Swedish History

The History Hour

BBC

History, Society & Culture, Personal Journals

4.4 • 879 Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2024

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

It has been 50 years since Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, so we're exploring Swedish history. Also in 1974, Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral. One father who took the leave tells us about this pioneering policy. We hear from one of the inventors of Bluetooth. The technology was named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king. Our expert guest is Eva Krutmeijer, Swedish science writer and co-author of the book ' Innovation, the Swedish Way’.

Plus, the invention of the three-point safety belt for cars, that is estimated to have saved more than one million lives around the world, and the story behind Sweden’s Cinnamon Bun Day. Finally, 1974 was just the beginning for the Swedish quartet, Abba, who shared their name with a herring company. By the end of the decade, they were one of most recognisable music acts of the 20th century. Contributors: Per Edlund - one of the first fathers in his town to take split paid parental leave Sven Mattison - one of the inventors of Bluetooth Eva Krutmeijer - Swedish science writer and co-author of the book 'Innovation, the Swedish Way' Gunnar Ornmark - stepson of Nils Bohlin who invented the three-point safety belt for cars Kaeth Gardestedt - who came up with the idea of Sweden's Cinnamon Bun Day Görel Hanser - manager of Abba (Photo: Abba in 1974. Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the History Hour Podcast from the BBC World Service with me Max Pearson
0:09.8	the past brought to life by those who were there. This week, Swedish history. We've got some of the most significant
0:16.6	inventors from the country, including the men behind Bluetooth technology, but why the name?
0:22.4	Bluetooth doesn't mean anything, but it's easy to remember and pronounce.
0:27.0	It's a very good choice, actually.
0:29.0	And it's also fun to have a Viking king as a background.
0:35.0	Plus, Cinnamon Buns, Abba and the invention of the modern car seat belt.
0:41.0	Ordinary people just aren't used to taking orders, particularly not if it involves some sort of discomfort.
0:48.0	So it was obvious I thought that the new belt would have to be easy to put on.
0:54.0	That's all coming up later in the podcast, but we begin with a moment from the past which shines a light on Sweden as a socially progressive country.
1:03.0	In the 1970s, the government introduced a pioneering policy to promote gender equality.
1:09.0	Mums and dads were given the chance to split paid parental leave between them.
1:14.0	Maddie Savage has been to meet Pear Edlund,
1:17.0	who was one of the first fathers in his town to embrace the new benefit.
1:21.0	It's 1974, and Pear is planning a wedding with his fiance Agneta.
1:27.0	We met at a dance and then we dated for a while and then we got engaged. I don't remember getting down on one knee or anything like that.
1:39.0	Rather, we were pretty much in agreement that it was time to get married.
1:44.0	The couple had grown up around Katrina Holm,
1:48.0	an industrial town southwest of Stockholm,
1:50.0	surrounded by lakes and forests.
1:53.0	Together we hope that we will be able to start a family,
1:57.0	live in a nice house and celebrate moments together.
	...

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