(Prepared by Scouter Gregg Lloyd of 1st South Porcupine, spring 2022 in preparation for our pre-FinJam adventure)
1. Iceland has no mosquitoes – True or False
TRUE – one of the few places on earth where mosquitoes don’t live and no one knows why as they are in Greenland. They do have black flies though.
2. Iceland has more hot springs than any other country on the globe
TRUE – about 250 geothermal areas with 800 hot springs and have an average temperature of 167oF – My hot tub only goes up to 104oF! 85% of Iceland homes are heated with geothermal heat.
3. Iceland only has 30 volcanoes – True or False
FALSE – Iceland has over 130 active and inactive volcanoes.
4. Iceland has many different native land mammals.
FALSE – the Arctic Fox is Iceland’s only native land mammal.
5. The Arctic Fox changes its fur colour according to the season, like our rabbits do here. White in the winter and brown in the summer. True or False
True
6. Icelandic Horse is native to Iceland – True or False
False – they came from Norway with Vikings back in the 9th century and have been bred to be a shaggy and hardy horse that can stand the harsh Icelandic weather. Special note – because they have relatively few diseases, Icelandic law prevents any horses from being imported to the country and exported horses can not come back to the island.
7. Iceland was the first country in the world to elect a female president – True or False
True – Vigdis Finnbogadottir was also the longest serving elected head of state and served for 16 years. Also, Iceland’s first female Prime Minister was also the world’s first openly lesbian head of state.
8. Iceland literacy rate is just below the United States – True or False
False – Iceland and Canada have some of the highest literacy rates in the world at 99%! US is only 88%. Iceland publishes more books per person than any other country in the world! 1 in 10 people will publish a book!
9. Iceland has more McDonald’s and Starbucks, per person, than Canada – True or False?
FALSE – Iceland does not have any (zero) McDonalds or Starbucks or Tim Hortons
10. Every citizen has to serve in the army for a minimum of three years – True of False
FALSE – Iceland does not have an army! It also has the lowest ratio of citizens in jail. 45 / 100,000 people. US is 1 in 36 people were in some sort of correctional supervision!! Canada is 104 / 100,000.
11. What is the Capital city of Iceland?
Reykjavik
12. What country colonized Iceland?
Denmark – It became its own country in 1944 after German forces occupied Denmark.
13. Why does Iceland have so few dogs?
Pet dogs were banned in 1924 as they carried a tape worm that can be passed to humans. Now allowed to have dogs, but under strict regulations. Cats are the choice pet to have in Iceland. The Cats of Reykjavik even have their own Facebook page! Currently it is illegal to own snakes, lizards or turtles as pets.
14. Back when Iceland only had one TV station, what month did it not air?
July! Also every Thursday had nothing on the TV as they wanted people to get outside and socialize! This ended in 1987.
15. If your name is not approved by the government, what name is put on your passport?
Girl or Boy – All names have to be approved by the government so they can be used in the Icelandic language and are not goofy. Also, their last names are not the same as their parents and are pretty complicated. It includes the first name of their father, usually and then an ending that indicates male or female. Gunnarsson or Gunnarsdottir.
16. What is the population of Iceland? – a) 165,000 b) 300,000 c) 3 million d) 38 million
a)Population of Sudbury
b) Iceland
c) Toronto
d) Canada
17. What does Góðan daginn mean?
Good day.
1. Iceland has no mosquitoes – True or False
TRUE – one of the few places on earth where mosquitoes don’t live and no one knows why as they are in Greenland. They do have black flies though.
2. Iceland has more hot springs than any other country on the globe
TRUE – about 250 geothermal areas with 800 hot springs and have an average temperature of 167oF – My hot tub only goes up to 104oF! 85% of Iceland homes are heated with geothermal heat.
3. Iceland only has 30 volcanoes – True or False
FALSE – Iceland has over 130 active and inactive volcanoes.
4. Iceland has many different native land mammals.
FALSE – the Arctic Fox is Iceland’s only native land mammal.
5. The Arctic Fox changes its fur colour according to the season, like our rabbits do here. White in the winter and brown in the summer. True or False
True
6. Icelandic Horse is native to Iceland – True or False
False – they came from Norway with Vikings back in the 9th century and have been bred to be a shaggy and hardy horse that can stand the harsh Icelandic weather. Special note – because they have relatively few diseases, Icelandic law prevents any horses from being imported to the country and exported horses can not come back to the island.
7. Iceland was the first country in the world to elect a female president – True or False
True – Vigdis Finnbogadottir was also the longest serving elected head of state and served for 16 years. Also, Iceland’s first female Prime Minister was also the world’s first openly lesbian head of state.
8. Iceland literacy rate is just below the United States – True or False
False – Iceland and Canada have some of the highest literacy rates in the world at 99%! US is only 88%. Iceland publishes more books per person than any other country in the world! 1 in 10 people will publish a book!
9. Iceland has more McDonald’s and Starbucks, per person, than Canada – True or False?
FALSE – Iceland does not have any (zero) McDonalds or Starbucks or Tim Hortons
10. Every citizen has to serve in the army for a minimum of three years – True of False
FALSE – Iceland does not have an army! It also has the lowest ratio of citizens in jail. 45 / 100,000 people. US is 1 in 36 people were in some sort of correctional supervision!! Canada is 104 / 100,000.
11. What is the Capital city of Iceland?
Reykjavik
12. What country colonized Iceland?
Denmark – It became its own country in 1944 after German forces occupied Denmark.
13. Why does Iceland have so few dogs?
Pet dogs were banned in 1924 as they carried a tape worm that can be passed to humans. Now allowed to have dogs, but under strict regulations. Cats are the choice pet to have in Iceland. The Cats of Reykjavik even have their own Facebook page! Currently it is illegal to own snakes, lizards or turtles as pets.
14. Back when Iceland only had one TV station, what month did it not air?
July! Also every Thursday had nothing on the TV as they wanted people to get outside and socialize! This ended in 1987.
15. If your name is not approved by the government, what name is put on your passport?
Girl or Boy – All names have to be approved by the government so they can be used in the Icelandic language and are not goofy. Also, their last names are not the same as their parents and are pretty complicated. It includes the first name of their father, usually and then an ending that indicates male or female. Gunnarsson or Gunnarsdottir.
16. What is the population of Iceland? – a) 165,000 b) 300,000 c) 3 million d) 38 million
a)Population of Sudbury
b) Iceland
c) Toronto
d) Canada
17. What does Góðan daginn mean?
Good day.