Unlucky Numbers Around the World

In Lucky Numbers Around The World, I talked about the significance of some numbers in particular cultures and why they consider the number "lucky".

Now, here are some not so lucky numbers around the world: 

• The Number 3. In Vietnam, people suppose that you shouldn't take photos with three people in it. Why? They believe that the person in the middle would die. (Didn't that escalate quickly?)

• The Number 4. In China, people believe that the number four is very, very unlucky, because the Chinese pronunciation of the word "four" (in Mandarin) sounds like the word death. This might also be the case on why some buildings skip any floors with 4 in it (So the buttons in he elevator might say 1,2,3,5...13,15... and so on). 

Did you know... that the fear of the number 4 is called "tetrophobia"?

Note that the fourth floor is missing. from tofugu.com

• The Number 9. Just like with the commotion above with China and the number 4, Japan has the same reason on why it hates the number nine. It sounds similar to the word for suffering.

• The Number 17. The Italians think that the number seventeen is unlucky because if you re-arrange the letters of the number in Roman Numerals (XVII), you can spell Vixi, which means "I have lived", portraying that one is already dead.

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Again, a number that struck my blog's pageview counter is 10,000! Thank you all for reading and supporting my blog. There will be more to come in 2014! 

See you lovely people again on Tuesday.

Read More -- Public Library of Stockholm

Read More -- Pizzeria La Grande (Vasastan)

Haven't done an Eats post in a while....

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EATS: Hot Beverages at Espresso House, Sabbatsberg

Before I start this blog post, I just wanted to thank Giulia, Patricia, Daniele and Gloria for spreading the word about my blog!

Whether you've stayed in Stockholm for a long time, have just visited once, or will just visit, I assure you will Espresso House all around you. I wouldn't be surprised if they have one Espresso House per two kilometers.

Fortunately, we live in a place near a park, a hospital, a supermarket, a train station and an Espresso House. We've visited this particular branch a couple of times, and I couldn't blog about it because I always forget my phone.

Espresso House's White Hot Chocolate

My sister and I ordered the White Hot Chocolate, my dad got a Latte and my mom got a normal Hot Chocolate. 

My drink tasted okay, but not very good. The thing that concerns me is that did they really use white chocolate or milk? I couldn't really taste the difference.... 

Besides hot beverages, Espresso House also offers a good variety of sandwiches, cookies and other sweet stuff and smoothies. 

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Remember that this DECEMBER is going to be a hectic blogging month! Going to the PHILIPPINES for Christmas!  

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SWEDEN: Facts & Stuff {Part 2}

I present to you a new series! Sweden: Facts & Stuff, where I share (amusing?) true facts about Sweden!

Part One of SWEDEN: FACTS & STUFF is here!

Sweden: Facts & Stuff {Part 2}


1: Daycare cost is based on your total family income, with a government imposed maximum fee.

2: The sun rises at 3.30 in the morning in summer, and it sets at 3.30 in the afternoon in winter.

3: You can take a sick leave if you are ill during your vacation.

4: In the field of technological advancement, Sweden ranks second, just after Finland.

5: The Stockholm Globe Arena {Globen}is the world's largest hemispherical building, with a diameter of 110 meters and an inner height of eighty-five meters.

6: As of 2006, Sweden has been the most generous country in the world in regarding and giving aid to poor countries. It is the only nation where donations exceed 1% of the total GDP.

7: Privacy is taken very seriously that putting up video cameras in laundry rooms to catch vandals is illegal.

8: All non-military property that is not fenced in, or is not a farm or someone's personal garden is open to anyone for hiking through or camping for a single night.

9: Sweden is set to become the first country in the world to phase out petrol for biofuel.

10: As of late 2012, Sweden had obtained 30 Nobel prizes (which includes 5 Peace Prizes). This is the fifth highest number of laureates in the world.

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Hope you learned something, again!

Part 3 of Sweden: Facts & Stuff will be out on THURSDAY, 14 November.

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SWEDEN: Facts & Stuff {Part 1}

I present to you a new series! Sweden: Facts & Stuff, where I share (amusing?) true facts about Sweden!

Sweden: Facts & Stuff {Part 1}

1: Sweden is the third largest European Union country in terms of land area, just behind France and Spain.

2: Sweden has the highest proportion of personal computers per capita in Europe, with 500 computers for every 1,000 people.

3: Learning to speak Swedish is frustrating because everyone in Sweden already speaks better English than you will ever speak Swedish

4: As of 2004, you can pay your taxes here in Sweden by sending an SMS message from your cellphone. 

5: As of 2004, all employers are required to provide free massages for their employees. 

6: American textbooks are far more cheaper here than in the United States itself.

7: The world-famous discount store, IKEA was founded here in Sweden in 1943. 

8: Europe's largest shopping mall is called Nordstan which is located in Gothenburg. It has approximately 180 shops and 150 offices on 320,000 square meters of area. 

9: In 1862, Sweden was the first country to allow married women to vote, although only for their local elections. 

10: Between the years 1850 and 1910, more than one million Swedes migrated to the United States.

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Hope you learned something! 

The second part of this series will be published on Saturday, November 9. 

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U.N DAY 2013: United Nations Fact Game

In celebration of the United Nations day of 2013, I prepared an Interactive Game for you!

Instructions: Below are 10 statements, 8 of which show facts about the United Nations, 2 of which are just false and random. You guess which statements are false / wrong. Good luck!

Answers will be posted on Monday, 28 October.

1: The Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations (currently) is from Sweden. His name is Jan Eliasson. 

2: The first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations was on 10 January 1947, held in New York City.

3: When the U.N was founded, there was 51 original member states. Examples of these original members were Australia, the Philippines and Mexico.

4: The U.N has six official languages, Arabic, French, English, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. 

5: The United Nations was founded in 1945, to replace the League of Nations, and to stop wars among countries.

6: The U.N has lots of specialized agencies, an example would be the Food and Agriculture Association (FAO), currently based in Rome. 

7: There have been eight secretary-generals currently (2013), since the founding of this organization. Only two of which from Asia. 

8: There are currently 195 member states of the United Nations, examples of which are Ghana, Thailand, Austria and Bolivia. 

9: The U.N headquarters is currently in New York City, with more main offices in Vienna, Geneva and Nairobi. 

10: The United Nations Security Council was established in 1946.

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