Cucumber news

It's summertime here, and lots of people are on vacation. Stores and other businesses are running on reduced hours; some are closed altogether. The newspapers are reduced to reporting, well, whatever they can find, what Norwegians call "agurknytt" ("cucumber news").

They call it that because this is the time of year when journalists have to fill out two pages with a story about some guy out in the sticks who has managed to grow a prize three-kilo cucumber or something equally riveting.

Vårt Land ("Our Country") spent two pages -- plus a blurb on the front page -- on the news that American tourists are confusing Norwegian restauranteurs by asking for "doggy bags" to take with them at the end of a meal. This is not a usual practice here, but then again, Norwegians don't typically eat out five times a week like Americans do.

Shocking, no?