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Have you ever heard anything peculiar about Switzerland that you found interesting?

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A member of the Swiss Abroad editorial team, I mainly write about Switzerland's most peculiar features and stories. After completing my master's degree in Asian Studies in Geneva (with a detour at Tokyo University and Kyoto University), I worked on the newsdesk at RSI, occasionally collaborating with Presence Switzerland during the Expo in South Korea and Milan. I have been working for SWI swissinfo.ch since 2016.

Did you know that it is illegal to keep just one guinea pig in Switzerland? Have you ever heard of the Swiss sport of Hornussen? Is the story about the diplomat who was surprised to find the mummy of his great-grandfather in Egypt true?

Every Saturday we publish an article on quirky topics about Switzerland in our weekly briefing.

Is there anything peculiar related to Switzerland that has caught your interest? Share it with us, and we might feature it in an article!

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Contributions must adhere to our guidelines. If you have questions or wish to suggest other ideas for debates, please, get in touch!
Calmei
Calmei

I found it peculiar that in Switzerland, the speed limit signage shows what is NOT the limit when a limit exists. And there may be no other signage restating the limit, for miles, until the limit changes. I also found it peculiar that the signage for the right lane can be in the left lane, and that the driver is responsible for everything, including if a rear driver hits their car. Usually, you are responsible for what is happening in front of you, and the rear drivers are responsible for what happens in front of them.

Franco-suisse
Franco-suisse
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.

Being French by birth, the most surprising thing about Switzerland for me was learning about the "secret" held by certain Swiss people, and discovering that even hospitals (public service, editor's note) can call on these people, particularly in cases of burns (fire cutters).__To this day, I don't know what to think: divine, or even satanic? A pact with supernatural entities?__It really intrigues me.

Étant française d'origine, la chose la plus surprenante concernant la Suisse a été pour moi de connaître l'existence du "secret" détenu par certaines personnes suisses, et d'apprendre que même les hôpitaux (service public ndlr) peuvent faire appel à ces personnes, en cas de brûlure notamment (coupeurs de feu).__Jusqu'à aujourd'hui je ne sais pas quoi en penser :don divin, voire satanique ? Pacte avec des entités surnaturelles?__Cela m'intrigue vraiment.

KevinHafter
KevinHafter

As a dual national who drives a great deal in the UK and Switzerland, I found the article on the Swiss highway code interesting. In particular, my experience of enforcement is that its limited in CH, and that adherence to speed limits and the uphill priority for meeting other cars is poorly adhered to. The Swiss are very happy to tailgate on mountains and motorways , and in heavy fast moving traffic drive exceptionally close to other cars. Pedestrian crossings have nothing like the protection or status they do in the UK, where cars may not be parked within a defined distance to preserve sight lines. The Swiss obsession with road surface renewal is a joy to behold. You can feel the difference immediately you cross the border from France to Switzerland, and in the UK, road surface 'potholes' are a major and growing problem, and a constant political flash point. The ultimate measure of success is road injuries and deaths per 1,000,000 km. Looking at data is always a good thing!

kappenberger
kappenberger

Wonderful that you so augment consultation/conversation

TITI17
TITI17
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.

When we returned to Switzerland from Basel, we arrived on the motorway, and it was "strange" that motorists drive on the left, and even more so towards Zurich, which is a considerable nuisance for those who want to overtake.

quand ont rentre en Suisse depuis Bale,ont arrive sur l'autoroute ,et la chose "Bizarre?,et que les automobilistes roule a gauche ,et vers Zürich encore plus ,une gene conssiderable pour ceux qui veulent doubler

Lalla
Lalla
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.
@TITI17

I completely agree!!! I regularly drive on the Geneva-Lausanne motorway and I don't understand this terrible and annoying habit Swiss drivers have of driving at 100 km/h IN THE LEFT LANE!!! UNBEARABLE!!! It should be punished!!! INCOMPREHENSIBLE!!!

Je suis tout-à-fait d'accord!!! Je roule régulièrement sur l'autoroute Genève-Lausanne et je ne comprends pas cette terrible et énervante habitude des suisses à rouler à 100 km/h SUR LA GAUCHE!!! INSUPPORTABLE!!! Ce devrait être sanctionné !!! INCOMPRÉHENSIBLE !!!

Kiwichat
Kiwichat
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.

I read with interest the Swissinfo article entitled "Penalties and oddities of the Swiss Highway Code". One detail particularly intrigued me: in the first aerial photograph illustrating the article, a cyclist can be seen riding against the flow of traffic. However, further on in the text, there is mention of zero tolerance for traffic offences in Switzerland. Yet, from my own observations, I have never seen a cyclist being fined for breaking the Highway Code, even in cases of obvious offences.This perfectly illustrates the paradox mentioned in the article's title: in Switzerland, cyclists seem to escape punishment, while dog owners who do not keep their animals on a leash are fined 150 francs per dog. In my opinion, this disparity in treatment deserves to be questioned.

J'ai lu avec intérêt l'article de Swissinfo intitulé "Punitions et bizarreries du Code de la route en Suisse". Un détail m'a particulièrement intrige : sur la première photographie aérienne illustrant l'article, on aperçoit un cycliste circulant à contresens.____Or, plus loin dans le texte, on évoque la tolérance zéro appliquée aux infractions routières en Suisse. Pourtant, de mes propres observations, je n'ai jamais vu un cycliste être verbalisé pour non-respect du code de la route, même en cas d'infraction manifeste.____Voilà qui illustre parfaitement le paradoxe évoqué dans le titre de l'article : en Suisse, les cyclistes semblent échapper aux sanctions, alors qu'un propriétaire de chien dont l'animal n'est pas tenu en laisse écope d'une amende de 150 francs par chien.____Cette disparité de traitement mérite, à mon sens, d'être questionnée.

Calmei
Calmei
@Kiwichat

In that article, it is stated that drivers must cause “as little disturbance as possible”. So, this disparity of treatment fits that mentality, since dogs pose a threat and a nuisance (from biting to leaving an unpicked crap in an unsupervised moment) mostly to others, while bikes are mostly a threat to the cyclists themselves.

Grace Vontobel
Grace Vontobel

Back in high school, my friend showed me a Canadian history book her father had written. In it we were told that a significant number of Swiss men were some of the early settlers in Canada. __ One of the earliest settlers in Canada was Pierre Miville (d. 1669).[4] Laurenz Ermatinger (1736 to 1789), a fur trader and merchant, arrived in Montreal from Switzerland and together with his son Charles Oakes (1776 to 1833), and Sebastian Freyvogel have explored the large Huron tract.__Swiss mercenaries arrived in New France (Canada) with French forces in the 1700s (like the Karrer Regiment) and later as British soldiers (like Frederick Haldimand), with many Swiss, including former soldiers and Mennonite refugees, settling permanently from the late 18th century onward, particularly in Quebec and Ontario.__Swiss Mercenaries in New France

Ilze Ess
Ilze Ess

When I lived in Zürich in 1972-3 I found it quaint to see this sign near the river: "Hier darfst Du" with a drawing of a dog. I never knew that Swiss dogs could read! I guess the picture was necessary so humans would not think it applied to them as well.____The other thing that caught my eye was the existence of a "Pferdemetzgerei" - in Australia, where I live, it's not customary to eat horsemeat. So I have never seen this meat as an option. We can eat kangaroo and crocodile, but not horses.

gbmwtr@bluewin.ch
gbmwtr@bluewin.ch
@Ilze Ess

Very cute, and tongue in cheek comment! No, Swiss dogs, like dogs around the world cannot read. The 'Hier darfst du' sign simply shows the dog owner that it's OK to let the dog do it's business, as long as you clean it up. You MUST have seen the very many signs stating; 'Hier darfst du NICHT' to warn you to not let your dog poop there.

skaylully@gmail.com
skaylully@gmail.com
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.

Following is a letter (in French) that I sent to our town administration last year. The answer was that there were no cantonal or federal laws on the subject.____We have a problem with domestic cats roaming around our garden. They come to hunt and kill birds and lizards,__but they also come to relieve themselves in our vegetable garden (and for__that reason we are obliged to always cover our flower beds__with a net). Of course we try to let the cats know, by__different__means, that they are not welcome, but with little__success, as our garden is large and difficult to keep an eye on. Soon the birds will be nesting, the lizards will begin to warm themselves in the sun, and we cannot always be at home to protect them. Dogs must be kept on a lead, their owners are obliged to pick up their droppings, and they are not allowed to roam the neighbourhood. We were told that with cats, it's different, because "it's nature. But, in nature, feral cats all have their own territory. It__has been estimated that the density of domestic cats is about 50% higher than in the wild. (Wildlife Research) "On the Swiss Plateau, there are about 50 to 60 cats per square kilometre. Cats therefore have a much higher density than all other predators taken together. Like all predators, cats avoid an area that is not suitable for them.

Following is a letter (in French) that I sent to our town administration last year. The answer was that there were no cantonal or federal laws on the subject.____Nous avons un problème avec des chats domestiques qui vagabondent dans__notre jardin. Ils viennent afin de chasser et tuer les oiseaux et les lèzards,__mais ils viennent aussi afin de faire leur besoin dans notre potager (et pour__cette raison nous sommes obligés de toujours couvrir nos plates bandes__avec un filet). Bien-sûr nous essayons de laisser savoir aux chats, par des__différents moyens, qu’ils ne sont pas les bienvenues, mais avec peu de__succès, car notre jardin est grand et difficil à surveiller. Ces jours, il y a un__troupe de trois chats qui viennent à plusieurs reprises pendant la journée.__Bientôt les oiseaux feront leur nids, les lèzards commencent à se chauffer__dans le soleil, et nous ne pouvons pas être toujours chez nous afin de leur__proteger.__Les chiens doivent être tenu en laisse, leur proprietaires sont obligés de__ramasser leur crottes, et il ne sont pas permis de vagabonder dans le__quartier. On nous a dit qu’avec les chats, c’est different, car « c’est la__nature. » Mais, dans la nature, les chats sauvages ont tous leur territoire. Il__a été estimé que la densité des chats domestiques est environ 50% plus haut__que dans la nature. (Wildlife Research) « Sur le Plateau suisse, on trouve__environ 50 à 60 chats par kilomètre carré. Les chats présentent donc une__densité beaucoup plus élevée que celle de tous les autres prédateurs pris__ensemble. Comme tous les prédateurs, les chats évitent un

ErSt
ErSt
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

It is not possible to speak of 'emigration' at that time, as there were no nation states such as France or Switzerland. The Helvetii were a Gallic tribe and wanted to move within Gaul in order to be safer from Germanic tribes and the expansionist desires of Roman tribes or power groups. As the Romans subjugated Gaul, today we know almost only their one-sided view; the actual culture and perspective of the Helvetii was largely suppressed.

Man kann damals nicht von ‚Auswandern‘ sprechen, da es keine Nationalstaaten wie Frankreich oder die Schweiz gab. Die Helvetier waren ein gallischer Stamm und wollten innerhalb Galliens umziehen, um mehr Sicherheit vor germanischen Stämmen und den Expansionsgelüsten römischer Stämme bzw. Machtgruppen zu haben. Da die Römer Gallien unterwarfen, kennen wir heute fast nur ihre einseitige Sichtweise; die eigentliche Kultur und Perspektive der Helvetier wurde dabei weitgehend verdrängt.

coolmum
coolmum

I presume it is still illegal to wash your car on a Sunday____I presume it is still illegal to hang your washing out on a Sunday.

ErSt
ErSt
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@coolmum

Most people now have a washing machine in their home, including a tumble dryer. It doesn't matter any more. Washing cars on a Sunday? That's a Christian day of rest. But the new self-service car washes can be used 24/7. Shouldn't bother anyone any more. As they are not in residential neighbourhoods, but in the industrial zone.

Die meisten haben heute die Waschmaschine in der Wohnung inkl. Tumbler. Das spielt es keine Rolle mehr. Autos waschen am Sonntag? Ist doch ein Christlicher Ruhetag. Aber die neuen Selbstbdienungswaschstrassen kann man 24h mal 7 bedienen. Sollte auch niemanden mehr stören. Da sie auch nicht in den Wohnquartieren stehen, sonden in der Industriezone.

Andrea Costa
Andrea Costa
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

When I was in Madeira on holiday, I found at the westernmost point of the island a metal plaque with the insignia of the Swiss Confederation explaining that the point of origin of the coordinates used for the maps of the Federal Office of Topography is off Madeira and no longer on Swiss soil.

Quando sono stato a Madeira in vacanza, ho trovato nel punto più a ovest dell'isola una placca di metallo con le insegne della Confederazione Svizzera che spiegava come il punto di origine delle coordinate usate per le mappe dell'Ufficio federale di topografia si trovi al largo di Madeira e non più sul suolo svizzero.

Cirripedia
Cirripedia

I would love to hear more about the work and accomplishments of Swiss science and Swiss scientists, both working in the country and abroad, and about the contributions of Switzerland to technological innovations, from those affecting daily life to major breakthroughs. A survey in collaboration with the media offices of the universities and major research institutions would probably bring together a wide range of interesting information to develop fascinating and informative stories that can make us aware of the actual personal histories behind innovation.

Gabriel Medina
Gabriel Medina
The following contribution has been automatically translated from ES.

Good... the lundin family had privileged information after the second world war through mappings of the time where the oil and mining resources of the world were located ... in particular I can tell you about San Juan Argentina ... and 20 years ago they took the gold dore from the Andes mountain range ... ... and the first ingot was 250 dollars an ounce, today it is almost 3700 dollars ... and they destroyed the almirante brown glacier to make the road. Access to the veladero mine. This glacier was 60 km from a town called Tudcum ... the Veladero mine was built in an area that is a national reserve called San Gullermo where it was forbidden to carry out this type of activity .... and has a bi-national mine called Lama Pascua armed without working because on the Chilean side they removed the concession for environmental damage since 2012 ... a few weeks ago they did the same in Tierra Amarilla: applied a fine of $ 3,300 million and ordered the total and definitive closure of Lundin mining.31 in jan 2025 ... and wants to start doing the same in argentina and chile with the vicuña project ...almost 5% of the argentine national exports that come out of San Juan and Santa Cruz in patagonia go to switzerland ...thanks to a mining investment law that was made in the 90s with a meagre royalty of 3%... that to make matters worse this government took them away... it always seemed strange to me the luck that their settlers came from Canada .... but the one who had the information was the biochemist harry lundi gave it to adolf h and bertil who was a high command of the swiss intelligence service... no doubt it is strange switzerland because they have our legendary wealth stored in their banks apart of course 3/4 parts of gold from the 3 Reich where 40 million humans died... and according to you they were always neutral in modern wars... they filled themselves with the world resources at the cost of blood and pollution...__ Greetings __Gabriel

Buenas... la familia lundin tuvo información privilegiada depues de la segunda guerra mundial a través de mapeos de la época donde se encontraban los recursos petroleros y mineros del mundo ... en particular puedo contar lo de San Juan argentina ... y hacen 20 años se llevan el oro dore de la cordillera de los andes ... cuando sacaron el primer lingote la onza cotizaba 250 dólares hoy esta a casi 3700 .. y destruyeron el glaciar almirante brown para hacer el camino. Se acceso a la mina veladero. Dicho glaciar estaba a 60 km de un pueblo llamado tudcum ... la mina veladero se hizo sobre un área que es una reserva nacional llamada san gullermo donde estaba prohibido hacer ese tipo de actividad .... y tiene una mina bi nacional lama Pascua armada sin funcionar por que del lado chileno les sacaron la concesión por daños ambientales desde 2012 .. hace unas semanas atrás hicieron lo mismo en Tierra Amarilla: aplica multa de $ 3.300 millones y ordena clausura total y definitiva de minera de Lundin.31 ene 2025 .. y quiere empezar hacer lo mismo en argentina y chile con el proyecto vicuña ..casi el 5 % de la exportaciones nacionales argentinas que salen de San Juan y Santa Cruz en la patagonia se va para suiza ...gracias a una ley de inversiones mineras que se hizo en la década 90 con unas magras regalías del 3 %.. que para colmo este gobierno se las saco.. siempre me pareció extraño la suerte que tuvieron sus colonos venidos en canadiense... pero el que tenía la información fue el bioquimico harry lundi se las dio adolf h y bertil que fue un alto mando del servicio de inteligencia suizo .. no cabe duda que es extraño suiza por que tienen la riqueza legendarias nuestras guardadas en sus bancos aparte por supuesto 3/4 partes de oro del 3 Reich donde murieron 40 millones de humanos .. y según ustedes siempre fueron neutrales en las guerras modernas .. se llenaron de los recursos del mundo a costa de sangre y contaminación..__ Saludos __Gabriel

Bennwiler
Bennwiler

Topic: Theban Legion in Switzerland. ____Question: do any other Swiss, like me, have "Coptic Christian" identified in their 23andMe DNA analysis? ____Reference: see book by Donald O'Reilly, "Lost Legion Rediscovered: The Mystery of the Theban Legion" (2014) for the Theban Legion story; see also, his academic paper "The Theban Legion of St. Maurice", Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Sep., 1978), pp. 195-207. ____Response: To SwissInfo to do article on Theban Legion descendants in Switzerland; to me, at:____davidheinimann@gmail.com____.

JustTheFacts
JustTheFacts

Note quite peculiar, but interesting:____- Swiss bank notes are unique; their design is vertical.__- The Swiss flag is one of only two flags in the world that are square.____However, eating cats, by any standard is peculiar.

Zeno Zoccatelli
Zeno Zoccatelli SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
@JustTheFacts

Good morning, ____ Thank you for your message. On the subject of the flag and banknotes, we have recently written articles. Here they are: _____COPY00_ _____COPY01_ ____As far as eating cats is concerned, one has to dig into our archives:_____COPY02_ ____However, it is a rumour with no basis in truth that occasionally resurfaces after press reports on isolated cases occurring both in Switzerland and in neighbouring countries. ____It is interesting to note that precisely one of the malicious rumours circulating in the 1950s and 1960s in Switzerland against Italian immigrants was that they ate cats. Of course, this was not true. The rumour was the result of an anti-Italian current in those decades of great immigration from Italy to Switzerland. ____To go deeper, here is an article by our colleagues at tvsvizzera.it (in Italian): _____COPY00_

Buongiorno, ____Grazie per il suo messaggio. A proposito della bandiera e delle banconote, abbiamo recentemente scritto degli articoli. Eccoli qui: ____https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-oddities/the-macabre-dance-of-the-formicone-and-other-swiss-banknotes/88336533 ____https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-abroad/cross-purposes-the-unique-swiss-flag/89284039 ____Per quello che riguarda il mangiare i gatti, bisogna scavare nei nostri archivi:____https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/animal-lovers-question-morality-of-eating-pets/34786370 ____Tuttavia, si tratta di una voce senza fondamento di verità che ogni tanto torna a galla dopo servizi stampa su casi isolati che capitano tanto in Svizzera quanto nei Paesi vicini. ____È interessante notare che proprio una delle dicerie malevole che giravano negli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta in Svizzera nei confronti degli immigrati italiani era proprio che questi ultimi mangiassero i gatti. Naturalmente non era vero. La voce era il risultato di una corrente anti-italiana in quei decenni di grande immigrazione dall’Italia verso la Svizzera. ____Per approfondire, ecco un articolo dei nostri colleghi di tvsvizzera.it (in italiano): ____https://www.tvsvizzera.it/tvs/cultura-e-dintorni/italianità-in-svizzera-6_quando-gli-italiani-mangiavano-i-gatti/46432480

camasaki
camasaki
@Zeno Zoccatelli

I‘ve never heard that the Swiss eat cats but I have heard (from a swiss guy) that dogs are sometimes eaten in Appenzell. I think it’s a myth though as I‘ve lived here (AR) for 23 years and it never came up.____My favourite Swiss quirk is that: „Isch guet“ basically means „it’s not good“ i.e. stop, that’s enough.

Adolfo Saenz
Adolfo Saenz
The following contribution has been automatically translated from ES.

Hello I travelled to Switzerland last year, I am from Costa Rica called the Central American Switzerland, I mentioned to many people what we say in CR and it turned out that some of them had visited and they were surprised by my idea of saying another Switzerland, I was really fascinated by Switzerland, I went with my daughter and we rented a car at Zurich airport and we travelled through all the provinces, we went to Interlakes and we really had a great time.

Hola viaje a Suiza el año pasado, soy de Costa Rica llamada la Suiza Centroamericana, le mencione a muchas personas eso que decimos en CR y resulto que algunos habian visitado y se extrañaban de mi ocurrencia de decir otra Suiza, realmente quede fascinado de Suiza, fui con mi hija y alquilamos un vehiculo en el aeropuerto de Zurich y viajamos por todas las provinvias, fuimos a Interlakes y realmente la pasamos muy bien.

D3SWI33
D3SWI33

What about Swiss cheeses ? I can name three. Swiss wines ? And chocolatiers besides Lindt and Läderach ? I want to know more.

Denix
Denix
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.
@D3SWI33

https://www.davidchocolatier.ch/fr/accueil/

https://www.davidchocolatier.ch/fr/accueil/

stephengeis1949
stephengeis1949

Foreign Policy Magazine has devised a method for ranking the countries of the world by stability. This is displayed in a sort of "Periodic Table"
The country with the highest stability rating is Switzerland.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/13/periodic-table-states-rankings-strength-stability-stateness/

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

Fascinated is not quite accurate, rather shocked. I was offered an online job on Linked in to correct and write texts in Swiss German, so that the AI probably has a basis. It speaks in favour of AI to even have the idea. In my experience, our living language has no written language. And it should stay that way. I find this attempt strange and it affects my feeling of being Swiss. In a way, it is an encroachment by a modern instrument to take over everyone and everything.

Fasziniert ist nicht ganz zutreffend, eher erschüttert. Auf Linked in wurde mir ein Online Job angeboten, Texte in Schweizerdeutsch zu korrigieren und zu verfassen, damit die KI wohl eine Grundlage hat. Es ist sprechend für KI, überhaupt die Idee zu haben. Unsere lebendige Sprache kennt nach meiner Erfahrung keine Schriftsprache. Und das sollte so bleiben. Mir ist dieser Versuch befremdlich, tangiert mein Gefühl Schweizer zu sein. Gewissermassen ein Übergriff von einem modernen Instrument alle und alles zu vereinnahmen.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR