Switzerland is a very interesting country, with the world’s most expensive coffee, and more high mountain peaks than any other country in Europe. Watch the video for more interesting facts!
1.Coffee in Zurich is the most expensive in the world. An average of $7 USD at Starbucks.
2. The Swiss love cheese! It’s home to more than 450 varieties of cheese!
3.In Switzerland, there are more banks than dentists, one per 1,400 residents
4.Switzerland is also known as Confoederatio Helvetica – which explains the abbreviation CH (Yes, I forgot this one in the video!)
5. Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, with 45.7 guns per 100 residents (ranking below only the United States, Serbia, and Yemen in this measurement)
6. It is illegal to own just one social animal like a one guinea pig; they must be kept in pairs
7. Taxes for owning a dog – annual taxes are determined by the dog’s size and weight
8. By law, you need to buy a liability insurance sticker for riding a bicycle on public roads.
9. Albert Einstein invented his formula E=MC2 in Bern
10. There is a “anti-powerpoint presentation party” in their political system
11. Switzerland does not have a president as chief of state. Instead, it is governed by a seven-member council, and council members rotate in one-year terms as federal president
12. Sundays are still Sundays – illegal to undertake activities such as mowing, hanging out laundry, washing your car or recycling bottles to ensure quiet.
13. By law every citizen must have access to a bomb shelter.
14. Gotthard tunnel is the longest in the world – measuring 57km in length, located 2.3km under the Alps, it is 7km longer than the Channel tunnel between England and France. It took 17 years to complete
15. The Swiss eat more chocolate than any one else – each person eats around 11kg per year. Chocolate is a major Swiss export; with 18 Swiss chocolate companies, Switzerland exported almost 115,500 tonnes of chocolate in 2015.
16.Switzerland is one of the only two countries to have a square flag – the Vatican has the only other square flag in the world
17. Switzerland has more than 1,500 lakes, and one is never more than 16 km from a lake within the country’s borders
18. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland
19. About 23% of Switzerland’s population is foreigners
20. They live a long time – The Swiss have the second longest life expectancy in the world after Japan
21. Switzerland’s railway system extends for about 3,100 miles (4,989 km). The Swiss rank second behind the Japanese in traveling by train
22. In 1891, Karl Elsener invented the Swiss Army Knife. There are over 400 different models of the Swiss Army Knife. It has been nicknamed “The World’s Smallest Toolbox
23. Switzerland has more high mountain peaks than any other country in Europe with 48 above 4,000 m
24. Switzerland is rigged to blow — over 3000 strategic points set to explode in case of invasion
25. Tobogganing was a sport invented in Switzerland in 1885
26. It is legal to use and grow marijuana, but it is against the law to sell it. High rate of Cannabis Use.
27. Swiss marry late. Average marriage age for men is 31.8 and 29.5 for women
28. It is illegal to deny the holocaust
29. Teaching is one of the highest paid occupations with the most vacation time: 12 weeks
30. Zürich is the world’s most “fountain friendly” city with a staggering 1224 drinking fountains