The Old Country Newsletter – Små Grodorna, Små Grodorna

Your Weekly Swede-ish

Gideon Sundbäck Zipped Over from Sweden

Without Gideon Sundbäck, your jeans might still rely on a lot more buttons. Born in 1880 in Ödestugu parish, Sweden, Sundbäck studied engineering in Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1905. There, he joined the Universal Fastener Company and eventually became the head designer. While he didn’t invent the zipper from scratch, Sundbäck was the one who turned it into a practical, usable invention—designing the “separable fastener” and improving both the mechanism and the machine that produced it. His breakthrough came in 1913, and by 1917, he had a U.S. patent in hand. Off the clock, Sundbäck married the daughter of his company’s founder and became a U.S. citizen. His invention didn’t catch on overnight, but when it did—first in boots, then fashion—it became a staple. So if your fly is up today, you might have a quiet Swede with an engineering degree to thank.

Mondo Makes History at Home (Oh yes, home)

American born Armand “Mondo” Duplantis breaks the pole vault world record—this time, on Swedish soil.

Sweden’s own pole vault superstar, Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, just added another chapter to his ever-growing legend. On Sunday evening at the Bauhaus-galan Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Duplantis cleared an eye-watering 6.28 meters, setting a new world record—his twelfth overall—but his first ever in Sweden.

Despite describing his warm-up as less than ideal (“maybe the worst I’ve felt before a world record attempt,” he admitted), Duplantis still delivered on the promise he made to his grandmother: to break a world record in his home country. After clinching the win with ease, he asked for the bar to be raised to 6.28—and then made it over on his first try, despite the bar visibly quivering.

Cue celebrations: shirt off, sprint to fiancée Desiré Inglander, and a well-earned kiss.

Duplantis, 25, becomes the first Swedish track and field athlete to set a world record on home turf since Patrik Sjöberg soared to 2.42 meters in the high jump back in 1987. But for Mondo, the real thrill wasn’t just the number—it was the moment. “It’s hard to rank all the records,” he said, “but this one means so much. Doing it in front of the Swedish crowd, it’s overwhelming. I’m just so proud.”

So what’s next for the man who’s seemingly done it all? “I don’t really dream about anything right now,” he said. “I’m just living in the moment.”

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Swedish crash investigators point to flawed maps, vague zoning, and overlooked clay conditions behind last year’s highway collapse.

When massive chunks of land gave way by the E6 motorway near Stenungsund in the early hours of September 23, 2023, it looked like a freak disaster. Now we know it wasn’t. A new report from the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Statens haverikommission) says the collapse was preventable—and tied to a series of planning missteps and poor local groundwork.

The immediate trigger? Soil that gave out under pressure from added fill material, which had been placed near the site as part of ongoing construction. That fill overloaded the clay-rich terrain, which had already been saturated by heavy rain in the days leading up to the slide. When the earth finally gave way, it tore through hundreds of meters of motorway and surrounding land, injuring multiple people.

But the real story, according to the report, lies in the lead-up: a flawed map that misrepresented soil conditions, an unclear zoning plan, and a lack of on-site geological testing. One particularly 2020s problem? Investigators say the drilling rig couldn’t even reach the area due to thick forest, so no additional ground surveys were ever done.

The report also takes aim at local government. Investigators criticized Stenungsund municipality for weak oversight of landslide and erosion risks in its urban planning. While the commission doesn’t issue penalties, it recommended that the municipality upgrade its ability to manage geotechnical safety going forward.

Meanwhile, a separate criminal investigation continues, with three individuals suspected of serious public endangerment, gross negligence, and environmental violations. Prosecutors say a decision on charges could come this fall.