Author Archives: emil

In the tradition of the great Jonathan Swift, I’d like to make modest proposal of my own: April’s gotten away with it for too long and we need to get rid of it. Well, what has April ever done to you, you might ask. Oh, where do I begin? Look no further than the bible, […]

What caused the great war? After years of research, I am ready to present a compelling new hypothesis in regards to the proximate cause of the first world war. When Bismarck unified Germany, he did so with an acute awareness of the fact that successful nation building requires a cultural canon on which to hinge […]

There’s a thought I need to voice: Mediterranean regional flags are disturbing. In particular Sardinia and Corsica, but also Catalonia and Valencia. Hear me out. I never cared much about flags. Sure, I felt a bit disappointed when Hannes and Daniel kept beating me at geography board games, which should have been my forte, but […]

The Swedish language has admitted a deluge of English words in recent decades. But a trickle has flowed the other way: presently, ”fika” seems to be gaining a foot hold, and the concept of ”lagom” has an entry in the English Wikipedia. Then there are the old canonical examples ”ombudsman” and ”smorgasbord”. Less known in […]

The weaver was visiting his friend Adam, a black sheep. They had sat down for a cup of tea and a game of chess. ”Yes, I have three bags of wool left, although I’ve already promised two of them for others.” said Adam, responding to the weavers inquiry. ”A single bag won’t get me far.” […]