Frozen Stockholm

This photo of Stockholm, where recent mid-day temps were around 7 degrees, reminded me of the following excerpt from PJ O'Rourke's book Eat the Rich:

I asked Janerik Larsson -- executive vice president and director of communications at a media conglomerate with the conglomeration of a name Industriforvaltnings AB Kinnevek -- why Swedes still worked. If they don't work, they get almost what they would get if they did work. And if they do work, their raises and bonuses are all taxed away.

Give Americans a situation like that, and we'd be putting all our economic energy into playing extra cards at the bingo hall. But there was nothing visible in Sweden to indicate much national goldbricking. Mr. Larsson pointed to the window: "You see how it is outside? It's always [emphasis in original] like that here." Over the centuries the Swedish gene stock has been culled. The lazy ones froze.