In a message dated 7/11/2000 7:15:23 PM, lexjenkins@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
<< 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 >>
Lex:
They should have turned to you for those articles in Encyclopedia Britannica.
Whoever wrote those articles didn't know any of this stuff. ;-) Now we
know -- "the rest of the story." I didn't know about the Aesir adoption
either. Moved to Mt Olympus, did they?
Robert (humbled by the awesome "depth" of your Icelandic folklore)
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