For 75 years, the Finnish national government has provided newborn babies with a cardboard box containing essential baby care gear, such as diapers and clothes. The box itself comes with a thin mattress that permits it to serve as a bed.
Although the program was originally for poor families, in 1949, it was extended to every baby in the country. Because mothers could register for a box only after visiting a doctor, some people say that it's one of the reasons why Finland has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world.
The baby box has become an icon of Finnish culture, experienced by the entire nation. Helena Lee of the BBC writes:
At 75 years old, the box is now an established part of the Finnish rite of passage towards motherhood, uniting generations of women.
Reija Klemetti, a 49-year-old from Helsinki, remembers going to the post office to collect a box for one of her six children.
"It was lovely and exciting to get it and somehow the first promise to the baby," she says. "My mum, friends and relatives were all eager to see what kind of things were inside and what colours they'd chosen for that year."
Link -via Marginal Revolution
(Photo: Milla Kontkanen
Comments (3)
Like a puppy.
That's why American cars can hold a super big gulp...
That is unless it's filled up to the top with soda. Then it's just meant to be enjoyed quickly I guess.
for real though. i don't believe companies look into the long-term effects of products before they bring them out. the only thing they think about is "will this product be profitable". it's really sad that they would rather exploit our weaknesses to make the big bucks than offer something we would actually need.
Fortunately, our gracious hosts recognized that our eating habits were a little different, so they always purchased bottled water in advance for us so we could have it with our meals. Quite a neato experience, all in all.
She's sitting in the car driving down the freeway with two yelling kids in the backseat and most likely she's on the phone at the same time. She isn't really paying attention and grabs her drink cup to take a sip and when she tips the cup up to drink from the bottom she gets a face full of steaming hot -insert fried food and/or spicy sauce- drops the cup of soda all over herself and wrecks the car. Equal portions irresponsible driver and bad packaging, but you know it will happen. Heck, what if the cup is full of coffee or other hot beverages, even worse. Besides this package is designed to cheat you out of your money and food. You're clearly getting a much smaller portion of the drink and food and you know the price won't drop to match the loss of product. Just another reason to eat real food.
The McDLT was a joke compared to this.