Lack of equality makes Swedish men unhappy
Men feel insufficient when their partner does more around the house - this according to a new thesis on equality in Swedish partnerships, done at Umeå University. The result shows that there’s still quite a lack of equality in Swedish households, and that means both partners suffer. Men feel inadequate when they don’t do as much as their female partners. Meanwhile, the women in the study say their added workload make them feel unhappy, too, says Lisa Harryson, author of the thesis to Ekot. The study is built on interviews and questionnaires with 1000 people since 1981.

Food myths among Swedes
Only every third Swede know not to feed their children Baltic herring, according to a study titled "Myter om maten" (Food myths), conducted by Yougov on behalf of Konsumentföreningen Stockholm. The advice from Livsmedelsverket (National Food Agency) is that children and young people should not eat such fatty fish more often than once per year or so because of environmental poisons. The study also shows that over 50% of Swedes wrongly believe that apples are being treated with wax in order to stay better preserved. In reality, some apples get a natural wax-like outer layer when they ripen. For a majority (84%) of Swedes, it was surprising to find out that tomato ketchup actually contain more healthy antioxidants than fresh tomatoes. 1017 people representing the entire country were asked to fill out a form with right or wrongs for 23 statements the study is based on.

Why Swedes don't worry about North Korea
Swedes can be hit by a nuclear war between the U.S. and North Korea. But they don't care. Why? Says Psychologist Jenny Rickardson at Psykologifabriken to Swedish metro.se: “Many factors play in, but it’s safe to say that it’s a case of empty vessels making the greatest noise. Kim Jong-un has cried out like this before, and (for Swedes) this is far away, it’s abstract, hard to grasp, and that leads to no engagement.” It’s easy to make fun of such an unpredictable dictator, and Swedes may push aside nuclear rearmament. “People believe Kim Jong-un is a crazy person who says silly things. It may sound like a healthy reaction, why should we walk around and worry all the time about a possible nuclear was when we cannot do anything about it anyway,” says Torbjörn Åkerstedt, director at Stockholm University’s Stress Research Institute. What to worry about: a nuclear war tomorrow, or being able to pick up your child on time from daycare today? At the moment, it’s the latter that’s on the minds of most Swedes. “But if we took the time and sat down to think about it, a nuclear war is what we fear the most. But pushing it away from us, we are doing something about it so that we feel better,” says Rickardson. And Åkerstedt adds: “But if it had been about Putin in Russia, we would have been much more worried.”

Weapon against wolves: Angry llamas
Spitting and kicking llamas may be the latest weapon against wolves, which are running wild among herds of sheep in southern Sweden. The county administrative board wants to try using llamas in two big flocks of sheep, both of which have been attacked by wolves. Predatory animals are afraid of getting hurt, and experiences from the USA show that llamas have a good effect on prairie dogs and pumas. How good they are in dealing with wolves is another story though, nobody has studied that yet. “We aren’t expecting total protection, but fewer attacks and fewer animals killed at each attack,” says Nils Carlsson, who is in charge of predatory animals, to TT.

Växjö stopped Romani flag
The Romani flag was supposed to fly outside the Municipal Hall in Växjö to honor International Romani Day on April 8. This did not happen, as the municipal management put a stop to it, according to local media. The initiator was the network Flytsam, which was given green light for the project by the municipal real-estate company Vöfab, whose personnel was to help out. But when a small delegation was waiting Monday morning, nobody from Vöfab showed up. Local government commissioner Bo Frank had ordered them not to. According to municipal director Ove Dahl, the municipality only flies national flags, with the exception of the Pride flag, since Växjö municipality wants to prioritize diversity.