Superbru overtakes Swaziland
I am delighted to announce that, yesterday, the population of the Republic of Superbru overtook that of the Kingdom of Swaziland. Our citizenship of 1,132,657 people continues to grow and prove the benefits of immigration at a moment in history when borders are being closed and walls erected across the Western world.
Next in our sights is an unnatural pairing: East Timor (1.17m) and the Canadian province of Manitoba (1.21m), unless either can turn on some enhanced net migration over the next couple of months (Manitoba probably has a good chance of doing this given what's about to happen on its southern border).
King Mswati III has joined the long line of heads of state who've not seen fit to send me a congratulatory note when we've steamed past them. While he has a Twitter account with 176 followers, he has not yet made an inaugural tweet. His Twitter bio advises that "King Mswati, the king of Swaziland, has a net worth of 200 million US$. The king, ascending to the throne at a tender age of 18." Pretty punchy to smash your net worth into your Twitter bio. And I love the way it leaves you hanging. What happened when he ascended to the throne at a tender age of 18?
The closest I've got to Swaziland is the fine town of Piet Retief in the deep south of Mpumalanga, on a road trip with my parents from Durban to the Kruger Park in 1989. I know embarrassingly little about the Kingdom and have had to resort to Wikipedia to celebrate this milestone.
A couple of key facts:
Next in our sights is an unnatural pairing: East Timor (1.17m) and the Canadian province of Manitoba (1.21m), unless either can turn on some enhanced net migration over the next couple of months (Manitoba probably has a good chance of doing this given what's about to happen on its southern border).
King Mswati III has joined the long line of heads of state who've not seen fit to send me a congratulatory note when we've steamed past them. While he has a Twitter account with 176 followers, he has not yet made an inaugural tweet. His Twitter bio advises that "King Mswati, the king of Swaziland, has a net worth of 200 million US$. The king, ascending to the throne at a tender age of 18." Pretty punchy to smash your net worth into your Twitter bio. And I love the way it leaves you hanging. What happened when he ascended to the throne at a tender age of 18?
The closest I've got to Swaziland is the fine town of Piet Retief in the deep south of Mpumalanga, on a road trip with my parents from Durban to the Kruger Park in 1989. I know embarrassingly little about the Kingdom and have had to resort to Wikipedia to celebrate this milestone.
A couple of key facts:
- The motto of Swaziland is "Siyinqaba", which pleasingly can be interpreted as "We are a riddle" or "We hide ourselves away". A better motto for a country I've not heard.
- 14% of modern Swaziland's exports are comprised of odoriferous substances. I confess that the word odoriferous was new to me, so I looked it up. It means "having or giving off a smell, especially an unpleasant one." I'm pleased to know the meaning of the word, but remain uncertain as to what kinds of unpleasantly smelling substances Swaziland exports and indeed why external buyers purchase them.
Look forward to seeing you in the Club! 27 Jan 16:09