Instead of doing a short 'Let's Learn About..." post about everyone's favorite northern European country, I'm going to devote a whole month to posts about Norway. You'll learn about Norway's history, meet it's people, learn about their customs, and so much more. So let's kick things off with two bits of Norway's history!
Norway was founded in 917 by these three Swedes of Viking origin. They had been kicked out of Sweden for not being blond enough and for being naughty. Their names were Skvrskynn the Mighty, Hrdyrickvens the Bold, and Lefty. They set sail from an unnamed Swedish port and they made their way to the hunk of land that would one day be called Norway. When their ship ran aground in a lightly wooded shallow bay, they were said to have muttered, "Oh fjord it, we've run aground." And that is where we get the word fjord from.
Henrik Ibsen, Norway's greatest ever playwright, not only wrote great plays, he was an inventor as well. He invented the heaving sigh, angst, the whoopie cushion, the hairstyle known as the mullet, and herring flavored Tang.More fun facts about Norway to come, so stay tuned!
16 comments:
I want to go to there!
Yust in time for my interview with St. Olaf college! Uff da!
Norwegian soldiers in Kosovo....
i like Norway....
Skål! The Fatherland! I wish I could mail you some krumkake without them crushing. There is a Norske Lutheran church by my house: http://www.mindekirken.org/ and a lovely Scandinavian shop amidst the mercados, in case you want to take the Norway in America tour this month. MNMom & St. Olaf are on the way!
I'm just feeling all "Norway-ish" all of a sudden...
In my next life I'm coming back Norwegian! What a fun theme month!
Er...you do realize I'm related to those dudes right?
Lefty was steering the ship and I'm NOT related to him...but the other two...yes.
tell us about the sausage.
Because I know they've got to have sausage.
Norway is the coolest of the Scandinavian countries, but don't tell Iceland. Wait, is Iceland even Scandinavian or is it just fake Scandinavian?
I KNEW Ibsen was a man of many talents!!!
Woo! Thank God for Norway! Life would just not be the same without herring flavored Tang, y'know!
Say what you will about herring flavored Tang, it's better than lutefisk. Trust me on this....
Hey! Norwegians invented the paper clip and jet engine.
YOU'RE WELCOME.
Left was my great-great-great-great-great uncle, on my father's side.
Didn't Ibsen also invent the feminist?
I applaud your efforts. As a token of my appreciation, I link you a picture of Linda and Bob Norway.
So you claim Norwegians are descended from three smelly, nasty, insufficiently blond Swedes? You realize, of course, that the Daughters of Gudrun are going to hunt you down like a dog.....
Lefty also invented the sardine can key. He brought it with him on the voyage, as illustrated.
Cans were a lot bigger back then.
Post a Comment