If you are Swedish and you live outside of Sweden you will at some point be greeted with the words "Obi-dobi-hofte-flode, the fjords, the fjords", this can be confusing until you hear about the Swedish Chef. The muppets where never really that popular in Sweden when I was little. The first time I heard those very famous words I was very confused. I had no idea what the person was talking about. But apparently the Swedish Chef, IKEA and Abba is our eternal legacy, it could be worse I guess none of those are mass murderers or inventors of huge pyramid schemes.
I have often wondered where the obi-dobi comes from, I get the comments about the Fjords, but I guess I would say that is bigger thing for Norway then for Sweden. Then again the guy who sits next to me at work states that Norway and Sweden is the same thing. He asked me the other day why I stopped correcting him and I said I just assumed that he was stupid and uneducated and since I had corrected him at least 10 times I have concluded that he is so unintelligent he is unable to learn new things. I reckon I could teach a class in how to "make friends and influence people"/
But I think I have figured it out, where the Obi-Dobi comes from. I think it's from the counting rhyme Ole-Dole-Doff, which is the same as Eeny, meeny, miny mo. Now Ole dole doff seems to really stick in peoples mind. I know several people who can say not much else in any other language but they can recite the whole counting rhyme.
So to spread the knowledge about Swedish counting rhymes, here it goes.
Ole Dole Doff,
Kinke Lane Koff,
Koffe Lane,
Binke Bane,
Ole Dole Doff,
Ärtan Pärtan Piff Paff Puff,
Här fick du en knuff
You mean it is a counting rhyme! I thought it it was an ABBA hit.
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