Off topic: DANISH EXPORTS

OK, so we all now and love the Danish comic book creator Palle Schmidt. But what other exports is this little Scandinavian country known for?

The first thing that comes to mind is the Vikings, but they were just as much Swedes og Norwegians, I guess. Cultural exports include filmaker Carl Th. Dreyer, and his contemporary successors Bille August, Ole Bornedal, Thomas Vinterberg, Oscar-winner Susanne Bier and, most importantly, Lars Von Trier. Viggo Mortensen, Mads Mikkelsen and Ulrich Thomsen are some Danish actors you might have seen. But have most definetely seen Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime in Game of Thrones.

In music we have exported bands like The Raveonettes and the drummer from Metallica. IO Interactive is a the Danish company behind the Kane and Lynch game series. Danish design and Danish pastry we all know, and Danish architect Jørn Utzon built the Sydney Opera House. In drawn art, we’re famous for exporting Teddy Kristansen, Peter Snejbjerg and Peter Madsens stories of the Nordic Gods, Valhalla. Oh, and the Muhammed cartoon crisis. Maybe not our finest hour.
Apparently we invented handball, the Ombudsman and the Bodum French Press Coffeemaker, the latter a pet peeve of mine, as it is almost impossible to clean. Makes good coffee though. Carlsberg, Maersk, Novo Nordisk and Lego are some Danish brands you may have heard of and you may also know astronomer Tycho Brahe, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, comedian Victor Borge,  philopsopher Søren Kierkegaard, and writers Karen Blixen and Hans Christian Andersen.

Let me know what else you know about Denmark!

(Not you Danes. You be quiet).