Introduction to the Dutch culture
This website shows a lot of facts about The Netherlands. Soon this part of the website will contain a course about The Dutch people.
* Although people call The Netherlands Holland, Holland is only a small part (two provinces) of The Netherlands.
* The Dutch national football team is orange because Van Oranje (translation: 'From/ of Orange') is the family name of the Dutch royal family.
* After the Americans and the Scandinavians, the Dutch are the world's biggest coffee drinkers.
* In Pulp Fiction John Travolta maintains that the Dutch drown their fries in mayonnaise. In fact, the 'mayonnaise' he is referring to, is fritessaus (fries sauce). This is similar to mayonnaise, but with considerably less fat. That the Dutch drown there French fries in fritessaus is true!
* In 2007 The Netherlands had 16,3 million inhabitants.
* The capital of The Netherlands is Amsterdam.
* The Dutch are the world's tallest nation.
* One quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level.
* Because of the huge population in The Netherlands traffic jams are so common that traffic jam reports appear in every national radio newscasts as a feature.
* Because the ground in Amsterdam is swampy, all houses are built on piles.
* Dutch is spoken in The Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
* Paul Verhoeven, director of Robocop, Showgirls, Hollow man, Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct is Dutch, just like Jan de Bont, director of Speed and Twister.
* Philips Electronics, ING Group, Aegon, Heineken, Grolsch, Amstel, Bavaria, Mexx, McGregor and Getronics are Dutch brands.
* The microscope was invented by a Dutch man: Anthony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). He discovered bacteria and the spermatozoids.
* Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Vermeer and Frans Hals are Dutch painters.
* Santa Claus is adapted from Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is a corruption of 'Sinterklaas', an alternative name for Saint Nicholas in Dutch.
* The clap skate is a Dutch invention.
* Miffy the bunny is a Dutch fictional character by Dick Bruna.
* Roosevelt is a surname of Dutch origin, with the literal meaning of 'rose field'.
* Since 1 July 2008 smoking inside pubs is forbidden in The Netherlands.
* Although it's still legal to smoke weed in coffeeshops, it's illegal to smoke it with tabacco.
* These English words have a Dutch origin: aardvark, Afrikaans, ahoy, aloof, apartheid, avast, aantam, beaker, beleaguer, blare, boom, boomslang, booze, boss, bow, brandy(wine), brawl, Brooklyn, bulwark, bundle, bumpkin, buoy, caboose, clove, cockatoo, coleslaw, cookie, Coney Island, crimp, cruise, cruller, dam, dapper, deck, decoy, delftware, dike, dock (maritime), dope, drill, dune, easel, etch, filibuster, Forlorn hope, freebooter, freight, frolic, furlough, gas, geek, gin, gnu, guilder, golf, grab, hankering, Harlem, hartebeest, hoboken, hoist, holster, hooky, iceberg, isinglass, keelhauling, keeshond, kill (body of water), kink, knapsack, knickerbocker, landscape, leak, loafer, maelstrom, manikin, mannequin, mart, measles, meerkat, morass, offal, patroon, pickle, pinkie, pit, plug, polder, poppycock, pump, quack, roster, rover, Santa Claus, scone, scow, shoal, skate, to skate, sketch, to Scour, skipper, sled, sleigh, slim, sloop, slurp, smack (boat), smelt, snack, snoop, snuff, splinter, split, spook, stoker, stern, still life, stoop, stove, sutler, tattoo, tickle, trek, trigger, tulip, teldt, waffle, walrus, wagon, wiggle, wildebeest, witloof, yacht, yankee. (Source: Wikipedia).
* In The Netherlands there is also a bible belt.
* The Netherlands became the first nation to grant same-sex marriages.
* In the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and France the percentage of drug addicts is higher than in The Netherlands.
* Anton Corbijn, the photographer, art director, film producer and videoclip maker who worked together with Captain Beefheart, Depeche Mode, U2, Miles Davis, David Bowie, Per Gessle, Arctic Monkeys, Nick Cave, Nirvana, R.E.M. Bon Jovi, Madness is Dutch.
* Dutchman Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered, Tasmania and Tongatapu. The island Tasmania is named after him.
* Dutchman Willem Jansz discovered Australia.
* Adriaan Floriszoon Boeyens, better known as pope Adrianus VI was the only Dutch pope in the history.
* Desiderius Erasmus was the first humanist in The Netherlands. He also was a theologist and a philosopher. Erasmus pleaded for free science.
Used sources
Wikipedia.org
Minbuza.nl
Ccguide.org.uk
Atlanticreview.org