September 27, 2007 11:33
Charming Danish customs
This was at the employment ministry Wednesday. I assumed the sign said "take one" rather than, say, "poison," so I took one and ate it. Pretty good. And I'm still alive.
I'd heard of the Copenhagen city bike system, where you put in a 20 kroner (about $4) coin to get a bike, then get the money back when you return the bike to one of hundreds of racks around the city. But Wednesday afternoon, when I really could have used one, there was none to be found at any bike rack I saw. Thursday morning I came across the lovely yellow thing pictured below, but didn't have the right coin and was in too much of a rush to go looking for change. So I really like the idea and all, but as a practical matter it has turned out to be pretty useless. Perhaps I should get myself a 20 kroner piece and hold on to it for life, so on every future visit to Copenhagen I'll be prepared.
Finally, this woman is killing weeds with a blowtorch:
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Justin Fox is TIME's business and economics columnist. This is his blog. About the Authors
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Reader Comments (3)
Maybe you should introduce them to American's 'charming' interest on Chuck Norris:
http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/
What killed me is when a friend forwarded Bloomberg's economy version of Chuck Norris facts:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aLepjRCRQ3go&refer=h
Posted by YMM | September 27, 2007 2:00 PM
I think that bicycle would sell well in the U.S. I am not sure if those are modifications or if it was manufactured like that. I think that a clothing designer should work with a bike maker and sell custom bicyccles, the same way they do custom motorcycles. Kids would love to have bikes like those.
Posted by Yadgyu | September 27, 2007 2:48 PM
Yadgyu
For 20 kroner you can have one. In Copenhagen.
I think all the fancy paint and fancy design is simply advertising that this is a bicycle that belongs to the Copenhagen commune. Denmark is so civilized that a rider should be shamed if he or she were found riding it elsewhere.
Posted by GLD | September 30, 2007 11:49 AM