All countries are different, tell me a fact about your country.

About a third of my country is below sea-level. And about half of the country is a meter or less above sea-level. My country is basically one big river delta. We've been fighting the sea for several hundred years now, and have gotten quite good at it. Those windmills everyone associates with us were built to keep our feet dry and reclaim a lot of land.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQCB3N8Vaxk
 
SirDice maybe you want to check out books by Rien Poortvliet, there is one where he follows his grandfathers trough time, it has nice paintings to illustrate. It is on the desk next to me right now. One of his forefathers came as a laborer while diking and got a job on a newly created farm.
 
Anyway, a good read if you still have  some connection to these times.
I do, been trying to research my family tree. Got as far back as 1645, about 10 generations. Should pick this up again and spend some time digging through archives (mostly church archives, what's left of them anyway). Have gotten a bit stuck, but got some clues there might be a Belgian or even Spanish connection.
 
cortexmancer it certainly explains some curly hair...
In US, residential water heaters are rated at 1500 to 5500 W, with 4500 W a typical rating for a unit installed in a single-family dwelling. Seems like the standard in Brazil is just a little higher than in US.

It's amazing what you can find with just a bit of research on the Internet, no AI needed! :P
 
i'm a forester, in france... it's a shitshow. but there is also a strong bunch of people (me included) motivated and applying a nice forest management system called "mixed species continuous cover management" aka the prosilva way...
i don't know if that's of anyone's interest but i developed a model and it tool to quantify the carbon sequestration of such a managed forest (in python).
well, that's it :)
 
i'm a forester, in france... it's a shitshow. but there is also a strong bunch of people (me included) motivated and applying a nice forest management system called "mixed species continuous cover management" aka the prosilva way...
i don't know if that's of anyone's interest but i developed a model and it tool to quantify the carbon sequestration of such a managed forest (in python).
well, that's it :)
So, basically, you walk around and try to keep tabs on whether there's too much firs in one spot (or not enough), and stage protests when a hill normally covered by oaks suddenly goes bald. There's lots of competing models in just about any major university on this planet, and it takes a PhD to even understand any of 'em and see the holes. Some models go way back to 1950s, seriously. I'd know, I grew up around that, in spite of not having much interest. Just trying to see how those models even fit into a global picture has generated lots of debate, and lots of bullshit like 'carbon credits'... Just developing a model doesn't mean one has a complete handle on the process, sorry. More than one PhD candiate was sent home actually crying when they heard that.
 
There are around 160 countries in the world. Here in Belgium we are ranked number 3 in lowest number of poor people.
Second fact Belgians do, we don't buy on debt. When we have some money, we buy a house and go live in it.
There where in my whole life two loans. One for my house, another my visa card 1.500 Euros :)
What's your fact. [ It can be good food :), or something cultural ]
CZ -
Beer cheaper than water
During Easter we whip women with bundle of willow sticks.
We are genetically the second most average European nation (Austria got the #1, probably thanks to Turkish admixture).
DNA testing revealed one ordinary man here has the closest genetic code to mummy of pharaoh Tutankhamen.
Every major World happening has some clue in CZ - 30 year war, WW1, WW2, 9/11
 
So, basically, you walk around and try to keep tabs on whether there's too much firs in one spot (or not enough), and stage protests when a hill normally covered by oaks suddenly goes bald. There's lots of competing models in just about any major university on this planet, and it takes a PhD to even understand any of 'em and see the holes. Some models go way back to 1950s, seriously. I'd know, I grew up around that, in spite of not having much interest. Just trying to see how those models even fit into a global picture has generated lots of debate, and lots of bullshit like 'carbon credits'... Just developing a model doesn't mean one has a complete handle on the process, sorry. More than one PhD candiate was sent home actually crying when they heard that.
yup, totally agree.
that's why i'm resigning from the company i'm working for and go back to the roots of forest management, with one aim: trying to have a forest there in 30y or more... tough beans.
and yes also, all models are wrong, some are useful nonetheless... this one about the carbon sequestration, not too sure, i tried to be as proper as possible but at the end the market drove things, not the knowledge/or lack thereof. wait? i heard that about other things before... sigh...
 
"Low" is a relative thing (-;
Crivens is right at least in the aspect of the word's meaning: пиво = drink (literally, with the meaning of "beverage").
That translation has the tone of casual, mildly derogatory slang. 'drink' is best translated as 'питье' to mean 'any kind of drink, as in 'food and drink' '.
 
As you should! The thing with Kölsch is, it has a low alcohol percentage.
No, that's not true. It has the standard 5% or so.
It's just tastes as if it was made of stale beer diluted with water (30%) with some sugar added to it. I know what I'm talking about, I live in Kölschlandia.

Btw - most things Cologne is famous for are pure fake. Kölsch beer is an invention of the 1950s, Cologne is historically a Pils town. The cathedral has been built and paid for by Prussia in the 1850s, and its medieval-style "old town" is from the late 1930s.
 
Yeah, that stuff clearly confuses beer and kvas. They are made using a very similar process, using largely the same ingredients... and kvas was in fact quite high in ABV back before 10th century AD... But this article is very clearly written by someone who can't even spell 'Russia', and is writing for a 4th-rate American content farm. Any Russian or Ukrainian would tell you that. Proper kvas takes about 24-48 hours on a hot summer day to get all nice and fizzy.

The stuff in the picture is very clearly kvas. What was sold in stalls and tents around the clock was kvas. I'd know, I have memories of kvas barrels on every corner of the city in 1980s and 1990s. Occasionally, there'd be a vending machine that dispensed VERY foamy kvas into a glass for you:
1756243405472.png
 
I like belgian beer, but at home I drink San Miguel (tradition 1l, especial is only in 33cl, in Italy). When I worked in Russia only baikal pure vodka. When I was in Germany (near Stuttgart) 30/35 year ago jegerbraten mit shpetzle ung gemuse (I do not knwo how to write it), a special dish with a neverending name made of fried liver, with a slice of pineapple covered in mashed potatoes and the classic brown sauce, very very good. In spain secreto de cerdo with potatos, paella, mejillones and cazalla.
 
In US, residential water heaters are rated at 1500 to 5500 W, with 4500 W a typical rating for a unit installed in a single-family dwelling. Seems like the standard in Brazil is just a little higher than in US.
I have a dual system for hot water - the primary heating is done by natural gas and this has the power output over 30KW. To reduce the delay, the gas heated water goes to an insulated tank with relatively low power electrical heating (~1KW) to keep the water always warm.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but I have understood that French fries were actually invented in Belgium. Why do people calling them "French fries"?
because french kiss?
sorry... i'm french and i have no idea :)
as long as nobody call them freedom fries i'm fine with it either way... and do not get us started on waffles!
 
And, going back to hern42's answer, I think that French kiss is also something soldiers from the US learned in France, though I forget which war. Old though I am, I wasn't around for either one.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but I have understood that French fries were actually invented in Belgium. Why do people calling them "French fries"?
American soldiers in WW1 discovered them in the French speaking part of Belgium. The name stuck when they brought it back to the USA.
The term "French" is probably because of the method of cutting the potatoes - "To French" means to cut food into thin, elongated strips, like "French-cut green beans". Besides, "French fried" was being used in the sense of "deep-fried" for foods like onion rings or chicken.

BTW, origin is South America, first documented in Chile in early 17. century, but its origin is probably much older because there are reports from Spain that they were prepared in today's familiar fashion in 16. century.

Story that name originated from US soldiers stationed in Belgium in 1917 have no merit, because Thomas Jefferson had "potatoes served in the French manner" in 1802, and recipes were published in English in mid-19. century.
 
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