How to Troll the Russian Navy, Swedish Style
Now a little while ago, I talked about the time Sweden nearly went full viking on the Soviet Union after a Soviet Submarine was found beached inside their territory. But in 2015, the Swedes decided to take things to another level.
Increasing Defence Spending
After another Russian submarine was allegedly found to be violating Swedish waters again in 2014, the Swedes were none too happy about this and opted to increase their defence spending to counter possible future incursions. But The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society came up with a rather interesting and amusing solution of their own to deal with the Russian navy.
The Ingenious Neon Sign
You see, around this time the Russian Federation enacted a law that basically banned “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” in their country, resulting in Russia cementing itself as one of the most homophobic countries on earth. So The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society decided to use this to their advantage and placed a special neon sign at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
The Gay Sailor
A neon sign that showed a shirtless, gyrating sailor wearing briefs and surrounded by hearts. With the caption “Welcome to Sweden: Gay since 1944,” which was the year Sweden decriminalized homosexuality. The sign, which is lovingly known as “The Gay Sailor,” also transmits a Morse Code message that translates to “This Way if you are Gay.”
Effectiveness of the Solution
I don’t know just how effective this sign was/is, but apparently Sweden has not had that much issue with Russian submarines entering their territory since.
~NC
