Comments on: The Hostest With The Mostest And The League Of Nations

The Hostest With The Mostest And The League Of Nations

MiguelCardoso — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 08:29:03 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? The best quality of life? The most divorces? The most mobile phones? The highest cost of living? Which one is the most visited? Rank the bastards! After browsing through this website, I'm sure the conclusion that we're all living in the wrong one is inescapable. The statistics and sources may be questionable, but there sure are a lot of interesting lists here! Meanwhile my own country, Portugal, has just been denounced as the the laziest in Europe and the booziest in the world. They lie! They lie! [Actually, it's a fair cop, guv. And it was nice to drag down the Brits with us.]

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 08:42:24 -0800

The United States, for instance, seem very good value - in fact, extremely cheap - for what you get, even though it could be cleaner and have better oil reserves. ;)

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 08:44:43 -0800

The suicide rates are pretty telling.

By: erisfree

erisfree — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:04:25 -0800

East Timor, Independence Date of May 20, 2003? heh http://www.easttimor.com/events.html ahhh, okay, I thought I lost a month somewhere. I'm just getting used to losing an hour. the life expectancy list is a tad surprising.

By: lpqboy

lpqboy — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:11:50 -0800

In the Divorce rates section, I'm wondering what's going on in Maldives? It tops the chart with over a 10% rate of divorce within a population of only 300,000 people. Maybe marriage there just isn't the big deal it is in other places...

By: yhbc

yhbc — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:17:35 -0800

Weapons of Mass Destruction - coming soon. Oh, like we haven't been hearing that for months now.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:18:07 -0800

Libya above South Africa?! Good work Miguel.

By: riffola

riffola — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:21:19 -0800

I was pretty sure India was in Asia and had a population of over a billion, but apparently it's not true.

By: Pressed Rat

Pressed Rat — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:23:09 -0800

Umm...I beg to differ. All one has to do is get off the plane in Dallas to confirm that TEXAS is the country with the most beautiful women. Nuff said...

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:29:44 -0800

Well PressedRat, I am all for making Texas a separate country if you will reclaim your bastard child in the whitehouse ;-)

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:32:30 -0800

riffola - GDP of $2.2 trillion, zero population, that's... why yes, that's infinite GDP per capita! Good job those Indians! Who needs Empress Victoria?

By: KnitWit

KnitWit — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:35:58 -0800

*Packs bags for Venezuela*

By: Ljubljana

Ljubljana — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:41:03 -0800

It's nice to see that when it comes to suicide, Slovenia is a global hyperpower. In the 1960s, Slovenia actually led the world in suicides, especially teenage ones. There was even a secret society in Ljubljana expressly dedicated to the art of self-termination. (Of course, no one knows for sure about it, since it was secret, and its members never lived to tell the tale...) I'm not sure why the rate is so staggeringly high here. The usual suspects I hear about are: the high rate of alcoholism, a Slovenian "suicide gene," or the coupling of high literacy and low wages, which pushes people into the abyss. (For the morbidly curious, see also: Slovenia's Suicidal Tendencies.)

By: Lynsey

Lynsey — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:42:49 -0800

Miguel's quality post rating goes up 10%, despite sensationalist lead-in...;)

By: tdstone

tdstone — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:44:26 -0800

I'm wondering what's going on in Maldives? It tops the chart with over a 10% rate of divorce within a population of only 300,000 people. I wondered that too. Apparently Maldivians (?) play loose with Islamic marriage laws and get married and divorced from the same people and multiple partners again and again, Scroll to "The Society" section here for more... From the link above..."By Islamic law as interpreted in the Maldives, the same man and woman can marry three times, after which they must marry other partners, and then they are free to marry each other another three times. An official notification limited the number maximum to three such cycles, or nine marriages for the same couple. But by giving a gift to charity even this could be relaxed, so some couples have remarried many more times than that. Traditionally there was an element of pride, even piety, in a man having had many marriages. Some individuals claim to have had forty to eighty marriages."

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:45:38 -0800

don't be in such a hurry to get to Venezuela (though the women are gorgeous)

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 10:01:28 -0800

I'm moving to Portugal. but i have one question, if i do not drink, can i see be lazy? my first love was a greek cobblers daughter. I was in the third grade. My second love has a friends sister, her mother was from Iran and her father was half Mexican, half American. don't ya love Biographic Leverage.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 10:01:52 -0800

But, Miguel, the US is one of the most dangerous places to live: Dangerous Countries Note: The following list is arranged in alphabetical order and does not rank the level of danger of any particular country. Neither does it indicate the level of danger in one country with respect to another. Angola Balkans Colombia Cote D'Ivoire India Indonesia Iraq Israel Nigeria Pakistan Philippines South Africa United States Uzbekistan Venezuela Zimbabwe

By: Ufez Jones

Ufez Jones — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 10:12:22 -0800

I'm not surprised Brazil showed up on those lists, as they have a reputation for having absolutely stunning women. I've met three Brazilian women in my life. One was pretty attractive (although she was a friend's younger sister, and I'm not about to cross that border) but the other two were horrendous. Bad luck I guess, or maybe the hot ones stay down there, on the beaches, wearing....oh man, I need a vacation. All one has to do is get off the plane in Dallas to confirm that TEXAS is the country with the most beautiful women. Fake blonde hair, fake boobs, pretty much like the women in SoCal but with twang and a lesser incidence of bulemia. I live here and I haven't seen anything that I haven't seen other places. YMMV of course.

By: The Jesse Helms

The Jesse Helms — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 10:13:33 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? 3. United Kingdom HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. . . . .phew.

By: smcniven

smcniven — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 10:54:43 -0800

Well, I wouldn't take much stock in their lists if they can't even get the G8 Membership List correct. Here's the correct list.

By: th3ph17

th3ph17 — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 11:50:35 -0800

HIV list is astounding.

By: xiffix

xiffix — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 12:17:51 -0800

The HIV prevalence list is the single most disturbing thing on that site. Second most is the one on "military expenditure". It takes the next 14 entries on the list combined to outspend (barely) the country in the number one position.

By: Witty

Witty — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 12:18:09 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Argentina... hands down!

By: Holden

Holden — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 12:30:07 -0800

Mexican women are the most beautiful. They just don't enter beauty contests, I guess.

By: Phatty Lumpkin

Phatty Lumpkin — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 12:50:57 -0800

The U.S. spends more on the military than the next 13 countries combined.

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 12:53:56 -0800

Libreville in Gabon is among the most expensive cities only because the list is slanted towards first-world visitors and expats who expect to live in the manner to which they're accustomed. Basically the issue is that they produce effectively nothing that we would term consumer goods, nor do they import them in quantity as there is no domestic market for them. So the price reflects the fact that everything you take for granted is flown in in small quantities. Unlike, say, Tokyo or London, Libreville would be a dirt cheap place to live if you live like the natives.

By: daveg

daveg — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 13:02:03 -0800

Somehow they don't manage to get the US into the top ten of countries national debts (even though it's an order of magnitude bigger than anyone elses), so I can't say I believe any of it.

By: romakimmy

romakimmy — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 13:10:59 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Hmph. Inquiring minds want to know Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Men. Google-Fu is just giving me celeb fan sites and porn. not that the latter is a bad thing, but I am sort of curious. Would they use the (over-muscly, tanning-bed broiled, steriod-shriveled) Mr. Universe results for this one or what?

By: qDot

qDot — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 14:59:56 -0800

Um, Slovenia the world suicide hyperpower? I beg to differ, looks like Lithuania is *1* to me. After many years of searching, the question of why I'm goth has been answered.

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 15:33:10 -0800

Norway isn't represented in the top ten? I remember watching the opening ceremony of the last winter olympics and noticing that the entire female Norwegian contingent were drop dead gorgeous. If your jocks look like SI models, you should crack the top ten.

By: Pseudoephedrine

Pseudoephedrine — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 16:12:01 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Anywhere peroxide and silicone aren't.

By: cmacleod

cmacleod — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 16:29:30 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Thailand.... for so many reasons.

By: Space Coyote

Space Coyote — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 17:03:37 -0800

I noticed Canada is slipping below Norway and Sweden on the quality of life type charts. Though we do spend more on the military than they do, so I can think of a pretty easy way to get back our coveted #1 spot...

By: pzarquon

pzarquon — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 17:19:49 -0800

Second most is the one on "military expenditure". It takes the next 14 entries on the list combined to outspend (barely) the country in the number one position. Not that this is going to be much of a mitigating factor, but I really wish there was a secondary list of military expenditure as a percentage of total government spending, or per capita, for that matter. I think that last criteria might give you a slightly different list. There's an interesting analysis here on military spending as a percent of budget and GDP. And this widely reprinted report has some macro figures. It does say, "Developed countries spent an average $517 per capita [on military expenditures] in 1999, 10 times the average $51 spent in developing countries."

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 17:37:56 -0800

Korea has large numbers of quite breathtakingly lovely women, and a completely abysmal standard of living. Not being single any longer, I often find myself wondering what the heck I'm still doing here.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 17:41:17 -0800

Some of their measures for these things seem a bit arbitrary - Miss Universe winners? carbon output for most polluted? FWIW, Seoul was recently found to have the worst air quality of any OECD city, including Mexico City, Rome and Moscow. Hooray for us.

By: Ryvar

Ryvar — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 20:24:31 -0800

Well, I wanted to move to Scandinavia anyway . . . It's interesting, too - you can see the sort of common groupings here: Anglo-Saxon (Germany, UK, US) - rich, capitalist, largely religious and #2 in a lot of these . . . Scandinavian/Other-free (Canada, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Finland) - very high quality of life, and in real life they tend to have far more freedoms of the kind geeks are interested in than the Anglo-Saxons. Especially lately.

By: hama7

hama7 — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 21:16:27 -0800

very high quality of life Translation: very high taxes.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 22:04:16 -0800

Ah, but it's a fair and effective taxation policy, which ensures better distribution of wealth between those with a high income and those with a low income, which means national health care and free education. You want to make one in Quality of Life, you have to pay for it. Yay, welfare capitalism.

By: spazzm

spazzm — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 22:43:26 -0800

The Miss Universe organization is based in the United States while the Miss World competion is a United Kingdom based event. The United States owns the most Miss Universe titles and the United Kingdom has the third most Miss World titles. This may be mere coincidence.(sic) Ah, the subtle art of understated sarcasm.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 23:29:03 -0800

Well, east coast girls are hip. I really dig those styles they wear. And the southern girls, with the way they talk, they knock me out when I'm down there. The midwest farmer's daughters really make you feel all right! And the northern girls, with the way they kiss, they keep their boyfriends warm at night. The west coast has the sunshine, and the girls all get so tanned. I dig a french bikini on Hawaii island dolls by a palm tree in the sand. I've been all around this great, big world, and I've seen all kinds of girls. Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the States, back to the cutest girls in the world. I wish they all could be California girls.

By: hama7

hama7 — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 23:30:50 -0800

Nothing is fair about "redistribution" of wealth. Which is better: quality education and health care at a price or; mandatory, tax bankrolled, inefficient heath care and education beaurocracies for which one has to work half one's life (or more) to support? How does half a lifetime of indentured servitude equal "free" education? It's paid for all right. Socialist economies are just so darn vibrant and dynamic, you'd think everybody just ignored what happened in Russia, China, and the other failures. Another thread. The nation of Uzbekistan is widely rumoured to possess the most beautiful women, but corroborating evidence is difficult to obtain, and at this time such reports can neither be confirmed nor denied.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 00:33:44 -0800

Which is better: quality education and health care at a price or; mandatory, tax bankrolled, inefficient heath care and education beaurocracies for which one has to work half one's life (or more) to support? ... the place where adults pass the most time and submit to the closest control is at work. Thus, without even entering into the question of the world economy's ultimate dictation within narrow limits of everybody's productive activity, it's apparent that the source of the greatest direct duress experienced by the ordinary adult is not the state but rather the business that employs him. Your foreman or supervisor gives you more or-else orders in a week than the police do in a decade. Bob Black, The Libertarian As Conservative Indentured servitude, eh? Around here we call that a job--when you can get one. Freedom is for the independently wealthy. Welfare capitalism is not socialism and Norway does rank number one in Quality of Life no matter how you split it. So there. But as you say, another time...

By: arto

arto — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 02:25:12 -0800

The laziest *and* the booziest? Screw Disneyland, I'm movin' to Portugal!

By: talos

talos — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 05:30:24 -0800

The WHO has issued a "Healthy Life Expectancy" Ranking and Japan is Number One in the New 'Healthy Life' System. The full list. Other interesting rankings: - Press Freedom Index. - Olympic Medals per Capita - Military expenditures as % of GDP - Alcohol consumption [PDF document] - Economic and social statistics on the nations of the world, with partcular reference to children's well-being. - The Principal City Agglomerations of the World. From the City Population website. As for the highly subjective "Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women?" question, if one means "gorgeous women as a percentage of the population" my very personal vote, from my reasonably limited experience, goes to all the former Yugoslav republics. (Turkey is close and I've heard about Venezuela-Colombia of course, but haven't been there to verify).

By: einarorn

einarorn — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 06:49:34 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? No question, my country: Iceland. Look, we have 2 Miss World titles, but still there are only 280 thousand people on this island. I've lived in Mexico, Venezuela and the U.S. and I've traveled to Argentina and Brazil. Still, I'm positive there's no place you can find more beautiful women than downtown Reykjavik on a Saturday night :-)

By: car_bomb

car_bomb — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 11:16:57 -0800

Miss Venezuela 2002. meh. i'd rather have a beer and a fat chick.

By: Pseudoephedrine

Pseudoephedrine — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 22:51:41 -0800

By the way, when did Canada stop being an Anglo-Saxon nation? I mean, I'm ethnically Irish-Scotch-Portugese (to the point of willingly drinking Screech!), but culturally, I'm as Anglicised as tea.

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Sat, 19 Apr 2003 00:01:13 -0800

[acceptable thread-end chattiness, I hope] Well, as an Anglo-Portuguese with Irish blood myself, that more or less makes us cousins, Pseudoephedrine. :)

By: t r a c y

t r a c y — Sat, 19 Apr 2003 12:18:26 -0800

when did Canada stop being an Anglo-Saxon nation? in the mid 1960's when our non anglo-saxon population jumped from less than 3% to over 30% leading to major cities like toronto having over 54% non anglo-saxon populations (294 cultures, 169 countries represented, 100+ languages spoken) by the mid 1990's. these days when i come across someone as purely irish as i am it's a complete surprise and rarity. hoorah for multicultures...! i love living here. my actual neighborhood is "little portugal" btw.

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Sat, 19 Apr 2003 14:06:30 -0800

Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Which Country Has The Most Beautiful Women? Gee guys, you sure put a lot of thought and energy into this question. The answer is obvious....it depends on your definition of beautiful-- Doh! Do you like them tall? Dark? Curvacious? Tiny? Blonde? Natural? Unnatural?? If you can all agree that 6 feet in height, blue-eyes, blonde hair, high cheekbones = beauty then we can debate whether it is Norway or Iceland. But if your definition of the word beauty includes the phrase "under 100 lbs," then we better start talking about Thailand.

By: Pseudoephedrine

Pseudoephedrine — Sat, 19 Apr 2003 19:30:00 -0800

tracy> Eh, the emphasis we put on multiculturalism up here is a bit of a dodge. A lot of the immigrants come from parts of the old British Empire (Nigeria, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, etc.), and Canada's method of cherry-picking ensures that we get the richest, most Anglicised members of those societies preferentially. And let's not forget that of those immigrants, 50% end up in Toronto and surrounds, with the majority of the rest going to Vancouver and Montreal. While I'm as egocentric as the next Torontonian and fully happy to admit that I appreciate having my major gustatory decisions be about whether I'm in the mood for Cambodian-Mexican-Scotch _or_ Cuban-Thai-Somalian fusion, Canada's still "the great white north" in more ways than one.

By: Witty

Witty — Mon, 21 Apr 2003 08:26:52 -0800

Thanks SLG. I didn't know that my answer depended upon what my definition of beauty is. So, after further thought and review, my answer is... oddly enough, Argentina.