Sweden is not Switzerland, and Austria is not Australia
A mistake apparently made by 120,000 people each year!
Each year, many mistakenly conflate Sweden and Switzerland as the same country. In fact, 120,000 people annually search on Google whether they are the same!
A study found that half of Americans surveyed were unsure of difference between Sweden and Switzerland. Even global leaders have erred - last year, President Biden referenced Switzerland instead of Sweden in a NATO speech.
This confusion has led Visit Sweden to launch a humorous campaign clarifying the distinction, with a satirical video introducing "Welcome to Sweden (not Switzerland)." The video proposes the countries clearly delineate communication domains to eliminate confusion. For example, Switzerland can discuss mountain tops and watches while Sweden focuses on rooftop bars and timeless nature.
A viral social media post described an airport counter in Salzburg, Austria assisting confused travellers who accidentally flew to Austria instead of Australia. However, Salzburg Airport has clarified no such service actually operates.
The idea stemmed from an advertisement placed at the airport by an Austrian tech company Commend, humorously orienting misdirected passengers. The truth however, is that it is a creative advertisement, and does not exist in reality.
Travellers landing in the wrong destination is remarkably common, with numerous high-profile cases of trips gone awry. There was the case of French soccer fans in 2021 who flew to Bucharest, Romania instead of Budapest, Hungary.
Just last year, a New Yorker landed in Sidney, Montana over Sydney, Australia. At an airport in the UK, about 14 years ago, passengers were called to board for Parma, in Italy. Approximately 50 percent of those passengers, were meant to go to the city of Palma in Spain instead.
So while the Austrian airport's imaginary desk gained viral fame, plenty of travellers have in reality found themselves far from their planned destination. 😀
Puzzle
This entire lock system can be opened by opening one lock. Which one?
Write to us with your answer. And share it with your smartest friend to see if they can crack this.
Answer in the next edition of the newsletter.
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The top right lock in the “front” of all the others, it will allow you to pull out the horizontal pin, the vertical bolt drops and you can release the door.
Looks to me like opening any of the locks will unlock the door.