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!
