A BIT OF A SWISS
YODEL-AY-HE-WHO KNEW THESE FACTS?
THE Swiss Army knife is getting a makeover – without the blade, as we reported yesterday.
Makers Victorinox is developing a new model of the famous pocket multi-tool, first patented in Switzerland in 1897 for the nation’s military, in response to growing knife crime.
But how much do you know about its homeland?
Here JAMES MOORE reveals 15 fascinating facts about Switzerland…
1 The Swiss also gave us Velcro. It was invented in 1941 by engineer George de Mestral after he noticed seeds clinging to his dog Milka on a walk in the Alps (only 13% of which are Swiss).
2 Other inventions include cellophane, aluminium foil, muesli, absinthe, the bobsleigh, the psychedelic drug LSD and the “chalet style” cuckoo clock. The country also sells 20million watches a year.
3 The Swiss invented milk chocolate too and the company Nestlé, founded there, came up with the first white choccy bar – the Galak – known to us as the Milkybar, in 1936.
4 Each Swiss person eats a whopping 10 kilos of chocolate a year. Another maker, Lindt, sells 160million gold bunnies worldwide annually.
5 The Toblerone bar, introduced in 1908, was inspired by Alpine peak the Matterhorn.
Its mountain logo has a hidden bear, the symbol of the city of Bern.
6 With 700,000 cows, it’s no wonder Swiss cheese, like Emmental, is famous, if mainly for its trademark holes. They each eat 21 kilos annually and pioneered the melty dish fondue.
7 Swiss businessman Henry Dunant founded humanitarian organisation The Red Cross after witnessing the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in Italy in 1859, which saw 40,000 casualties.
8 The Swiss flag, which has a white cross on a red background, is one of only two square ones in the world. The federal republic has four official languages including Romansh and, technically, no capital.
9 Despite being neutral and having not been in a war since 1505, it has 170,000 armed personnel. Military service is compulsory and while it’s landlocked, Switzerland keeps a small navy on its 7,000 lakes.
10 It has enough nuclear bunkers to shelter all its nine million people, while their Swiss Guard is made up of crack, unmarried Swiss troops and has been protecting the Pope in The Vatican since 1506.
11 Switzerland has the world’s highest railway station, the longest staircase with 11,674 steps, the biggest proportion of millionaires and the world’s second highest life expectancy.
12 The Swiss pioneered yodeling and hosted football’s 1954 World Cup. Sport stars include tennis champs Roger Federer and Martina Hingis.
13 Ursula Andress, famous for playing Bond girl Honey Ryder in 1962 movie Dr No, was born in Switzerland.
14 Switzerland hosted the first Eurovision Song Contest in Lugano in 1956 – and won. Canadian-born Celine Dion won for the Swiss again in 1988 with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.
15 Pop stars Freddie Mercury and Tina Turner lived in Switzerland, comedy legend Charlie
Chaplin was buried there.