(Image: Radoslaw Botev, modified)
Sweden and Switzerland are two countries somewhere in Europe--or so I've heard. They are, it turns out, not the same place, nor interchangeable.
Chinese tourists, however, are not always aware of this:
The problem largely stems from the fact that both nations' names are written similarly in Mandarin - Ruidian (Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland) – which begin with the same symbol, according to the Swedish Consul General Victoria Li in China.
The Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai want to find a solution to this problem. So they've jointly launched a contest, inviting people to think of funny ways to tell the countries apart. The winner gets a 12-day trip to both countries. Afterward, the winner must report back on his or her findings.
How would you tell them apart?
-via Dave Barry
Comments (8)
1) You only have 22 provinces. What were you thinking when you gave 2 of them the same name? (Shanxi and Shaanxi)
2) Why did you decide to place those 2 provinces right next to each other? At least Sweden and Switzerland are separated not only by other countries, but also by a sea.
Remove the plank from your eye before complaining about the speck in Europe's.
Wai Guo
Going to Mars would be a dream come true, for me, and for a lot of other people. While I want to go for the chance to experience and discover things that no one else has before, there certainly would be others who would get a thrill from the danger and the instant fame.
I mean, being one of the first people to set foot on Mars would ensure that you're remembered for all time (more or less).
And with the way the world's going, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind saying goodbye to the wars, diseases, crime, etc. of the Earth. You know, so they can bring all that stuff to Mars. ;)
I'm sure I can accomplish more on Mars in a few years than I am likely to in an entire lifetime on this planet. There are probably other people who feel the same way.
Either way, sign me up!
I say go for it. I'm not one of those people. The thought of not being able to come back home, not being able to go outside and breath in a lung-full of fresh air.. just no...
but if other people are up for it. More power to them! I'll sit at home and watch them on tv religiously! That would be SO damn interesting to watch.
Still. Even knowing that you will find people like that, I'm ill at ease to think of public policy built on the one-way-ticket idea, entrenched in the concept of the disposable human. And don't counter with "that what war's all about": it's one thing to say you might not come home, or even probably not, another to say you WILL not, even to a volunteer. So instead of a suicide bomber's lure of a virgin-laden paradise, you offer academic glory and screen-time? Because it's going to take a few missions at least until things are sorted out enough to the point that life expectancy is "shortened by a little bit" as in this gentleman's softening statement. And they won't be pretty.
Heck most main scientists anyhow only get famous only after they died and without them knowing it. So why not die on Mars and be sure about that place in History?
I'll put aside my opinions on the morality of your suggestion for a moment and concentrate on logistics.
This would conflict with the general idea that once they arrive, the people/explorers/colonists should do useful work- and by that, they mean useful both to themselves and to those of us back on Earth. For that we need scientists, doctors, engineers, and other highly skilled people who are motivated to work hard for little tangible reward.