STRAUSSIAN
Iceland only has 350,000 people. Yet, it manages to produce some of the world's very strongest men. Icelandic powerlifters and strongmen do very well in international competitions.
For example, Icelandic powerlifter Benedikt Magnússon currently holds the world record for the deadlift - an exercise often considered a test of whole body strength - at 460kg (1,015lbs).
How does Iceland manage to do it? This would be like having several unrelated US presidents come from the exact same small town in Delaware or something.
Answer
Strauss, it's not just bodybuilding.
Iceland's music scene is bloody incredible. I mean, they'll have dozens of Icelandic heavy metal bands compete at a heavy metal festival and whatnot, and most (not all, but most) are really good, and then you think... wait a minute, this is just one genre.... how many good bands, exactly, does this country have? I've been exploring the Icelandic hip-hop scene on Youtube and it's just endless. I've always liked Icelandic music, but after partying at the concert Bræðslan in Borgarfjörður Eystri, I've taken on a new appreciation for it.
Then there's other fields. Chess, for example. Iceland has about 140 times the number of chess grand masters per-capita as the US. Think about that for a second. Bridge is also extremely overrepresented, too.
Iceland has the most bookstores per-capita in the world and an extreme rate of book publication and consumption.
Iceland has over double the per-capita rate of Olympic medals as the US, and over triple that of the USSR. There are other countries that are higher, but almost all of them have low population growth rates, unlike Iceland's high rate (which biases per-capita figures against Iceland, since older medal counts were earned by a smaller population).
Iceland has the highest rate of Nobel Prize winners per capita, although to be fair, the total is "1", so that could just be a statistical fluke ;)
In general, Iceland is a huge standout when it comes to sports and the arts, on a per-capita basis.
Strauss, it's not just bodybuilding.
Iceland's music scene is bloody incredible. I mean, they'll have dozens of Icelandic heavy metal bands compete at a heavy metal festival and whatnot, and most (not all, but most) are really good, and then you think... wait a minute, this is just one genre.... how many good bands, exactly, does this country have? I've been exploring the Icelandic hip-hop scene on Youtube and it's just endless. I've always liked Icelandic music, but after partying at the concert Bræðslan in Borgarfjörður Eystri, I've taken on a new appreciation for it.
Then there's other fields. Chess, for example. Iceland has about 140 times the number of chess grand masters per-capita as the US. Think about that for a second. Bridge is also extremely overrepresented, too.
Iceland has the most bookstores per-capita in the world and an extreme rate of book publication and consumption.
Iceland has over double the per-capita rate of Olympic medals as the US, and over triple that of the USSR. There are other countries that are higher, but almost all of them have low population growth rates, unlike Iceland's high rate (which biases per-capita figures against Iceland, since older medal counts were earned by a smaller population).
Iceland has the highest rate of Nobel Prize winners per capita, although to be fair, the total is "1", so that could just be a statistical fluke ;)
In general, Iceland is a huge standout when it comes to sports and the arts, on a per-capita basis.
Why is it that English-speaking people dominate the list of best selling books?
JT
Fourteen of the world's top best selling books were written by English speakers. Only about 6% of the world's population speaks English as a first language yet 70% or more of the books are written in English. I'm not suggesting English superiority, but what is the explanation?
Answer
Most people speak English, therefore most good authors are English. It's basic math.
Most people speak English, therefore most good authors are English. It's basic math.
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