Witness History Folgen

Sweden’s most beloved pastry is the cinnamon bun and every year on 4 October, locals celebrate the sweet, spiced snacks.The country’s first official Cinnamon Bun Day (or Kanelbullens dag in Swedish) took place in 1999.The woman behind the idea, Kaeth Gardestedt, tells Maddy Savage how the Swedish public embraced the event and turned it into a huge annual tradition.A PodLit production for BBC World Service(Photo: Traditional Swedish cinnamon buns. Credit: Natasha Breen/Getty Images)

In the 1990s, Bluetooth was invented in a lab in Lund, Sweden.The technology is used today to wirelessly connect accessories such as mice, keyboards, speakers and headphones to desktops, laptops and mobile phones.It’s named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king who was said to have blue teeth.Sven Mattisson, one of the brains behind the technology, tells Gill Kearsley how the name Bluetooth came about following some drinks after a conference.(Photo: A mobile phone with the Bluetooth logo. Credit: Westend61 via Getty images)

Fifty years ago Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral.The state granted mothers and fathers 180 days that they could divide between them however they saw fit.The pioneering policy was designed to promote gender equality, but it wasn’t an instant success.Later governments decided to increase the number of leave days available and ring-fenced some specifically for each parent.Maddy Savage went to meet Per Edlund who was one of the first fathers in his town, Katrineholm, to embrace the new benefit.A Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service.(Photo: Per Edlund with his youngest daughter Märta Edlund. Credit: Maddy Savage)