Portal:Finland/Did you know

Did you know

...that the Finnish Communist leader Arvo Tuominen broke with the Soviet Union during the Winter War and ordered the Finnish Communists not to assist the Red Army?
...that mobile phone throwing is an international sport in which thrown mobile phones are judged by the distance and choreographics of the throw?
...that the self-taught weapon designer Aimo Lahti designed over 50 weapons of all types prior to and during World War II, including the successful Suomi M-31?
...that Norse sagas record some Finnish campaigns against Sweden in the mid-8th century?
...that Larin Paraske, a Finnish oral poet, could recite over 32,000 verses of poetry?

...the Finnish Air Force selected the Saab 91 Safir as its primary trainer aircraft over the domestic Valmet Tuuli III?
...that the Kaleva, a Finnish passenger plane carrying diplomatic post, was shot down by Soviet bombers in an act of aggression?
...that the majority of Assyrians in Finland live in Oulu, the sixth largest city in the country?
...that Finland was close to becoming an independent kingdom in 1742?
...that the Saint Petersburg–Hiitola railroad was completed by 1917, but a year later the Finnish Civil War caused traffic to stop, with a mile of track removed?

...that the cruiseferry M/S Nordlandia (originally M/S Olau Hollandia) was built to be NATO-compatible, so that she could easily be converted to a troopship?
...that Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, resigned after confessing to torture and forgery?
...that the Finnish-Novgorodian wars only ended with the Swedish conquest of Finland in 1249, resulting in the Swedish–Novgorodian Wars?
...the crash of Aero Flight 311, which claimed the lives of all 25 people on board, was the worst aviation accident ever to occur in Finland?
...that some areas of the Finnish Lakeland have up to 1,000 lakes per 100 km²?

...that the Finnish company YIT was responsible for the construction of the Finnish National Opera house, the Helsinki Fair Centre and Cirrus, the tallest high-rise building in Finland?
...that the paintings in the Espoo Cathedral were painted over in the 18th century, as they were thought to be "crude and superstitious'?
...that there are three unilingually Swedish municipalities in one province of mainland Finland?
...that Maria, the Finnish form of Mary, is the most popular Finnish name used during the modern era?
...that Finnish film director Valentin Vaala was reportedly so disappointed with his first film that he dumped the original camera negatives into the sea?

...that the career of Tiia Piili, four-time FISAF World Champion in sport aerobics, was threatened when she got food poisoning attending a competition in Morocco?
...that Erkki Karu founded both Suomi-Filmi and Suomen Filmiteollisuus, the two largest film production companies during the 'Golden Age' of Finnish cinema?
...that "Blooddrunk", a track by Finnish band Children of Bodom about self-destructive behaviour, debuted at number one in Finland?
...that Taisto Mäki, one of the so-called Flying Finns, was the first man to run 10,000 metres in under half an hour?
...that when called by the opposition to quit after the Kauhajoki school shooting, Finnish politician Anne Holmlund refused and compared resigning her post as Interior Minister to "desertion"?

... that the asteroid 1536 Pielinen is named after Pielinen Lake (pictured) in Finland?

...that according to Lapsiporno.info, a blacklist of websites compiled by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation included those containing legal pornography?
...that Ismo Alanko Säätiö's accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen has been dubbed the "Jimi Hendrix of the accordion" by the Finnish music press?
...that the Christmas carol Personent hodie, first published in the 1582 Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, is thought to be a parody of a 12th-century carol?
...that Anssi Koivuranta is leading the 2008–09 Nordic Combined World Cup right now?
...that the Finnish tango is an established variation of the Argentine tango and one of the most enduring and popular music forms in Finland?

...that when completed in 1967, MS Finlandia was the largest ferry in the world?
...that the Pysähdy ajoissa - Stanna i tid ("Stop in time") traffic campaign was the result of the public response to a road death of a nine-year-old girl in Finland?
...that the Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers has been in charge of publishing Finland's ethical guidelines on engineering for over 40 years?
...that Penedo, a small town in Brazil was colonized by immigrants from Finland?
...that the Wärtsilä Turku shipyard in Finland built five state-of-the-art cruiseferries for the Black Sea Shipping Company, Soviet Union, in 1975-1976?

...that the prototypes for the WW II German U-boat fleet (Type II pictured) were designed by a Dutch company and built in Finland at the Crichton-Vulcan shipyard?
...that while repelling Soviet advances across the frozen Lake Suvanto, Finland managed to capture 12 anti-tank guns, 140 machine guns, 200 light machine guns and 1500 rifles in the Battle of Kelja in 1939?
...that Major Carl Mothander, the leader of Swedish volunteers in the Estonian War of Independence, later wrote books on Estonian politics that were banned in Finland?
...that the Korpela movement was a short-lived cult during the 1930s in Northern Sweden and Finland whose controversial sexual rituals eventually led to the arrest of 60 followers?
...that in 1745, Daniel Juslenius, a Finnish Fennoman, finished the first formal Finnish dictionary?