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Authorities Scramble to Kill off Fictional Swede
The Local ^ | 11 Dec 12

Posted on 12/11/2012 8:11:43 PM PST by nickcarraway

The Swedish Tax Authority (Skatteverket) scrambled this week to block a personal identification number, linked to Wednesday's date, which could have given a newborn boy a lengthy and somewhat confusing health record.

Tolvan Tolvansson (tolv means "twelve" in Swedish) is constantly ill and pops up at hospitals and clinics across the country.

At one point, he was both pregnant and suffering prostate cancer, medical journal Dagens Medecin reports.

Tolvansson has also been pronounced dead on numerous occasions.

Yet he is a completely fictional character, made up for health care staff to learn their way around different databases.

He never really posed a real problem until this week, as his fictional birthday looms - December 12th, 2012.

At first, the Tax Agency did not believe reports of the fictive patient whose personal identification number (personnummer) is 121212-1212.

All Swedes are assigned a number by the agency at birth - a combination of their birthday (year-month-day) followed by four additional digits.

Upon learning of Tolvansson's existence and his impressively poor health, the Tax Agency scrambled to erase 1212 as a possible add-on for ID numbers assigned on Wednesday.

"If we hadn't blocked it, a newborn could have ended up with a load of incorrect health information tied to their ID number," Tax Agency spokesperson Ingegerd Widell told Dagens Medicin.

Having averted this year's potential mix up, the agency officials will not have to intervene in another potential case of mistaken identity for another century.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: doctors; medicine; sweden

1 posted on 12/11/2012 8:11:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Lt. Kije?


2 posted on 12/11/2012 8:12:56 PM PST by thecodont
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To: nickcarraway

just thinking the Swedes could use names instead of numbers, and then remembered Ole Olson,...................


3 posted on 12/11/2012 8:17:18 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: nickcarraway

An ironic title.The authorities are looking to kill off the “fictional” Swede. Through immigration, seeing as being Swedish is apparently a social construct, and not a distinct ethnic group


4 posted on 12/11/2012 8:21:42 PM PST by Viennacon
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To: nickcarraway
"At one point, he was both pregnant and suffering prostate cancer..." Henry: "Uh-huh...Here we go. 'Father dying', right?" Klinger: "Yes, sir." Henry: "'Father dying' last year. 'Mother dying' last year. 'Mother and father dying'. 'Mother, father, and older sister dying'. 'Mother dying and older sister pregnant'. 'Older sister dying and mother pregnant'. 'Younger sister pregnant and older sister dying'. Here's an oldie but a goodie...'Half of the family dying, other half pregnant.' Klinger, aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
5 posted on 12/11/2012 8:23:09 PM PST by Beowulf9
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To: Beowulf9

“You’re right, sir...I DON’T DESERVE TO BE IN THE ARMY!!!”

One of many classic early moments from that series.


6 posted on 12/11/2012 8:36:58 PM PST by M1903A1 ("We shed all that is good and virtuous for that which is shoddy and sleazy... and call it progress")
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To: M1903A1

Lol. Didn’t look up that last...


7 posted on 12/11/2012 8:53:50 PM PST by Beowulf9
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