Did you know that just after the First World War 80% of the population of Vorarlberg (Austria) voted in favour of negotiations to become part of Switzerland. The whole project came to nought as the French-speaking part of Switzerland was less than enthusiastic about a significant increase in the size of the German-speaking part of the country.

Ok... if you insist...

I'm not even going to start on that one...

Clockologist?... Seriously?... Sure you don't mean Horologist?

Ok. Everything with a pince of salt, I suspect...

Nice stories all the same...

Ok I'll bite: There also was international pressure to respect Austria's territorial integrity after it was defeated in World War I.

I'm not a historian and it is something I remember from a project I did at high school, many, many, many moons ago. The ravages of age may have led to some data loss. Many thanks to Nathu for this additional tidbit of information!

Thanks god it didn`t came true ,I am in no mood to learn austrian

I just spotted this on SwissInfo:

Everywhere else you can expect to get charged for it.

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/Fr...0&ty=st&ref=nl

Basically, outside Ticino, anyone may charge for tap water. I was offered it free a couple of times when I was in Zurich recently. I didn't ever request it so I don't know how common that is.

In the UK, I would guess that more places would charge than offer tap water free. Some justify this by saying that you are paying for the service and washing up, not the water!

__________________
"I'll say I can't tell you when, But if my spirit is strong, I know it can't be long, No questions I'm not alone, Somehow I'll find my way home" Rod

Going back to my youth in the textile manufacturing part of Yorkshire, Sulzer weaving looms were regarded as the very best that money could buy.

Several months ago I watched the film "Witness" which features an Amish community. I was very surprised when some of the German bits sounded so like Swiss German. This explains why.

When I was a post-student chemical adventurer, some of my more impecunious companions would frequently ask for - and get served - a pint of tapwater for nothing.

Of course, we all knew they were angling for a sympathy pint of bitter from those of us who were actually working for a living, but nevertheless, their requests were always met.

They explained that pubs were obliged to provide free tapwater for their guests, and they also occasionally wittered on about straw for hansom cabs, too.

Haven't a clue if any of this is true, but I just thought I'd share.

we over here in canada call it BBQ

It was an egg-laying cock that was burnt at the stake in Basel in 1471. (Source among many others)

In the Baden area, whether a legal thing or not, I have been repeatedly told that it is acceptable to request a glass of tap water without charge while you read the job adverts in the bar provided newspapers. On occasions, I have asked for a glass of water myself and got it free of charge, although I've only done this in places where I am a regular paying customer.

One local bar which is frequented by quite a few unemployed used to do this until the day when a group of customers were sitting there all afternoon, all nursing their glasses of free tap water. This was quite rightly considered an abuse of the place's hospitality and they started charging.

All the places I usually frequent are quite happy to serve a free glass of tap water together with a cup of coffee. Some places automatically include a glass of water with a coffee anyway.

Burnt on a stake sounds more like spit-roast to me

Resource: http://hubpages.com/hub/Fun-Facts-about-Switzerland

The population is 7.785.806. Swiss provinces are called “cantons.” 70% of Switzerland is covered in mountains. There are palm trees in Switzerland! The landscape ranges from 643 feet above sea level in Ascona to 15,199 feet above sea level in The Dufour Peak. They are 43 miles apart. Switzerland has more than 1,500 lakes.

You are never more than 10 miles from a lake!

You can’t turn right at a red light.

There are more banks then dentists.

Switzerland does thing differently. They have no national flower, animal or motto.

The first “Bond Girl” Ursula Andress was Swiss.

60% of Switzerland’s electricity is produced by hydroelectric power. The Swiss rail system extends some 3,100 miles. Swiss rank second behind Japan in relying on trains.

Women are expected to live 6 yrs longer than men.

In 1471, a chicken in Basel was found guilty of laying a brightly colored egg and it was burned at the stake!

It was once against the law to slam your car door! I think that is a good law! You can’t mow your lawn dressed like Elvis!

Freddy Mercury and Queen bought a recording studio on Lake Geneva. There is a statue of Freddy on the shore!

There is also a statue of Charlie Chaplin! Charlie died there in 1977.

The song “Smoke on the Water” is about the smoke from a casino fire when Frank Zappa burned down a casino in Montreux.

The average Swiss eats 23lbs of chocolate per year compared to the 11.7lbs consumed by Americans.

James Bonds mother is Swiss.

Only one-quarter own their own homes. Most homes have bunkers, a result of the Cold War concerns of nuclear war.

Albert Einstein was working as a clerk when he proved his Theory of Relativity.

The typeface “Helvetica” was created in Switzerland.

Swiss army knives are red so they can be seen in the snow.

Every citizen is required by law to own a bomb shelter or access to one.

As a landlocked country they do very well in yachting events including the America’s Cup.

Holes in Swiss cheese are caused by carbon dioxide gas given off by the bacteria and also provided flavour and fermentation. Fondue was originally a peasant meal that used up old bread and cheese.

Arthur Conan Doyle brought skiing to Switzerland.

There are over 40 shipwrecks in Lake Geneva! Including 6 railway cars!

Switzerland has the highest consumption of soft drinks in the world!

There is only one Swiss astronaut named Claude Nicollier.

Switzerland has the most hospital beds per 1000 people. 5.8 beds.

FM radio stations are on both even and odd frequencies.

Fun facebook group:
You know you’re living in Switzerland when:



You see people on the streets wearing either black or grey....or black .

Your tap water tastes so clean and crisp like it just came from the fresh mountain source... Well that’s because it did.

You receive an invitation to pick up a registered letter at the post office before the letter actually arrived.

You get yelled at in the clothing store when you put back the hanger facing the wrong way.

You are terrified of going to any clothing stores.

You get your hangovers cured, by just breathing in the outside air in the morning.

The public bathrooms have their own automatic cleaning robots.

Your downstairs neighbor buys you slippers as a gift so that you don’t make too much noise.

You see kids on the streets with a fauxhawk on top and a mullet in the back .....trying to act tough.

Even the garbage doesn’t dare to pollute. I once saw a tic tac box that was thrown into the lake, and it was just floating at the source, refusing to go into the lake.

You ask a secretary for a request on the phone, and get a “sorry that will be impossible” before you even finish your sentence.

You get charged 200CHF for an “administrative fee” when you fill out paperwork ..... so basically paper.

You get a BIG smile on your face when you receive your pay checks.

You feel like you’re spending SO MUCH money, but still have TONS left over at the end of the month.

You wait in line at the grocery store not because there’s alot of people, but because the check out lady is chatting it up with one of the customers.

Did I mention that the check out lady gets to sit in a comfortable chair, doesn’t help you with anything, and yells at you if you dare putting heavy items on the rolling rug.

If you don’t receive good enough grades in the ninth grade to go into higher education it’s OK you still have the option of becoming a secretary OR a construction worker.

Did I mention that secretaries and Construction workers have to be certified and probably have a bigger salary than you do.

You’re not allowed to build any minarets.... of course you’re not! you can’t even hang curtains in your apartment without a formal written permission from your landlord....

and you get a fine if you hang your clothes from the balcony.... It just does not look good.

There are more hospitality schools here than there is actual hospitality.

Pollution? What’s that?

If you leave your house in sweatpants, people stare at you as if you just came out of an institute.

People drive slowly in the fast lane and slower in the slow lane.

When you order wine at the bar they fill it up to a specific line that’s on the wine glass...and a beer will cost you the same price as a keg. Just drink at home then!

If you’re in a hurry to get things done, you might as well move out then because as they say here “there’s no fire on the lake!”

Funny n informative

The Cuckoo Clocks are NOT Bavarian but from Baden-Württemberg

And you are anal rententive...

Yet somehow the first documented descriptions of "the cuckoo clock" (in Saxony) significantly predate the establishment of clockmaking (never mind cuckoo clocks!) in Baden-Württemberg

Let me guess - the Baden-Württemberg ones are also time-machines

And to make such a statement on a CH-oriented forum makes for unnecessary tautology, methinks

Shhhh! Don't mention time machines around Woli!

When someone mentioned me for the first time that Switzerland has a navy, I found it funny. Of course it just seems to consists of small patrol boats so it makes sense.

Regarding the air force, must be also interesting to fly with a jet plane since it takes a commercial airplane around 20 minutes to cross the country (in the max. extension).