Miscellaneous Icelandic Trivia

Here is some info I discovered and that I thought was interesting about Iceland:

* Population is 290k people. More than that come to visit each year. By far the majority of tourists I have met in Iceland are from the U.K.

* 75% of the men come from Norweigen descent. 75% of the women come from Irish descent. Not sure if women were wooed or shangheied.

* The smoother the lava, the deeper it´s source

* Tons of earthquakes. The Eurasian and North American tectonic plates which run
from the north to the south poles are exposed or on the surface only here in Iceland.

* Bjork comes from Iceland. Bjork is weird (my opinion strongly disputed by others)

* The icelandic language is the same as used in old english times. An icelander can read 12th century english literature.

* Tolkien used Icelandic mythology as a source for his Lord of the Rings. Frodo is icelandic for knowledge. Gimly = where you die. Gandalf = magic elf.

* Icelanders derive 65% of their income from fishing. 11% from tourism. Currently Bauxite from Japan and Australia is shipped to Iceland for processing into Aluminum. The cost advantages of using the Icelandic geothermal energy justifies that transportation expense.

* No tuition in Iceland

* Icelandic mythology identifies 4 other kinds of people: elves who live in tall cliffs, dwarves, hidden people and trolls. Icelanders might say that a hidden person took something instead of accusing someone of stealing.

* Iceland was under Belgian control. When Germany took Belgium in WW2, Icelanders took the opportunity to declare their independence.

* Icelandic keyboards are annoying. For example, Alt-Q to get the @ symbol...