Hey, Rob, didn't you know the names were deliberate choices? The residents
of "Iceland" originally named their homeland Bjorkhutinhollarljaend (Land of
Sirens With Strange Hair and Quavering Vocal Cords Calling Sailors to Their
Tragic Deaths Upon the Rocks). Fearing this name would not only fail to
repel the Vikings, but might actually attract them knowing the Norse
penchant for offbeat music, they decided to rename the island something
rather unattractive. And, as an inside joke, they also renamed the
neighboring clot of ice, known as Fruzengladjuvchessploeyers, something more
appealing as a distraction. Hence Greenland.
Alas, due to an oversight in committee, they failed to mount an effective
marketing campaign overseas and to change the names on the buoys. So the
Norsemen sailed straight for "Iceland", stuck a flag in the first
Bjorkhutinhollarljaender to greet them, quaffed many ales, did some
pillaging and promptly had all their gods and goddesses adopted by the
Greeks and moved to Mount Olympus. (Obligatory OM content requirement met.)
Lex "Fables To Go" Jenkins
From: RobBurn@xxxxxxx
I flew over parts of both Iceland and Greenland roundtrip from Ukraine
(with
a stop in Amsterdam) to the US a few years ago. I was struck by the fact
that
Iceland had so much land showing..some of it green, most of it
brown...while
the parts of Greenland we saw were entirely ice-covered. Names and sights
seemed quite incongrous.
Robert
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