2. ...that around 70% of Switzerland is made up of mountains? 208 of them are over 3,000 meters high, and 24 are over 4,000 meters. And the highest peak, the Dufourspitze (Canton of Valais), is 4,634 meters above sea level, while the lowest point in Switzerland is on the shores of Lake Maggiore (Canton of Ticino) and is just 195 meters above sea level. This point is just 70 kilometers from Switzerland's highest mountain, which was named after a former Swiss general, Guillaume-Henri Dufour.
3. ...that it's illegal to keep guinea pigs alone in Switzerland? You have to own at least two. On the other hand, Swiss men and women commit to eternal togetherness relatively late. Men marry on average at 31.8 years, women at 29.6. Whether the marriage lasts forever is another question. The divorce rate is 41.3%.
4. ...that Switzerland ranks among the world's leading cannabis consumers? Estimates say that approximately 600,000 cannabis users smoke around 100 tons of hashish and marijuana annually. The situation is no different with alcohol. In 2012, the average Swiss citizen consumed approximately 56 liters of beer and 36 liters of wine per capita. The majority was produced and consumed in Switzerland, leaving only about 2% of Swiss wine for export.
5. ...that in the same year, 18 Swiss chocolate manufacturers produced approximately 172,376 tons of chocolate? Apparently, the average Swiss consumes about 10 kilos of chocolate per year, while the average American consumes only about half that, at 5.3 kilos.
6. ...that women in Switzerland, despite the progressive social system, only received the right to vote at the federal level in 1971? In the canton of Appenzell, women have only been allowed to vote since 1990. We have four official national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.
7. …that Switzerland is the world champion in recycling? In Switzerland, bottles are taken to glass collection points for recycling, where you can also dispose of your aluminum and can waste. PET bottles and empty batteries are collected separately and recycled. Paper and cardboard are neatly bundled, placed at the curb, and collected weekly. Household waste is placed in bags for a fee and also collected. Garden waste is either placed in the on-site compost heap or in a green waste container, which is emptied once every two weeks. It goes without saying that these collection services take place on different days and can vary depending on where you live – this complex waste calendar must be taken into account when moving.
8. ...that the herb butter blend "Café de Paris" doesn't actually originate from Paris, but is named after the Geneva restaurant Café de Paris, where it was invented in the 1930s. You can buy it in any supermarket, using a 1,000-franc Swiss franc note, the highest-denomination note in the world.
9. ...that Switzerland currently has around 8.57 million inhabitants – slightly more than New York City with around 8.4 million? Switzerland's area is also only 41,285 square kilometers, which is less than a third of the area of New York State (141,299 square kilometers). Another person who also lived in Switzerland was none other than one of the most important physicists in world history. Albert Einstein graduated from the Alte Kantonsschule (Old Cantonal School) in Aarau (not far from Lenzburg) and was working at the Bern Patent Office when he published his theory of relativity.
10. ...that one of the world's most popular fonts was invented in Switzerland? As the name suggests, Helvetica was developed in 1957 by graphic designer Max Miedinger in Basel.
And now we wish everyone a happy August 1st, a day on which one of the only two square national flags in the world (apart from the Vatican) is celebrated. The soil and forests are dry – so our beautiful Switzerland can be celebrated without fireworks; we don't want the Swiss Air Force to be called out, as they are only available during office hours. ;-)
