Thomas Stig Wikman – Page 3

The Universe has a Redshift and its Increasing

Super fact 79 : Distant galaxies appear redder (redshifted) because of the universe’s expansion. The farther away the galaxy, the redder it is. This cosmological redshift is also increasing because the Universe’s expansion is accelerating. Our Universe is getting more and more red every day.

Esther’s writing prompt: January 14 : Red

Click here or here to join in.

Many people are aware that the Universe is expanding but may not know that this results in a measurable redshift. The faster a galaxy is moving away from us the redder it appears. This is called the cosmological redshift. Measuring these redshifts was how we discovered that our Universe is expanding.

Cosmological redshift vector illustration. Stretched and original space wavelength with earth and distant galaxy. Doppler effect astronomical phenomenon distance example. | The Universe has a Redshift and its Increasing — As the Universe expands and galaxies are moving away from each other the light will be stretched. Stretched light with longer wavelengths are more red. The phenomenon is called redshift. Shutterstock Asset id: 1180828402 by VectorMine.

At the end of the 1990’s it was also discovered that the Universe’s expansion was accelerating. This discovery came from measuring the redshifts (and apparent dimness) of distant Type Ia supernovae. I should add that measuring the increase in the cosmological redshift directly is difficult. However, it is expected to be possible when the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) starts gathering data in 2027. I can add that there are also other types of evidence showing that the Universe’s expansion is accelerating.

Another surprising aspect is, if the Big Bang was like an explosion, gravity would pull back the galaxies making the expansion slow down and perhaps eventually even reverse. However, the opposite is happening. A common explanation is that a repulsive force, a sort of anti-gravity, referred to as dark energy, is responsible for this acceleration.

I call this a super fact because this is an observed phenomenon, it is important knowledge for how we view the world, and it is surprising. Many people have heard bits and pieces of this but do not have the fuller picture.

The Doppler Effect

The cosmological redshift is an example of the so called doppler effect. The doppler effect is the change in the frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer if the origin of the wave and the observer are moving compared to each other. If an object is moving towards you, let say an ambulance, the frequency of its sound will be higher (wavelength shorter).

After it passes you and moves away from the frequency will be lower (wavelength longer). In other words, the sound changes when the ambulance passes you. The same is true for other kinds of waves, including waves on the water, and light. If a light is travelling towards you at a high speed, it will look bluer. If a light is travelling away from you at a high speed it will look redder. The latter is what is called a redshift, cosmological redshift in our case.

The object is indicated by a red dot, and a red arrow indicates the direction of motion. — Change of wavelength caused by motion of the source. When an object moves toward you the wavelengths get shorter and the frequency higher. When an object moves away from you the wavelengths get longer and the frequency lower. Original: Tkarcher Vector: Tatoute, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

An animation illustrating how the Doppler effect causes a car engine or siren to sound higher in pitch when it is approaching than when it is receding. The red circles represent sound waves. — The Doppler effect causes a car engine or siren to sound higher in pitch when it is approaching than when it is receding. The red circles represent sound waves. Charly Whisky 18:20, 27 January 2007, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Below is a three minute video explaining the doppler effect and redshift.

I can add that the constancy of the speed of light in vacuum changes the exact size of the doppler effect. The doppler effect remains as is for the most part but the formulas for the classical doppler effect, which you would use for sound, and the relativistic doppler effect, which you would use for light in space, are different. It is just to pick the right formula.

Doppler Effect Formula on a green chalkboard. Education. Science. Formula. Vector illustration. | The Universe has a Redshift and its Increasing — The classical formula for the doppler effect. There is a medium (air) but you don’t need to consider the constancy of the speed of light in vacuum. You use it for sound and water waves. Shutterstock Asset id: 2365938267 by Sasha701.

Relativistic Doppler Effect Formula on a black chalkboard. Education. Science. Formula. Vector illustration. — The relativistic formula for the doppler effect considers the constancy of the speed of light in vacuum but there is no medium to worry about. You use this formula for the doppler effect of light in space. Shutterstock Asset id: 2416786951 by Sasha701.

Measuring redshift

A common misconception is that astronomers take pictures of distant galaxies and somehow measure the “redness” of them, but that is not the case. When you take a spectrum of a heated element (such as hydrogen or helium in stars) it creates characteristic dark lines in the spectrum — like a fingerprint. Everything on the periodic table has its own characteristic fingerprint of lines at characteristic frequencies. In addition to measuring the cosmological redshift it makes it possible to identify the elements in a star and their proportions. See the picture below.

The top shows a colorful spectrum from blue to red with absorption lines in black. The bottom portion of the picture shows the same thing expect the black absorption lines have moved a bit to the right. — Visualization of redshifted absorption lines are redshifted due to velocity away from observer. Top lines are for an object at rest and in the bottom picture the object is moving away. Maxmath12, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Expanding Universe Hazy IPA

Expanding Universe is a Hazy IPA, or a so called New England style IPA from First State Brewing, ABV 6.5%, IBU 25 (IBU = International Bitter Units). The fact that it is an IPA (India Pale Ale) means that it is Ale and therefore not a Lager. The fact that it is an IPA means that it is hop-forward and has an intense flavor and aroma. The fact that it is a Hazy / New England style IPA means that it is more fruity than bitter and looks cloudy, hazy, like juice. The flavor of Expanding Universe is mango, pineapple, and grapefruit. It has a low bitterness, it is fruity, juicy, and it is great if you like New England IPAs.

The picture shows a glass with yellow to light orange hazy liquid. There are green plants in the background. — Expanding Universe ABV 6.5%, IBU 25.

To see the Super Facts click here

Landman Lies

Super fact 77 : The TV series Landman portrays several falsehoods about clean energy. Since these claims are mostly unchallenged, appear to be information, and are also very easy to look up and debunk, they are deliberate lies.

“Lies” may be a strong word but if you make a very one sided presentation and you don’t fact check your claims even though that would take less than 30 seconds to do, especially since you are a large company with lots of resources, then you are clearly intentionally deceiving your audience, which is lying. I consider the claim above (in bold) a super fact because it is true, and it is important because it is a popular series and based on the reaction the Landman series has deceived a lot of people.

I got the idea for this super fact yesterday as we were watching a few episodes of Landman. Since I know a little bit about this topic the misinformation was obvious to me. The Landman series is fiction but the way the information was presented made it appear as facts. It appeared as if it was trying to teach us something rather than being the delusional rants of an oilman.

In addition, the misinformation is not minor. It consists of big bold whoppers. Imagine a movie promoting us taking Greenland from Denmark claiming that the Danes attacked Pearl Harbor, acquired a nuclear bomb, and used chemical weapons on Los Angeles. Whatever your opinion on the Greenland situation is, these big whoppers would likely make it harder for you to watch the movie, at least if you know some history. If most people’s knowledge of history was so bad that they’d believe it, then it would also create problems. There is a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding clean energy, and it is a poorly understood topic, so telling big lies does damage.

Photo of a row of wind turbines. | Landman Lies — Wind turbines from pexels.com

It may come as a surprise to many that Paramount plus would deliberately mislead their audience. However, clean energy, climate science, evolution, vaccines, and any science that is inconvenient to some people have been undermined by false information for quite a while. It is just more of it than usual right now. That the executive branch is at war with clean energy might have something to do with it.

Misleading information about clean energy is often spread on social media via fake memes, non-reputable sources, comments by people who do not know what they are talking about, conspiracy theories, small groups of contrarian agenda driven scientists making youTube videos with false information, bots, deep fakes, etc., but now it has also shown up in a major Hollywood Production.

It is more important than ever to be skeptical of claims you hear, especially if they seem to support your own political, ideological, religious, or philosophical views, because that’s how you get bamboozled. Questioning other people’s views does not require much effort. I speak from experience. Intentionally seek the truth not confirmation of your belief. Verify all claims before you take them seriously. Be a realist.

Truth: Windpower and Solar are Much Cleaner than Fossil Fuels

The false claim in the series is that “there is nothing clean about clean energy, that renewables require too much fossil fuel to build to be considered clean.” I am using the true statement as the title of this section because our memories often mix up the false and true statements as time goes by, so highlighting the true statement helps.

Manufacturing, transporting, and building infrastructure for wind power currently involve fossil fuels and so do fossil fuel plants. However, this is only an initial stage. Once wind and solar facilities are built, they generate power without direct emissions, unlike fossil fuel plants which continue to burn fuel and emit CO2 during their entire operational lives. For example, the lifetime emissions of gas-powered generation are estimated to be around 20 to 40 times higher than those of renewables. You can read more here or here.

This is a 3 minute video

Truth: Wind turbines typically offset their carbon footprint within a year

The demonstrably false claim is that “wind turbines do not offset their carbon footprint within their lifespan.” According to energy researchers, for example, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a wind turbine typically offsets the carbon emissions from its manufacturing, transport, and installation within six months to one year of operation. In other words, wind turbines offset their carbon footprint quickly. The average lifespan of a wind turbine is over 25 years.

Truth: Solar and Wind Are Cheaper than Gas, Coal and Nuclear

The false claim in Landman is that “solar and wind energy are significantly more expensive than natural gas.” While wind and solar can have higher upfront installation costs, their operational costs are very low as they do not require fuel. Therefore, they can provide electricity very cheaply, making them competitive with and often cheaper than natural gas over their full lifespan.

However, all energy sources are subsidized, and fossil fuels have a long history of government subsidies. Below is the average unsubsidized levelized cost of energy in the United States according to Lazard. Levelized means that construction costs, land rent, and other costs not directly caused by electricity generation are taken into consideration. Notice how cheap wind is (blue line). This is for the United States not just Texas. I don’t have any numbers, but I’ve heard that for Texas solar is the cheapest .

The image shows 8 graphs representing the price of Nuclear, Gas (peaker), Thermal Solar, Coal, Geothermal, Natural Gas, Solar Panels, and Wind. Today Wind is the cheapest. — Average unsubsidized levelized cost of energy. Notice that the light blue line indicates that wind power is pretty cheap. Mir-445511, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

The free market based Texas (my state) grid ERCOT provides an excellent example of how wind and solar effectively compete with other energy sources. ERCOT provides a minute by minute update for the fuel mix percentages. This is a fun website.

Truth: Fossil Fuels are Worse for the Environment than lithium batteries and solar panels

The false claim in Landman is that “Lithium batteries and solar panels are worse for the environment than fossil fuels.” Solar panels typically offset the emissions from their production and installation within 1 to 4 years. Battery technology is continuously improving, and current systems are highly recyclable (90-95%). While the mining of materials like lithium has environmental impacts, the overall lifetime emissions of renewables and associated storage systems are vastly lower than those of fossil fuels.

Truth: Fossil fuels kill a lot more birds than Wind Power per Giga Watt

Tommy Norris (played by Billy Bob Thornton) implies in a rant that “Wind turbines are a major ecological disaster for birds, disrupting patterns and causing mass deaths.” While wind turbines kill some birds it is minor compared to the impacts of the oil and gas industry or other common human activities. This study estimates that wind farms and nuclear power stations are responsible each for between 0.3 and 0.4 fatalities per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil-fueled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh. These articles from MIT provide additional information and reiterate that fossil fuels are lot more deadly to birds than wind power stations. You can read more on this topic here, here, here or here.

The graph shows that Wind Turbines kill 328,000 birds per year in the US, Electrocutions kill 6,250,000 birds, Collisions with powerlines kill 32,500,000 birds, Poison kills 72,000,000 birds, Vehicle collisions kill 214,500,000 birds, Collisions with glass kill 676,500,000 birds, and cats kill 1,850,700,000 birds per year in the US. | Landman Lies — From Wikipedia: Universiteit van Nederland, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Bar graph showing cats killing an estimated 2,400 million birds per year, buildings killing an estimated 599 million birds per year, automobiles killing an estimated 200 million birds per year, pesticides killing an estimated 67 million birds per year, powerlines killing an estimated 28 million birds per year, communication towers killing an estimated 6.6 million birds per year, and wind turbines killing an estimated 1.2 million birds per year. — An alternative graph taken from Hannah Richie / Our World in Data, using alternative sources essentially showing the same thing. Sources: Loss et al. (2015), (2013), US Fish and Wildlife Service; Subramnayan et al. (2012), American Bird Conservancy (2021).

Truth: There is no evidence that Offshore Wind Kills Whales

The false claim in Landman is that “offshore wind development, including site characterization surveys, is responsible for a spike in whale deaths”. The primary cause of human-caused threats to large whales are vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear but not offshore wind. According to NOAA there are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities. You can read more on this topic here, here, or here.

To see the other Super Facts click here

Jesus was not born on Christmas

Super fact 74 : We celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th or December 24^th, but it is quite unlikely that Jesus was born on those dates, and certainly not during the year zero.

I’ve come across many adults who seriously believe that Jesus was born on December 25^th. To them it will come as a big surprise to find out that the date of Jesus’ birth is never mentioned in the Gospels, or elsewhere in the Bible, not in any of the non-canonical Gospels, nor in any known historical sources. In addition, Luke’s Gospel mentions (Luke 2:8) shepherds tending flocks outdoors at night, which is not consistent with the cold winter in Judea. Biblical scholars (see 4^th and 5^th paragraphs in link) suggest that the information in the Gospel of Luke regarding the vision of John the Baptists father, Zechariah, leads to the conclusion that Jesus was likely born in September.

When was Jesus Born?

Jesus was not born during the year zero, because there was no year zero. The year after 1 BC (or BCE) is 1 AD (or CE). This causes problems for various scientific disciplines such as astronomy, climate science and history. The Gospel of Matthew mentioned that the birth took place during the time of Herod the Great who died in the year 4 BCE. I can add that Herod the Great got his moniker “Great” because of his extensive construction of cities, palaces, fortresses, aqueducts, and theaters across Judea, as well as the expansion of the Jewish temple.

The Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:1-2) states that the birth of Jesus took place during the census of the Roman governor of Syria, Quirinius (Cyrenius), which was in the year 6 CE, ten years after the death of Herod. However, there were other census taken earlier and scholars suggest that perhaps Luke’s account is a misstatement and that Mathew’s is more realistic. They conclude that Jesus was most likely born between 6 BCE and 4 BCE. As already mentioned it is very hard to pin down the time of the year when Jesus was born, but the month of September seems to be a likely candidate.

Herod's Temple as depicted on the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. — Herod was a builder and one of his projects was the expansion of the Temple. Herod’s Temple as depicted on the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Why is Christmas on December 25^th?

During the first few centuries after the birth of Jesus Christians did not celebrate his birth. The first mention of the birth of Christ on December 25 comes in the 3rd century CE by Hippolytus of Rome. The Roman festival Sol Invictus, celebrating the birth of the Sun God was Celebrated on December 25^th. Many pre-Christian cultures marked the shortest day of the year, on December 21 or 22, as an important moment in the calendar, celebrating the “rebirth” of the sun. Germanic peoples celebrated Yule, and various Celtic and Mediterranean cultures held celebrations centered around the winter solstice. It is possible that December 25^th was chosen as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that people did not have to change the dates of their celebrations.

Relief in light brown stone featuring the face of the sun God. | A relief of Sol from Roman Lugdunum, 2nd–3rd century AD. — A relief of Sol from Roman Lugdunum, 2nd–3rd century AD. The Roman festival Sol Invictus was celebrated on December 25. Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Regarding Germanic peoples celebrating Yule. In my native country Sweden Christmas is referred to as “Jul” pronounced “Yool” / “Yuul”. The word “Jul” directly comes from the Old Norse word “jól,” which referred to the pre-Christian midwinter festival (Yule in English). You can read about Scandinavian mythology here or here.

A Tomte wearing a red hat in a snowy winter forest. — Tomtar (plural of Tomte) or Nisse in Norwegian is a type of small magical people, or gnomes, related to Vitter folk. They are friendly and is an inspiration behind the Swedish version of Santa Claus. An illustration of a Tomte. Shutterstock ID: 2060057882 by PLIMPLUM.

Note this year Christmas Day is on 12/25/25

To see the other Super Facts click here

Oxygen Blue Sky and Complex Life Exist Because of a Bacteria

Super fact 72 : About three billion years ago Cyanobacteria evolved a new type of photosynthesis that used sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create energy, while releasing oxygen as a waste product. This transformed the atmosphere and enabled complex life by allowing aerobic respiration to evolve. This invention turned the sky blue, gave us the protective ozone layer, but also caused climate change resulting in massive extinctions.

A microscopic photo of Cyanobacteria. They look like green blobs with small nucleuses. | Oxygen Blue Sky and Complex Life Exist Because of a Bacteria — An example of a Cyanobacteria. From Wikipedia. Luke Thompson from Chisholm Lab and Nikki Watson from Whitehead, MIT, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are bacteria capable of oxygenic photosynthesis. Between 3.4 and 2.5 billion years ago they developed a new and very effective form of photosynthesis, which took advantage of highly abundant resources, using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide turning it into sugar and releasing oxygen as byproduct. This is referred to as the Great Oxidation Event. You can read more about this event here, here, here, here, here, or in the book Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr.

The atmosphere prior to the Great Oxidation Event was primarily composed of volcanic gases including nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and ammonia, but almost no free oxygen. The Great Oxidation Event changed all this, but it likely took at least 200 million years.

Labeled educational bacteria internal structure scheme. — Cyanobacteria vector illustration. Biological blue green algae diagram with carboxysome, thylakoid and phycobilisome parts location inside cell. Asset id: 1687712761 by VectorMine

A Microbial Great Extinction and Snowball Earth

Oxygen was a toxic gas to many early microbes forcing them to adapt or perish. In addition, the change in the atmospheres composition changed the climate, resulting in a severe global cooling referred to as Snowball Earth. This caused a great extinction, perhaps the most severe extinction in Earth’s history. It is not included among the five mass extinction events in Earth’s history because it happened very early in Earth’s history when only primitive microbial life existed and fossil evidence from that time is nearly non-existent. The definition of a mass extinction event is that at least 75% of the world’s species are lost during a short period of time – geologically speaking. This period is not clearly defined but often defined to be two million years. It is very difficult to determine whether the great extinction following the Great Oxidation Event qualifies as a mass extinction event. To read about mass extinctions click here.

Ancient Earth almost entirely covered by ice and white snow. | Oxygen Blue Sky and Complex Life Exist Because of a Bacteria — Proterozoic era in the history of the Earth. Snowball earth. Global glaciation of the Earth. Asset id: 2010272753 by Elena Kelman

The Ozone Layer and the Blue Sky

Oxygen is also responsible for formation of the ozone layer in the atmosphere. The UV radiation from the sun split oxygen molecules, which consist of two oxygen atoms, into two separate atoms of oxygen, which then reacted with another oxygen molecule to generate ozone, and oxygen molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms. Ozone acts as a natural sunscreen to prevent harmful UV radiation from reaching the earth. Therefore, oxygen not only enables land dwelling complex multicell organisms to exist by allowing aerobic respiration to evolve, but also by protecting life from too much UV radiation.

As mentioned above, the atmosphere prior to the Great Oxidation Event was primarily composed of volcanic gases and almost no free oxygen. The color of the sky was likely orange, brown. As oxygen replaced the existing gases the sky slowly turned blue. Oxygen molecules along with Nitrogen molecules scatter blue light from the sun through a process called Rayleigh scattering, making the sky appear blue.

Cyanobacteria and The Great Oxygenation Event

It should be noted that there were other geological and biological processes that were responsible for this permanent shift in the Earth’s system, including changes in the composition of volcanic emissions and chemical reactions that allowed atmospheric hydrogen to escape to space, leaving behind an excess of oxygen molecules. However, whatever the exact mix of mechanisms, cyanobacteria were undoubtedly a critical source of accumulating oxygen. It is possible that tectonic activity altered the cycling and distribution of phosphorus and other nutrients essential for cyanobacteria. To read more see the book Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr.

To see the other Super Facts click here

Ten Amazing Fish Facts

Esther’s writing prompt: November 12 : Fish

Click here or here to join in.

This is not a super fact but a collection of interesting facts about Fish. They are not very important facts but amazing facts.

Freshwater fish Riffle minnow (Alburnoides bipunctatus) underwater photography. Minnow in clean water and nature habitat. Natural light. Lake and river habitat. Wild animal. Underwater photo of fish. | Ten Amazing Fish Facts — Minnows Asset id: 1182854671 by Rostislav Stefanek

Most Fresh Water Fish would die from dehydration if put in Sea Water

Most freshwater fish would die from dehydration if placed in seawater due to a process called osmosis. The same is true for saltwater fish placed in freshwater. There are a few exceptions. So called euryhaline species are able to more or less handle both freshwater and seawater, an example is salmon. It is also why freshwater fish native to oceanic islands like Hawaii are euryhaline species. Freshwater fish that are not euryhaline species cannot travel to oceanic islands.

What is a Fish?

A fish is a vertebra (has a backbone and a brain protected by a braincase) that is aquatic, lives in water, has gills, fins, scales and is cold blooded. Dolphins, whales, jellyfish, and starfish are not fish.

Some fish have both gills and lungs

Lungfish have both gills and lungs. Their unique respiratory system allows them to breathe underwater with their gills and also breathe air from the surface with their lungs. Some species of lung fish can survive on land for several months.

Lung fish resting close to the bottom of the sea. The exact species is Neoceratodus forsteri (Australian lungfish). — Queensland lungfish, Mitch Ames, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Fish Can Be Raining from the Sky

Tornadoes over water have sometimes picked up both water and fish causing fish to rain down over land.

The illustration depicts a tornado / waterspout over land with lots of orange fish raining down. — Fish raining from the sky. Picture generated with the help of ChatGPT

Mudskippers the land dwelling fish

Mudskippers are fish that spend most of their time on land. It can walk on land, jump, and climb trees, by using their strong pectoral fins like legs and their tails as a lever. They breathe air through their skin and gill chambers. Below is a four minute video featuring mudskippers.

Fish the First Vertebra on Earth

Fish appeared more than 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period. They are believed to be the first vertebrates on Earth. They lay the foundation for the diverse array of vertebrate life that has since populated the planet’s ecosystems.

Some Fish can make Light

Anglerfish are deep sea fish that produce their own light using bacteria. The dangling glowing light attracts prey. Some species of angler fish live only 200 meters down in the sea while other species live as far down as 3,300 meters (11,000 feet).

Angler fish on background realistic illustration isolate. Scary deep-sea fish predator. Deep sea fish monster. | Ten Amazing Fish Facts — Angler fish on background realistic illustration isolate. Scary deep-sea fish predator. Deep sea fish monster. Asset id: 2134226987 by Konstantin G

Some Fish know how to use Tools

Wrasse are fish that use rocks as anvils to crack shells. They grab hard-shelled prey like crabs and mollusks, swim to a rock or coral, and repeatedly strike the prey against the hard surface to break it open. This is a form of tool use.

This Wrasse is a long blue and orange fish. — Cuckoo wrasse. Olivier Dugornay, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Megalodon

The largest fish that has ever lived is likely the extinct shark Megalodon, estimated to have reached lengths of up to 70 feet and weighing 50-70 tons. The Megalodon was a giant shark believed to have gone extinct 2.6 million years ago, just in time for the appearance of our ancestors Australopithecus and Homo Habilis. They made a horror movie about a Megalodon that survived until modern times. It is called “The Meg”.

Surströmming (Fermented Baltic Herring) a North Swedish Delicatessen

In 1987 I was selected by my University, Uppsala University in Sweden, to be part of a university level exchange student program. The exchange program was between Uppsala University and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In total we were six Swedes (two from Uppsala). I was studying Engineering Physics in Sweden. In the US, I would continue studying Electrical Engineering because the Swedish Engineering Physics program was very similar to the Electrical Engineering program at CWRU. One day we invited the other students to a Surströmming party. When we opened the cans, the American students headed for the windows and opened them. I should say there were other things to eat.

The fermented herring Surströmming from Sweden is often considered as one of the most unappetizing foods in the world. Just ask Google AI or ChatGPT this question, “what is the most unappetizing food in the world”, and you’ll see. The three top unappetizing food according to ChatGPT are Hákarl (Fermented Greenland Shark) – Iceland, Surströmming (Fermented Baltic Herring) – Sweden, and Casu Marzu (Maggot Cheese) – Sardinia.

I grew up with this food, and I don’t think it is unappetizing. It might not be beef bourguignon or trout almondine, but it isn’t bad. The problem is that the smell of Surströmming is not very pleasant and it is strong. However, it tastes quite different from the smell. It tastes like pickled herring with the addition of something sour like lemon. The taste is much better than the smell, which is why you should open the cans outside and then bring them in once the smell has settled. We did not do that because our party was partially a prank. Well, if you don’t like pickled herring, then you won’t like this either.

Ten Amazing Fish Facts — Four Swedes inviting Americans to a fermented herring party. Fermented herring is a north Swedish specialty. Unfortunately, all the Americans experienced a culture shock from the fermented herring. I am the guy smelling the fermented herring can.

Tag: Thomas Stig Wikman

The Universe has a Redshift and its Increasing