which we definitely have to try,
we haven't really talked about Danish cuisine yet. So I'd
say that if you really want a taste of true
Danish culture, you have to try one of the country's
signature dishes, an open-faced sandwich called smørrebrod. And the name
itself comes from the Danish words for butter, smørre, and bread, brod.
(26:12):
And at its heart, that's what the dish is. It's
like a buttered slice of dense Danish rye bread, which
you then pile high with a variety of toppings.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
You know, I do love that your travel advice is
to eat a sandwich because I think that's a pretty,
pretty safe one for most people when they travel. So
tell me a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah. I mean, if you want to know about a place,
eat its sandwich. It's an old slogan of mine. But
of course, like this actually isn't any old sandwich. This
is a lunchtime institution in Denmark. And there are these
really strict customs around which toppings go together and the
order in which you should eat them.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
OK, OK. So we're describing a tightly regimented sandwich. I
do feel like that changes things here.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
I know it sounds odd, but trust me, it's way
stranger to go to Denmark and not eat one of
these smurb rots. But it's a meal that's served just
about everywhere from street market stalls to Michelin starred restaurants.
And with so many topping options and price points, you
really have no excuse not to try it.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I'm curious, though, how did it get so ubiquitous? Because
an open face sandwich doesn't exactly scream like fine dining
to me.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, it's funny because when it first rose to prominence,
it was very much a food of the people. This
is late in the 19th century when factory workers began
to break from tradition by eating their midday meals away
from home. So, of course, they needed something cheap and
filling that didn't require much prep time. So they started
piling leftovers onto bread. And voila, this whole culinary tradition
(27:39):
was born. But presentation is a big deal with smarbrot.
All of the ingredients are supposed to be arranged in
a way that highlights their different colors and textures. So
the thin toppings go on first, then the bulky ones,
and finally the garnishes. And it sounds kind of pedantic,
but remember, this is an open-faced sandwich, so you can't
(27:59):
just hide everything under a second slice of bread.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
All right, so what kind of toppings are we looking at?
I know we're talking about Denmark here, so I imagine
pickled herring has to be in the mix somewhere, right?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Yeah, the go-to classic is marinated herring, onions, and capers.
But foreign palates might want to opt for something a
little more familiar, like roast beef with pickles, onions, and horseradish.
If you're vegetarian, one of the few meat-free combinations is
of boiled potatoes, fried onions, and creme fraiche. And these
sandwiches are especially popular in the summer when Danish field-grown
(28:30):
potatoes are in season. Another thing to keep in mind, though,
is that people often eat multiple of these sandwiches in
a single meal. And If you do that, there's a
proper sequence to follow in terms of ingredients. So traditionally,
your first course is the herring, followed by any other
fishy sandwiches like shrimp or mackerel. Then you move on
to a meat-based sandwich, your roast beef, liver pate, and
(28:50):
chicken salads. And then to round things out, you finish
with a cheesy sandwich for dessert. And probably the most
important thing to remember is that even though these are sandwiches,
they're absolutely meant to be eaten with a fork and
a knife. You are going to get shocked looks from
Danes if you just use your hands and pick one up.
So be sure to do that at your own peril.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
All right. Actually, have you ever had pickled herring before, Mango?
Speaker 1 (29:15):
I have not. Have you?
Speaker 2 (29:17):
You know, when when Georgia and I travel, we try
to do a good job of eating some of the
local favorites. And we were actually in Sweden when we
did this and we tried really hard and there were
some of it that tasted OK. But it's one of
the first times I've ever seen her with like true
eyes watering, like really just trying to make it work.
(29:37):
But you know, when you're there, you got to try it.
I feel like that's just part of it. But as
for this, I can't decide if I love or hate
how complicated they made eating a sandwich, but I do
want to try one.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
All right.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
So after you've gorged yourself on pickled herring and rye bread,
you'll probably be in the mood for a little fresh
air and maybe even some exercise. And one of the
best ways to get exercise in Denmark is to have
yourself a treasure hunt. I don't know if you saw
that one coming, but I don't mean shopping for souvenirs. Instead,
you're going to want to rent a metal detector and
make your way to the nearest open field that you
(30:09):
can find there. The more rural, the better.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I really thought you were going to say, like, get
a snow globe, get a baseball hat.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Get a towel. Nope, nope. That is not what I
was going for.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
I'm amazed by this. So tourists can actually just like
dig holes in search of buried treasure around the city?
Speaker 2 (30:27):
I mean, as long as it's on public land, they're
allowed to do this. This is thanks to a centuries-old
Danish law where citizens and visitors alike are free to
dig wherever they want so long as they hand over
any objects of value that they come across.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
And who do you hand them over to?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, it's not obvious. So anyway, the so-called treasure trove
law was passed in 1241 CE by King Valdemar II.
So back then you were supposed to give it all
to him. But these days, an ancient treasure you find
in Denmark is required to be taken to a local museum,
which will then hand off the goods to the National
Museum in Copenhagen. I think this is just so silly
(31:07):
and delightful.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Yeah, it's pretty amazing. And I guess everything's just on
the honor system, or is there like a reward for
doing this work?
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Spoken like a true American, the big reward. But, you know,
there is a reward system, and it's actually been in
place since 1752. And anyone whose find is determined to
be of historical interest receives a small sum of money, actually,
typically around 600 kroner, or just over $ 80 US. Now,
it might take a couple years for the museum to
pay up, as they tend to receive about 18,000 objects
(31:37):
every single year. Can't imagine how many holes are sitting
there throughout the city, but The wait is well worth
it because in addition to the bounty, the museum also
sends the finder a letter detailing everything they've learned about
the object, including when it was made, who it may
have belonged to, and what it might have been used for.
One of the most frequent finds are these mysterious gold
foils called guidguber, I believe that's how it's pronounced. Actually,
(32:00):
I don't think that's at all how it's pronounced, but
that's what I'm reading, which is a Swedish term that
means a little man of gold. They're these small, thin
pieces of hammered gold that kind of look like postage stamps,
and they're embossed with these images of people. And a
few thousand gold gubber have been found all across Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark. And while archaeologists believe that they were made
(32:21):
during the Iron Age, no one is exactly sure what
they were used for.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
That's interesting because I know a lot of countries have
cracked down on metal detecting for fear that people might
start looting all the historic sites. But it sounds like
Denmark found a way to use that hobby to everyone's advantage. Like,
People are finding things of real historic value and the
city's kind of outsourcing the work.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Absolutely. I mean, there's lots that's unknown about Danish history
prior to the Vikings and artifacts found by metal detectorists.
You know, they're helping to fill in some of those gaps. So,
for example, one of the most illuminating finds came in
2021 when a first-time detectorist discovered a stash of 1,500-year-old
gold jewelry. This was in central Jutland. Archaeologists think it
(33:03):
may have been buried to keep it out of the
hands of invaders or possibly as a last resort offering
to the Norse gods. But what's really interesting is that
some of the pieces appear to be based on similar
Roman jewelry, and a few of them are actually gold
coins from the Roman Empire that were converted into these
wearable medallions.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
That is insane. And it feels like for a rookie
detectress to come out there and just on their first
go around, come up with all these coins. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
So does that mean someone in the pre-Viking society had
contact with the Romans? Is that how this stuff got there?
Speaker 2 (33:40):
You know, probably not, since the Vikings themselves never made
it to Roman territories. But the presence of the coins
does suggest that people who lived there before the Vikings...
had a much more extensive trade network than the researchers
had previously guessed. And again, this is something we now
know because a random guy decided to buy a metal
detector and got super lucky on his first hit. That
(34:00):
is wild.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
So I love that ordinary citizens are out there doing
some of the legwork for archaeologists. It really does feel
like a win-win.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
It really is. And especially when you consider that many
of these artifacts would have wound up being destroyed by,
you know, farming or development if someone hadn't come along
and dug them up first. It's very much a race
against time to find whatever else might be out there.
And that's why museum curators are quick to thank the
public for their help. So as the National Museum curator
put it, these citizens spend a lot of time doing this.
(34:29):
And that's time we as professionals would never have in
the field. We're writing our history together in a way
where everybody can participate.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Yeah, that's pretty wonderful. It reminds me of what we
were saying earlier about Danes taking so much pride in
their flag. There really does seem to be a sense
of unity in their society, not along any hard political lines,
but just in the sense of a shared history and culture.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yeah, it certainly feels that way. And actually, speaking of refreshing,
if you want to know what else is refreshing... An
ice-cold can of Fax Kandi, the beloved Danish soft drink
and official sponsor for today's Fact Off.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
I've been waiting for an official beverage sponsor. Are they
really a beverage sponsor?
Speaker 2 (35:08):
No, not really. But the name does sound a little
like Fax, and it does taste pretty good. It's kind
of like 7-Up, but marketed as a sports drink.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Well, as long as it doesn't come in pickled herring flavor,
I'm totally on board.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
All right, well, here's one more stop for your Copenhagen itinerary.
The world's largest collection of unopened beer bottles. The collection
began as a hobby for Danish engineer Leif Son. This
was back in 1968. And he started with European beers
because they were easy to find. And then he widened
his net to include beers from around the globe. By 1993,
(35:47):
Son had amassed more bottles than his house could comfortably hold.
And so he arranged for the whole collection to be
moved to the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen. Back then, there
were about 10,000 unique bottles in the collection, but under
San's guidance, the catalog has continued to grow. As of 2025,
it now includes 22,692 different bottles and counting. Pretty incredible.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
So like 22,000 bottles of beer on the wall and
none of them are ever going to get taken down
or passed around.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Thank goodness, because that would be a very long song.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Well, speaking of Danish behavior, that doesn't quite make sense.
If you ever find yourself in Denmark on New Year's Eve,
be prepared for everyone to climb on top of their
chairs just before midnight and then leap off at the
stroke of 12. According to an old tradition, it's good
luck to jump into the New Year and bad luck
if you forget to. So when the countdown begins, head
(36:43):
for the highest armchair you can find and try not
to hit anyone else on your way down.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Doesn't that sound fun? It does sound pretty fun, actually.
And loud, for that matter.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
All right.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Well, here's another Danish tradition that might raise a few eyebrows.
So every February, Denmark celebrates the holiday of fastelaven or carnival.
Now it's kind of a mashup between Halloween and Mardi Gras,
I guess. And one of the staples of the celebration
is this game called knocking the cat out of the barrel.
Which sounds rough for the cat. Well, the modern version
(37:16):
is really kid friendly and parents fill this wooden barrel
with candy and They decorate it with a picture of
a black cat and let their kids take turns hitting
it with a bat, kind of like a pinata. And traditionally, though,
the custom had religious connotations and was done in preparation
for Lent and Easter. So the idea was to beat
out the evil, and the evil in this case was
(37:36):
an actual cat. I love that.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Like, you're supposed to beat out an actual cat, but
they replaced it with candy.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Candy. Makes sense.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Yeah. So obviously cats have this sort of evil connotation,
but you should also keep an eye out for stray
piles of cinnamon in the streets. And this may appear
to be a random mound of spice, but it's actually
evidence of another longstanding Danish custom. This one says that
when someone turns 25 and they're still unmarried, all of
(38:05):
their friends and family get to drag them into the
street and douse them head to toe in cinnamon. And
sometimes they'll also splash you with water or even raw
eggs so that the cinnamon will stick better.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
So I'm curious, like, is the idea to sweeten you
up to find a partner or something?
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Maybe, but I think it's more that cinnamon is just
relatively cheap and plentiful and also kind of hard to
clean off. So the prevailing theory is that the custom
dates back hundreds of years to a time when traveling
Spicemen were notorious lifelong bachelors and people started referring them
as Peppers Vans or Pepper Dudes. And eventually the term
was also extended to single women who were known as
(38:43):
Pepper Maidens. Now, the cinnamon dowsing prank grew out of
this association. And if you're wondering why they don't use
pepper instead, it's because that's the spice that's reserved for
a single person's 30th birthday.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
Okay, good. It's good to differentiate there. So, do most
Danish people get married right out of high school to
avoid being shamed with cinnamon or what?
Speaker 1 (39:03):
So, that's actually the most unusual part of this is
that the average age that men get married in Denmark
is 34. And for women, it's 32. So... A decent
chunk of the population goes through the spicy custom before
they find their way to a betrothal.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
That's very interesting.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
All right.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Well, the moment is here, Mango. We've actually been very
disciplined today and not derailing the show to talk about Lego,
which is, of course, a Danish invention. We've held back.
I don't know how we've held back with Gabe being
involved in the research. This is much of a huge
toy fan as he is. Here we are, but a
few years ago, we actually devoted an entire episode to
(39:40):
the history of the little plastic bricks. So we decided
not to say too much today, but since it's illegal
to talk about Denmark without at least mentioning the brand,
I do have a fact here about the world's first
Legoland theme park. So it opened on June 7th, 1968
in the company's hometown of Billund. And the park's main
attraction those days was an area called Miniland, which features
(40:02):
highly detailed cities and other real-world locations modeled in Lego bricks.
Guests were encouraged to tour the manicured grounds while admiring
examples of the architecture from places they might never get
to visit in person. So kind of the same ideas
like Tivoli Gardens, I guess. And amazingly, though, Miniland's elaborate
cityscapes were designed almost entirely by one single employee. Her
(40:25):
name was Dagny Holm, and she was the niece of
Lego founder Ol Kirk Kristiansen. Now, in the end, she
and her team used more than 20 million Lego bricks
to construct these detailed, scaled-down versions of famous landmarks throughout
Denmark and the rest of the world, for that matter. Now,
this wasn't entirely static in its display. Lego cars and
(40:46):
trains powered by electricity were there to move their way
through these intricate scenes, and Lego boats in the mini
harbor appeared to move on their own. This was all
thanks to a clever underwater pulley system that they had
set up there. Now you fast forward almost 60 years
and there are 10 Legoland parks spread all across the world.
And while each park is a little bit different, the
biggest similarity they share is that every one of these
(41:08):
has its own sprawling mini land. This shared feature is
one of the main things that sets Legoland apart from
other modern theme parks. And it never would have existed
without the imagination and talent of Dagny Holm.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I mean, first you kick this off with a Muppets fact,
and then you end it with a Lego fact. It
feels like you're just gunning for the win this week.
So I think you have to take home the trophy.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
This was all really, really planned out. So I appreciate it.
And that's going to do it for today's Part-Time Genius.
If you enjoyed this episode or just want to share
what we missed about visiting the great country of Denmark,
hit us up on Instagram. Our handle is, of course,
at parttimegenius. But from Gabe, Mary, Dylan, Mango, and me,
thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Part-Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This
show is hosted by Will Pearson and me, Mangesh Hatiklar,
and researched by our good pal, Mary Phillips-Sandy. Today's episode
was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with
support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced for
iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Allie Perry with social media
(42:27):
support from Sasha Gay Trustee, Dara Potts, and Vaini Shori.
For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeart Radio, visit the
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
You're listening to Part-Time Genius, a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Guess what, Mango?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
What's that, Will?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So I think we've established by now that you and
I are fans of the Muppets. Actually, as I'm thinking
about it here, it's probably been a minute. We haven't
talked about the Muppets in a minute. So let's go
ahead and establish it. Mango, what do you think about
the Muppets?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
I'm into them.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I'm a fan. You're in favor. You're in favor of
the Muppets. I love the Muppets as well. So we
have now established it. But here's one thing I actually
never knew before this week. It's that the Swedish chef
wasn't born in Sweden. This guy has been living a
lie this whole time. We actually should have talked about
it in our big episode on lies just last week.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
This feels like such a scandal. So what do you
mean he's not from Sweden?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, if you were to make the mistake of asking
a real Swedish person what they think about the Swedish chef,
they would tell you, I'm sure with a great deal
of annoyance, that there is nothing inherently Swedish about the character.
So most of the chef's dialogue is just a bunch
of made up nonsense words that sound I guess vaguely Scandinavian.
And according to Swedes, the character's sing-songish accent is actually
(01:09):
much closer to that of Norwegian or Danish. Actually, I'm
curious whether that's true or whether they're just like trying
to pass it off on somebody else. But, you know,
it's much more like those two dialects than it would be,
you know, speaking with Swedish inflections.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So when he's saying like Bjork, Bjork, Bjork, that's not, uh,
that isn't Swedish.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Believe it or not. I mean, here's what's funny to
me is that in the Muppets books and screenplays, that
word Bjork is, is almost always spelled with a special
Scandinavian vowel that looks like an O with a slash
through it. You know what I'm describing there? Tellingly that
vowel doesn't exist in the Swedish language, but it does
in Norwegian and Danish. And even though a lot of
(01:49):
people think that the chef sounds Norwegian, all the hard
evidence points to him hailing from Denmark.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I love how serious we're taking this. So what is
the hard evidence you're talking about here?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well, I got a little confused because I thought this
whole episode was on The Swedish Chef, so I'd done
a whole lot of research. But anyway, for starters, the
co-creator of The Swedish Chef, Muppet Show head writer, Jerry Jewell,
was of Danish heritage himself, and he wrote all the
chef's dialogue.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Which I guess explains how that Danish letter wound up
in all those bjorks.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
That's exactly right. It also explains why the German version
of The Muppet Show renamed the character The Danish Chef.
The voice actor in the dub thought Henson's accent sounded Danish,
so he wrote new dialogue incorporating Danish words and mimicked
the accent of his Danish friends.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So did Henson or Jewel ever acknowledge that their Swedish
chef sounded, you know, more Danish?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Not directly, but someone on the team seems to have
realized the mix-up. Because in 1985, this was 10 years
after the character's debut, the studio finally went on record
about the chef's origins. According to the gatefold cover of
the Muppet Review VHS, you probably still have a copy
of this, and I quote, Few people know it, but
the Swedish chef was actually born in Denmark. But his
(03:04):
parents moved to Sweden when he was just a baby.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I am so glad we got to the bottom of
this mystery. But when we chose Denmark to kick off
our new travelogue series, I did not think that we'd
start by talking about the Swedish chef.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
No, I didn't either. But here we are. I know
we'd be excited to go to both locations. But today
we are focused on Denmark. And I like to keep
you on your toes. So it was fun to kind
of bounce around there. But I do think the story
shows that despite the many points of overlap between Scandinavian
language and culture... These countries are much more distinct than
many of us realize, and lumping them all together just
(03:39):
makes us look a little bit silly. So in the
spirit of not mistaking all of Scandinavia for Sweden, let's
take a trip to Denmark, the land of little mermaids,
salty licorice, and the not-so-sweetest chef. Let's dive in.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Let's go!
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Hey there, podcast listeners. Welcome to Part-Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson.
And as always, I'm joined by my good friend, Mengesh Hatikader.
And on the other side of that soundproof glass, showing
some Danish pride with his Danish flag coffee mug, that's
our friend and producer, Dylan Fagan. He's actually got the
whole studio decked out in red and white today. Yeah,
I was going to say. It's crazy. It's impressive. It's impressive.
(04:33):
A lot of red and white. There are Danish flags
hanging from the ceiling. Another one in front of his desk.
He's even got a little paper one flying from his
Danish pastry. It's Feels a little bit overkill to me,
but like, you know, you said Danish people would probably
be on board for this, right, Mango?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, so Dylan is obviously hitting the mark perfectly once again.
But the Danes are actually much bigger fans of their
national flag than most people of most countries. They fly
it for all kinds of occasions, including things like birthday parties,
graduation ceremonies, funerals, and even at Christmastime. And it might
sound strange, but for many people in Denmark, displaying the
(05:10):
flag is a way to express festivity rather than nationalism.
And that's because the design of the flag has been
ingrained in Danish culture for centuries. Even before it was
officially adopted as a state symbol.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I kind of love that for it to mean something
even bigger than, you know, just borders. So how far
back does it go exactly?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So all the way back to June 15th, 1219 CE
at the Battle of Lundinisa. And that's when, according to
Danish legend, the country's red and white flag fell from
the sky as a sign of God's favor. Some people
think it's a miracle banner. It just arrived in the
nick of time. And it happened when the Danes were
currently locked in a losing battle against the Estonians. Now, luckily,
(05:52):
it wasn't just soldiers on the battlefield that day. There
was an archbishop, Sunnison, who had accompanied King Voldemar II
on his crusade to Estonia. And when he saw how
badly the Danes were faring, he raised his arms to
the sky and began to pray for some heavenly assistance. Now, suddenly,
this red lambskin banner bearing a white Nordic cross began
(06:13):
fluttering down from the sky. And King Voldemar takes up
this flag. He waves it about his head and he
urges his troops to fight on. And now all of
a sudden they believe that God's on their side. The
Danish forces rally at the side of the flag and
they go on to win the day. The banner that
had changed their fortunes became known as the Danabro, the
cloth or banner of the Danes. And soon after it
(06:35):
was adopted as a royal symbol and then as a
trading banner, a military ensign, and finally in the early
19th century as an official flag of Denmark.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
That is a pretty cool history there. And it's no
wonder the Danish people love their flag so much if
there's a bunch of like cool lore surrounding it. But
I am guessing, not to put too much doubt on it,
but I'm guessing there's not much historical evidence in support
of this whole story, though, right?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Yeah, so Denmark's victory that day was likely due to
reinforcements sent in by allies and not the divine intervention
of this, you know, heavenly flag. But that's not to
say there wasn't a falling flag at all. Red and
white flags with crosses were frequently used by European crusaders
between the 11th and 13th centuries. And the motif was
a symbol of Christianity rather than the specific nation or
(07:18):
the people. So if you think about that, it's totally
possible that a flag was there during the battle and
it maybe even fell onto the battlefield from like a
castle nearby. and it helped boost the troops' spirits. But
like I said, for many Danes today, the flag represents
more than just the government or nation of Denmark. It's
the symbol of the Danish spirit in general, the people,
(07:40):
the history they share. It sort of like pulls all
of that together. And Gabe pointed me to this interview
with a Danish professor. His name's Torben Kjersgaard Nielsen. And
he says the different perceptions of the Danish flag are
exactly what makes it such an effective national symbol. As
he puts it, Everyone uses and interprets the Danish flag
in their own way. And paradoxically, this is what makes
(08:02):
it a uniting symbol.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, I mean, that does seem like a pretty unique relationship. Actually,
speaking of Danish symbols of solidarity, have you heard about
Denmark's protest pigs? Is this something on your radar?
Speaker 1 (08:14):
I feel like I've heard the phrase, but I don't
know what it means.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, protest pig. So it's actually a special breed of pig.
I'm going to show you a picture here that was
bred specifically to resemble the country's beloved flag. What do
you think? I love it. It's pretty wild. And you
would think that it would have bright red or that
maybe what you're picturing and the white that's on it.
But the fur is a little bit more of a
(08:37):
copper color and it only has one vertical white stripe. So,
you know, the Nordic cross is incomplete. But as far
as breeding a pig that looks like your flag, I'd
give them an A for effort on this one. Of course,
it does help that Denmark's flag is fairly basic. Just
imagine trying To breed a pig with 50 stars on it.
You know, I think somebody out there now is going
to try, but it's not easy.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I hope so. And of course, like all the stripes, too.
But you call this a protest pig. So what exactly
is it in protest of?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Well, this is something that goes way back. And this
goes back to the 1860s when Denmark was wrestling with
Prussia for control of the southern Jutland Peninsula. So Denmark
wound up losing the war, and when Prussian authorities took
control of the area, they instituted new laws banning public
expressions of Danish pride, including raising the country's flags. Of course,
(09:28):
we just talked about how important this flag is to them.
That did not sit well with the Danish farmers who
lived in that disputed southern region. So in a clever
act of defiance, they began cross-breeding their pigs to make
them better resemble the flag of their homeland. I love
this so much. So the program succeeded in producing a
red pig with a vertical white belt across its shoulder. Now,
(09:49):
only a few dozen of those two-toned pigs are still
alive today, but pork remains closely tied to Danish politics.
And Denmark's national dish is fried pork belly served with
boiled potatoes and a bechamel sauce, and it's traditional to
eat the meat on election night. According to Scandinavia Standard, quote,
the practice of eating valflesk, or election meat, is a
(10:11):
tongue-in-cheek reference to the over-promises made by politicians on the
campaign trail.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
That's so funny and so snarky. I really love it.
But now that we've talked a little bit about Danish history,
we should probably get our bearings by covering a few
of the basics. So for starters, Denmark is a Nordic
country in Northern Europe. It consists of the Jutland Peninsula,
which you obviously mentioned earlier, and a string of more
than 400 islands in the North Sea. It shares a
southern border with Germany, which still controls the bottom third
(10:40):
of the peninsula. And to the north, just across the sea,
are Denmark's Scandinavian siblings. So Norway and Sweden. Denmark is
the smallest of the Scandinavian countries with an area of
just 16,600 square miles or a little less than twice
the size of Massachusetts. But it actually has the second
highest population of the three countries with 5.9 million people
(11:02):
compared to Norway's 5.5 and Sweden's 10.5. And Denmark also
has the most temperate climate of the trio, thanks to
the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
You know, I actually always forget that Denmark is technically
an island nation, but it does explain why Danish Vikings
got so good at sailing. You know, they had lots
of nearby places to practice.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah. And really the only part of Denmark that isn't
an island is the large flat Jutland region, because it's
the part that juts out of Germany. It's home to
the city of Aalborg in the far north, which is
often ranked as the happiest city in Europe, as well
as to Denmark's second largest city, Aarhus, which is a
lively cultural center on Jutland's east coast. But even though
(11:44):
Jutland is the largest landmass in Denmark, no matter which
part of the country you visit, You're still never more
than 32 miles from the sea. Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
That's wild, yeah. As interesting as Jutland sounds, I do
have a feeling that most people forego a trip to Denmark's, quote,
second city in favor of visiting its first, which is,
of course, Copenhagen. Located on Zeeland, the largest island in Denmark,
the capital city of Copenhagen started out as a fishing village. Now,
this was during the Middle Ages. And in those days,
(12:13):
most of the residents made their living by fishing for herring.
So for the first hundred years or so, the coastal
fishing town wasn't really of much strategic importance for the
Danish crown there. But when a wave of pirate attacks
began to pose a threat to Danish sovereignty, one of
the king's advisors took control of the town and started
building these fortifications, you know, and this kind of protecting
(12:34):
the inner harbor there. With his added security, this harbor
town grew into a flourishing trade center and eventually renamed Copenhagen,
which means Merchant's Harbor. So the city's transformation from a
humble fishing village to a bustling seaport culminated in 1343.
And this was when King Valdemar IV declared it the
capital of Denmark.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Which is quite the glow up. And it sounds like
this is all kind of thanks to a band of pirates, right?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
In a roundabout way, yeah. Actually, that's great that I
said that because speaking of roundabouts, we'd be remiss if
we didn't mention that Copenhagen is, of course, the best
city in the world for bicyclists, which is fascinating. But
more than half of the city's 640,000 residents commute to
work or school by bike. Think about that. That's more
than 300,000 people in the city that are traveling cumulatively
(13:25):
800,000 miles every single day. And they do all that
pedaling along Copenhagen's 250 miles of dedicated bike lanes, which
pedestrian tourists are advised to keep well clear of. Cyclists
actually have the right of way on those lanes. So
if you try to walk through them, you're liable to
get clipped, verbally shamed, or maybe even both.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
It's amazing to see how dominant cycling is in Copenhagen.
And I even saw that they have angled trash cans
throughout the city now so that people can toss their
garbage while biking. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, I mean, the Danes took to cycling culture from
the moment bikes arrived in the 1880s. They were viewed
as an equalizing force in society, providing a fast, low-cost
means of transportation to people of any social class. And
because of the country's terrain being mostly flat, bikes were
useful nationwide, whether you're commuting to work in a city
or just tooling around in the countryside for fun. So
(14:17):
the pastime has had its ups and downs over the
last century or so, but in recent decades, cycling has
made a massive comeback, to the point that 9 out
of 10 Danes now own at least one bicycle. In fact,
reports say there are now more bikes than people in
Copenhagen and five times as many bicycles as cars.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
That really is incredible and probably a big reason why
Copenhagen often tops the world's list of greenest cities, right? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
You know, while I don't want to dissuade any listeners
from renting a bike during their visit, it can be
pretty intimidating to hop on a busy bike lane when
you really don't know your way around. So with that
in mind, what do you say we run through a
couple of our favorite places in Copenhagen that are perfectly
accessible without a bicycle? I love that.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
But first, let's take a quick ad break.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
You're listening to Part-Time Genius, and we're sharing our must-see
stops when touring Copenhagen. All right, Mango. So Denmark's largest
city has no shortage of iconic sites, from the dizzying
corkscrew spire of the Church of Our Saviour, to the
famous Little Mermaid statue honoring Hans Christian Andersen. But if
you had just one day to visit Copenhagen, where would
you spend it?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So this might sound strange, but my pick would be
the Tivoli Gardens amusement park. It is like this compact
little island of whimsy right in the heart of the city.
And it's just a few steps from Copenhagen's central station.
And as that prime location might tell you, this is
no cut-rate carnival. It was inspired by the parks and
(15:55):
gardens of other European cities, most notably the Tivoli Gardens.
and the Vauxhall Garden in London. So there's a big
focus on manicured flower gardens and outdoor entertainment like live
music and pantomime plays.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
So this is more sort of like an old school
pleasure garden than a modern theme park, I guess.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Definitely. But Tivoli does have its fair share of mechanical
rides too. A lot of them are newer additions, but
some of them have been there since the early days
of the park. For instance, Tivoli's oldest and most popular
ride is a 1914 wooden roller coaster known simply as Rutschenbanen,
or roller coaster. It's one of just a few left
in the world that still features a live brakeman on
(16:37):
board of every train.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
That's a great word for roller coaster. I'm going to
try to commit that to memory. But I also love
that roller coaster brakeman is a viable occupation in Denmark.
It's like every middle schooler's dream job. All right, so
the oldest ride is from 1914, but how old is
the park?
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Well, the grand opening of the park goes way back
to 1843, which makes it the second oldest operating amusement
park in the world. The other one also happens to
be in Denmark.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Okay, yeah. They're in some old parks. I'm honestly impressed
they've been able to hold on to such prime real
estate for that long. I mean, most European capitals... don't
exactly carve out space for a sprawling amusement park right
in the middle of their downtown.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Yeah, I mean, to be fair, the park wasn't ever
meant to have such a central location. Tivoli Gardens was
founded by this guy named George Carstensen, and he fell
in love with Pleasure Gardens while traveling abroad and wanted
to bring his own park on the edge of the
Danish capital. It was kind of a tough sell at first,
but he eventually won the Danish king over and by
(17:40):
telling him that, you know, when people are amusing themselves,
they're not really thinking about politics. So Carstensen's charter allowed
him to use roughly about 15 acres of land just
outside the Copenhagen city limits. It's an area that had
once been the site of the city's old fortifications, but
the park didn't stay outside the city for long. And
that's partly because Copenhagen continued to expand throughout the 19th century,
(18:05):
eventually growing around the gardens and making it part of
the city proper.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I mean, it definitely sounds more fun to have a
roller coaster in the center of the city than a
bunch of rundown forts. So good call there.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I think it's pretty smart. And when Tivoli Gardens opened
in 1843, the locals were amazed by just how much
the familiar grounds had changed. Like these used to be
barren fields and they were turned into these lush gardens
that were filled with like exotic plants and flowers. The
crumbling ruins were replaced with pavilions modeled after foreign architecture,
and the park was almost something like from a fairy tale.
(18:37):
That was especially true at night when thousands of colored
lamps would light up the gardens. Speaking of fairy tales,
one of the park's earliest and most famous proponents was
none other than Hans Christian Andersen. Now, he visited Tivoli
Gardens during its very first season, and his favorite part
was the Chinese pavilion. Anderson was so inspired by his
visit that he wrote an original fairy tale set in
(18:58):
China called The Nightingale, and he used the Tivoli Gardens
Pavilion as the model for the Emperor's Palace. And in
later years, the park returned the favor by incorporating Anderson's
fairy tales into its attractions. So guests at Tivoli Gardens
can now watch a stage show based on the author's work,
and even board a dark ride called The Flying Trunk,
which takes riders on a whirlwind tour through 32 of
(19:21):
Anderson's fairy tales.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
You know, it's interesting because one of the few things
that I'd heard about Tivoli Gardens before doing this episode
is that it helped inspire the Disney theme parks, which,
of course, have their own rides based on Anderson's stories.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Yeah, so Walt actually took a trip to Tivoli in 1951,
so just four years before he opened Disneyland. And he
went there with his good friend and TV star, Art Linkletter.
And the two of them spent the day gathering ideas
to use in Walt's future park. According to Linkletter, Disney
took notes on every aspect of Tivoli Gardens. And we've
(19:55):
heard this about Disney before, that he was just obsessive.
So he wrote down notes on everything from the rides,
the foods, to the number of trash cans they had.
So while Tivoli is very much its own thing, you
can find traces of its influence all over the original
Disneyland and in other theme parks as well. Hmm.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
All right. Well, as fun as this place sounds, amusement
parks aren't exactly for everybody. I don't quite get it
because I love amusement parks. And the thing is, though,
you do have to pay to get in. So I
guess I'll go in a slightly different direction for my pick.
And I'm going to recommend heading to a different part
of the city that's just as colorful and unique as Tivoli,
but with no admission fee. It's called Freetown Christiania. And
(20:34):
although it's just a short walk from the trendy waterfront
area of Nyhavn, it feels worlds apart from any other
neighborhood in Denmark.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
I actually think I read about this place. Like, it's
a hippie micronation right in the middle of the city, right?
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yes. So Christiania was founded in 1971 when a few
hundred young squatters took up residence in this deserted military
barracks area. And this is less than a mile away
from the seat of Danish parliament. Now, you might call
them hippies or nonconformist or idealist, but whatever the case,
they wanted to experiment with a different way of life.
One that was more laid back than the conventional city living.
(21:11):
So they had this motto translated into English that was,
live life artistically, only dead fish swim in the current.
So I thought this was pretty good. So with that
in mind, they used the land and the existing infrastructure
to set up an autonomous commune or Freetown, as they
described it, which they claimed was politically distinct from the
surrounding city and from Denmark itself. So in fact, when
(21:34):
you enter the area today, there's actually a sign announcing
that you're leaving the European Union, even though the Danish
government has never recognized Christiania's independence.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
So I'm so curious, because like, how does a place
like this exist? Like, you think the city would have
shut it down if it's really kind of a rogue
state or whatever?
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely been threatened before, especially in
the late 1970s, when the place became a hub for
drug dealers as well. But So far, the city has
mostly looked the other way and left Christiania to its
own devices. So, for example, the commune has its own flag,
its own common law, and even its own system of government,
with all the decisions being made jointly at these monthly
(22:13):
meetings that they have. So the residents don't pay rent
for their homes, the storefronts either. Instead, they pay a
monthly user fee, which kind of helps pay for the
communal infrastructure and building projects and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
I love the idea of a user fee for your town,
but that sounds so wild. So how many people actually
live there?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
So there's just under a thousand people. There's about 220 kids,
770 adults or so, including a hundred or so who
are still there from the original takeover, actually.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
And so what can you do there if you decide
to visit? Well, the best way to make sense of
what you're seeing is to take a guided tour from
a local. So they are offered daily during the summer. Otherwise,
visitors are free to wander the 17-acre grounds that are there,
and there are tons of public art displays to check out,
a bunch of eclectic shops selling handmade crafts, and there's
always some kind of concert or live performance going on.
(23:06):
You can also just take a walk along the winding
forest pathways or stroll along the lake that borders the community.
It's definitely not your usual tourist fair, but if you're
interested in alternative lifestyles, a trip to Freetown deserves a
spot on your itinerary.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That sounds fascinating. But I'm curious about the drug trade
that you mentioned. Is that still a problem there? Because,
you know, I'm just kind of wondering, is this the
type of place you take kids or don't take kids?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Well, that's the thing. So for decades now, the most
notorious part of Christiania was this touristy main drag called
Pusher Street. And it was lined with all kinds of
stalls selling souvenirs and junk food. But in one particular
stretch known as the Green Light District, vendors would openly
sell marijuana and hash. And those are illegal in Denmark, actually.
And in truth, the activity divided the community. Some residents
(23:52):
even took it upon themselves to dismantle the stalls to
avoid a government crackdown. But, you know, no matter how
much backlash they faced and no matter how many police
raids their community was subjected to, the stalls and the
dealers just kept coming back.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I mean, that's got to be so frustrating for the
families that are just trying to live around there and
raise their kids in that area.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yeah, and it also created a really paranoid atmosphere, I guess.
So the visitors were discouraged from taking photos, were told
not to run outdoors because, as one sign put it,
it makes people nervous. And sadly, there have been some
violent incidents in the past few years. But the good
news is that these tragedies spurred the community to take real,
decisive action. And in 2024, residents voted not only to
(24:33):
shut down Pusher Street, but to actually rip it up
piece by piece. So on April 6th of last year,
residents held a community-wide celebration. As they dug up the
cobblestones of the 100 meter long alley, they tore down
the pusher stalls once and for all. And the plan
is to use the space to build a new communal
housing development, which Copenhagen government has agreed to fund now
(24:55):
that the drug trade has been squashed. But despite any
controversy over the years, Freetown is actually one of the
most popular tourist destinations in the entire city. And with
these recent shakeups and decisions, now's probably the best time
in decades actually to go check it out.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I mean, it sounds fascinating. Okay, so now that we've
seen a few of the sites of the Danish capital,
let's talk a little more broadly about what to do
while in Denmark. But before we get into that, let's
take another quick break.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
So Welcome back to Part-Time Genius. All right, Mango. So
you're traveling abroad in Denmark. You're hitting all the tourist hotspots.
(25:42):
But what's something you can do to really feel like
a local? Like what would you say is your must-try
Danish pastime?
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Well, aside from election meat, which we definitely have to try,
we haven't really talked about Danish cuisine yet. So I'd
say that if you really want a taste of true
Danish culture, you have to try one of the country's
signature dishes, an open-faced sandwich called smørrebrod. And the name
itself comes from the Danish words for butter, smørre, and bread, brod.
(26:12):
And at its heart, that's what the dish is. It's
like a buttered slice of dense Danish rye bread, which
you then pile high with a variety of toppings.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
You know, I do love that your travel advice is
to eat a sandwich because I think that's a pretty,
pretty safe one for most people when they travel. So
tell me a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah. I mean, if you want to know about a place,
eat its sandwich. It's an old slogan of mine. But
of course, like this actually isn't any old sandwich. This
is a lunchtime institution in Denmark. And there are these
really strict customs around which toppings go together and the
order in which you should eat them.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
OK, OK. So we're describing a tightly regimented sandwich. I
do feel like that changes things here.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
I know it sounds odd, but trust me, it's way
stranger to go to Denmark and not eat one of
these smurb rots. But it's a meal that's served just
about everywhere from street market stalls to Michelin starred restaurants.
And with so many topping options and price points, you
really have no excuse not to try it.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I'm curious, though, how did it get so ubiquitous? Because
an open face sandwich doesn't exactly scream like fine dining
to me.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, it's funny because when it first rose to prominence,
it was very much a food of the people. This
is late in the 19th century when factory workers began
to break from tradition by eating their midday meals away
from home. So, of course, they needed something cheap and
filling that didn't require much prep time. So they started
piling leftovers onto bread. And voila, this whole culinary tradition
(27:39):
was born. But presentation is a big deal with smarbrot.
All of the ingredients are supposed to be arranged in
a way that highlights their different colors and textures. So
the thin toppings go on first, then the bulky ones,
and finally the garnishes. And it sounds kind of pedantic,
but remember, this is an open-faced sandwich, so you can't
(27:59):
just hide everything under a second slice of bread.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
All right, so what kind of toppings are we looking at?
I know we're talking about Denmark here, so I imagine
pickled herring has to be in the mix somewhere, right?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Yeah, the go-to classic is marinated herring, onions, and capers.
But foreign palates might want to opt for something a
little more familiar, like roast beef with pickles, onions, and horseradish.
If you're vegetarian, one of the few meat-free combinations is
of boiled potatoes, fried onions, and creme fraiche. And these
sandwiches are especially popular in the summer when Danish field-grown
(28:30):
potatoes are in season. Another thing to keep in mind, though,
is that people often eat multiple of these sandwiches in
a single meal. And If you do that, there's a
proper sequence to follow in terms of ingredients. So traditionally,
your first course is the herring, followed by any other
fishy sandwiches like shrimp or mackerel. Then you move on
to a meat-based sandwich, your roast beef, liver pate, and
(28:50):
chicken salads. And then to round things out, you finish
with a cheesy sandwich for dessert. And probably the most
important thing to remember is that even though these are sandwiches,
they're absolutely meant to be eaten with a fork and
a knife. You are going to get shocked looks from
Danes if you just use your hands and pick one up.
So be sure to do that at your own peril.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
All right. Actually, have you ever had pickled herring before, Mango?
Speaker 1 (29:15):
I have not. Have you?
Speaker 2 (29:17):
You know, when when Georgia and I travel, we try
to do a good job of eating some of the
local favorites. And we were actually in Sweden when we
did this and we tried really hard and there were
some of it that tasted OK. But it's one of
the first times I've ever seen her with like true
eyes watering, like really just trying to make it work.
(29:37):
But you know, when you're there, you got to try it.
I feel like that's just part of it. But as
for this, I can't decide if I love or hate
how complicated they made eating a sandwich, but I do
want to try one.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
All right.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
So after you've gorged yourself on pickled herring and rye bread,
you'll probably be in the mood for a little fresh
air and maybe even some exercise. And one of the
best ways to get exercise in Denmark is to have
yourself a treasure hunt. I don't know if you saw
that one coming, but I don't mean shopping for souvenirs. Instead,
you're going to want to rent a metal detector and
make your way to the nearest open field that you
(30:09):
can find there. The more rural, the better.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I really thought you were going to say, like, get
a snow globe, get a baseball hat.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Get a towel. Nope, nope. That is not what I
was going for.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
I'm amazed by this. So tourists can actually just like
dig holes in search of buried treasure around the city?
Speaker 2 (30:27):
I mean, as long as it's on public land, they're
allowed to do this. This is thanks to a centuries-old
Danish law where citizens and visitors alike are free to
dig wherever they want so long as they hand over
any objects of value that they come across.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
And who do you hand them over to?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, it's not obvious. So anyway, the so-called treasure trove
law was passed in 1241 CE by King Valdemar II.
So back then you were supposed to give it all
to him. But these days, an ancient treasure you find
in Denmark is required to be taken to a local museum,
which will then hand off the goods to the National
Museum in Copenhagen. I think this is just so silly
(31:07):
and delightful.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Yeah, it's pretty amazing. And I guess everything's just on
the honor system, or is there like a reward for
doing this work?
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Spoken like a true American, the big reward. But, you know,
there is a reward system, and it's actually been in
place since 1752. And anyone whose find is determined to
be of historical interest receives a small sum of money, actually,
typically around 600 kroner, or just over $ 80 US. Now,
it might take a couple years for the museum to
pay up, as they tend to receive about 18,000 objects
(31:37):
every single year. Can't imagine how many holes are sitting
there throughout the city, but The wait is well worth
it because in addition to the bounty, the museum also
sends the finder a letter detailing everything they've learned about
the object, including when it was made, who it may
have belonged to, and what it might have been used for.
One of the most frequent finds are these mysterious gold
foils called guidguber, I believe that's how it's pronounced. Actually,
(32:00):
I don't think that's at all how it's pronounced, but
that's what I'm reading, which is a Swedish term that
means a little man of gold. They're these small, thin
pieces of hammered gold that kind of look like postage stamps,
and they're embossed with these images of people. And a
few thousand gold gubber have been found all across Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark. And while archaeologists believe that they were made
(32:21):
during the Iron Age, no one is exactly sure what
they were used for.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
That's interesting because I know a lot of countries have
cracked down on metal detecting for fear that people might
start looting all the historic sites. But it sounds like
Denmark found a way to use that hobby to everyone's advantage. Like,
People are finding things of real historic value and the
city's kind of outsourcing the work.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Absolutely. I mean, there's lots that's unknown about Danish history
prior to the Vikings and artifacts found by metal detectorists.
You know, they're helping to fill in some of those gaps. So,
for example, one of the most illuminating finds came in
2021 when a first-time detectorist discovered a stash of 1,500-year-old
gold jewelry. This was in central Jutland. Archaeologists think it
(33:03):
may have been buried to keep it out of the
hands of invaders or possibly as a last resort offering
to the Norse gods. But what's really interesting is that
some of the pieces appear to be based on similar
Roman jewelry, and a few of them are actually gold
coins from the Roman Empire that were converted into these
wearable medallions.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
That is insane. And it feels like for a rookie
detectress to come out there and just on their first
go around, come up with all these coins. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
So does that mean someone in the pre-Viking society had
contact with the Romans? Is that how this stuff got there?
Speaker 2 (33:40):
You know, probably not, since the Vikings themselves never made
it to Roman territories. But the presence of the coins
does suggest that people who lived there before the Vikings...
had a much more extensive trade network than the researchers
had previously guessed. And again, this is something we now
know because a random guy decided to buy a metal
detector and got super lucky on his first hit. That
(34:00):
is wild.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
So I love that ordinary citizens are out there doing
some of the legwork for archaeologists. It really does feel
like a win-win.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
It really is. And especially when you consider that many
of these artifacts would have wound up being destroyed by,
you know, farming or development if someone hadn't come along
and dug them up first. It's very much a race
against time to find whatever else might be out there.
And that's why museum curators are quick to thank the
public for their help. So as the National Museum curator
put it, these citizens spend a lot of time doing this.
(34:29):
And that's time we as professionals would never have in
the field. We're writing our history together in a way
where everybody can participate.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Yeah, that's pretty wonderful. It reminds me of what we
were saying earlier about Danes taking so much pride in
their flag. There really does seem to be a sense
of unity in their society, not along any hard political lines,
but just in the sense of a shared history and culture.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yeah, it certainly feels that way. And actually, speaking of refreshing,
if you want to know what else is refreshing... An
ice-cold can of Fax Kandi, the beloved Danish soft drink
and official sponsor for today's Fact Off.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
I've been waiting for an official beverage sponsor. Are they
really a beverage sponsor?
Speaker 2 (35:08):
No, not really. But the name does sound a little
like Fax, and it does taste pretty good. It's kind
of like 7-Up, but marketed as a sports drink.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Well, as long as it doesn't come in pickled herring flavor,
I'm totally on board.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
All right, well, here's one more stop for your Copenhagen itinerary.
The world's largest collection of unopened beer bottles. The collection
began as a hobby for Danish engineer Leif Son. This
was back in 1968. And he started with European beers
because they were easy to find. And then he widened
his net to include beers from around the globe. By 1993,
(35:47):
Son had amassed more bottles than his house could comfortably hold.
And so he arranged for the whole collection to be
moved to the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen. Back then, there
were about 10,000 unique bottles in the collection, but under
San's guidance, the catalog has continued to grow. As of 2025,
it now includes 22,692 different bottles and counting. Pretty incredible.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
So like 22,000 bottles of beer on the wall and
none of them are ever going to get taken down
or passed around.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Thank goodness, because that would be a very long song.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Well, speaking of Danish behavior, that doesn't quite make sense.
If you ever find yourself in Denmark on New Year's Eve,
be prepared for everyone to climb on top of their
chairs just before midnight and then leap off at the
stroke of 12. According to an old tradition, it's good
luck to jump into the New Year and bad luck
if you forget to. So when the countdown begins, head
(36:43):
for the highest armchair you can find and try not
to hit anyone else on your way down.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Doesn't that sound fun? It does sound pretty fun, actually.
And loud, for that matter.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
All right.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Well, here's another Danish tradition that might raise a few eyebrows.
So every February, Denmark celebrates the holiday of fastelaven or carnival.
Now it's kind of a mashup between Halloween and Mardi Gras,
I guess. And one of the staples of the celebration
is this game called knocking the cat out of the barrel.
Which sounds rough for the cat. Well, the modern version
(37:16):
is really kid friendly and parents fill this wooden barrel
with candy and They decorate it with a picture of
a black cat and let their kids take turns hitting
it with a bat, kind of like a pinata. And traditionally, though,
the custom had religious connotations and was done in preparation
for Lent and Easter. So the idea was to beat
out the evil, and the evil in this case was
(37:36):
an actual cat. I love that.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Like, you're supposed to beat out an actual cat, but
they replaced it with candy.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Candy. Makes sense.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Yeah. So obviously cats have this sort of evil connotation,
but you should also keep an eye out for stray
piles of cinnamon in the streets. And this may appear
to be a random mound of spice, but it's actually
evidence of another longstanding Danish custom. This one says that
when someone turns 25 and they're still unmarried, all of
(38:05):
their friends and family get to drag them into the
street and douse them head to toe in cinnamon. And
sometimes they'll also splash you with water or even raw
eggs so that the cinnamon will stick better.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
So I'm curious, like, is the idea to sweeten you
up to find a partner or something?
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Maybe, but I think it's more that cinnamon is just
relatively cheap and plentiful and also kind of hard to
clean off. So the prevailing theory is that the custom
dates back hundreds of years to a time when traveling
Spicemen were notorious lifelong bachelors and people started referring them
as Peppers Vans or Pepper Dudes. And eventually the term
was also extended to single women who were known as
(38:43):
Pepper Maidens. Now, the cinnamon dowsing prank grew out of
this association. And if you're wondering why they don't use
pepper instead, it's because that's the spice that's reserved for
a single person's 30th birthday.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
Okay, good. It's good to differentiate there. So, do most
Danish people get married right out of high school to
avoid being shamed with cinnamon or what?
Speaker 1 (39:03):
So, that's actually the most unusual part of this is
that the average age that men get married in Denmark
is 34. And for women, it's 32. So... A decent
chunk of the population goes through the spicy custom before
they find their way to a betrothal.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
That's very interesting.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
All right.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Well, the moment is here, Mango. We've actually been very
disciplined today and not derailing the show to talk about Lego,
which is, of course, a Danish invention. We've held back.
I don't know how we've held back with Gabe being
involved in the research. This is much of a huge
toy fan as he is. Here we are, but a
few years ago, we actually devoted an entire episode to
(39:40):
the history of the little plastic bricks. So we decided
not to say too much today, but since it's illegal
to talk about Denmark without at least mentioning the brand,
I do have a fact here about the world's first
Legoland theme park. So it opened on June 7th, 1968
in the company's hometown of Billund. And the park's main
attraction those days was an area called Miniland, which features
(40:02):
highly detailed cities and other real-world locations modeled in Lego bricks.
Guests were encouraged to tour the manicured grounds while admiring
examples of the architecture from places they might never get
to visit in person. So kind of the same ideas
like Tivoli Gardens, I guess. And amazingly, though, Miniland's elaborate
cityscapes were designed almost entirely by one single employee. Her
(40:25):
name was Dagny Holm, and she was the niece of
Lego founder Ol Kirk Kristiansen. Now, in the end, she
and her team used more than 20 million Lego bricks
to construct these detailed, scaled-down versions of famous landmarks throughout
Denmark and the rest of the world, for that matter. Now,
this wasn't entirely static in its display. Lego cars and
(40:46):
trains powered by electricity were there to move their way
through these intricate scenes, and Lego boats in the mini
harbor appeared to move on their own. This was all
thanks to a clever underwater pulley system that they had
set up there. Now you fast forward almost 60 years
and there are 10 Legoland parks spread all across the world.
And while each park is a little bit different, the
biggest similarity they share is that every one of these
(41:08):
has its own sprawling mini land. This shared feature is
one of the main things that sets Legoland apart from
other modern theme parks. And it never would have existed
without the imagination and talent of Dagny Holm.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I mean, first you kick this off with a Muppets fact,
and then you end it with a Lego fact. It
feels like you're just gunning for the win this week.
So I think you have to take home the trophy.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
This was all really, really planned out. So I appreciate it.
And that's going to do it for today's Part-Time Genius.
If you enjoyed this episode or just want to share
what we missed about visiting the great country of Denmark,
hit us up on Instagram. Our handle is, of course,
at parttimegenius. But from Gabe, Mary, Dylan, Mango, and me,
thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Part-Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This
show is hosted by Will Pearson and me, Mangesh Hatiklar,
and researched by our good pal, Mary Phillips-Sandy. Today's episode
was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with
support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced for
iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Allie Perry with social media
(42:27):
support from Sasha Gay Trustee, Dara Potts, and Vaini Shori.
For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeart Radio, visit the
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
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