Episode Transcript
Hey everyone. Welcome back to sort of sophisticated, the podcast where we learn to be more cultured and curious without looking like, try hards. I'm Pete, and sitting across from me and looking ready to dive in. As always, thanks for doing Your Hair. Is my favorite co-host, Amanda. I mean, I'm your only co-host, so Hi everyone. You, you don't know that I, but you do not know that I could have a whole nother podcast. You could in a whole nother parallel life. You could Yes. A parallel universe. I could, yeah, it could. It could happen. Like Stranger Things. Yes. Yes. And the upside down you could. I have a co-host Who, uh, she's kind and she's gentle and she's warm hearted this douche bag, and she is the complete opposite of my cohost here in like the regular world. Okay. Okay. Got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Got it. Dude, I already have stories. Can we start with, you always have stories. Can I give you an update right now. Okay, go ahead. Okay. Graduation. Yes. Right. Um, well wait. I have sad story, funny story. Well, you have to start with sad story. Start with sad story. A yeah. A funny story. Okay. Okay. Okay. Um, sad story, Ruth. Yeah. My baby just graduated from Modern Day High School. Go Monarchs. at the UCI Brin Center. Okay. Which is where very fancy. I graduated Gabby. That's where Gabby and I graduated. Oh really? Oh, that would make sense. 'cause you went to modern day as well, 35 years ago. Wow. Same place, same everything. Gabby walks off stage, I walk off stage. We don't even know we're gonna get married. We don't even know we're gonna start a life together. We take pictures randomly as seniors saying goodbye to each other. Huh. And then it all happened. So it was happy and super sad because like, of course like now I'm taking pictures with my daughter and my wife's not there. But we got through it. Good. So that's, that was a little bit of my sort of. Moment. And I don't know how many people could say that, like 35 years later, like they're in the same exact spot watching their Yeah, that's weird. Their fourth child graduate. Like it was, it's weird. It was, it was overwhelming. It's like twilight, zish, like it's not your life. No. Like looking at it was super surreal and then like there's zero people to talk about. I mean, I'm sure that's happened to people in like their lifetime, but like I'm looking around like none of these people would understand. Right? Because to have both husband and wife come to the same place, re high school, da, da da, then your kids go to my da. Like I'm sure in small towns it happens. Don't get me wrong. Like here in Orange County. No. Okay. Right. Um, funny story. 'cause let's flip to something a lot more upbeat. So I'm at a graduation party. This is my daughter's bestie. Okay. Right. Um, and people say speeches sometimes, like, I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Um, so this, I don't know that they're extended family. I just know like the people throwing the party, mom and dad. Oh, okay. I don't know anybody else. So this, this like uncle or somebody I think gets up and he grabs the mic and he is, um, a little toasty. Yeah. He's shitfaced. Oh, okay. And he's like, congratulations to my niece for being valedictorian or whatever. And just mic dropped. And she wasn't a valedictorian, she wasn't anything. She just graduated. Oh. Poor thing. But he was just like in a mood. And so it was like, uh, is that real? Is that not? And I thought it was classic, So Was she mortified? She was totally mortified. Okay. Yeah. 'cause her, their family's like that. Okay. That was my weekend. Oh, there you go. Graduations. Oh, I love it. Yes. No graduations for you? No. Nothing exciting. But we are in summertime, summer mode. Here we go. Summer, summertime. Uh, can we introduce, are we ready to go? Absolutely. We can totally introduce the topic now we are gonna do a little travel episode today. We have not done a travel episode in a while. Probably. This is true. Like, I think France, right? Was like how to survive France. Yeah. That was like, that was a while ago. I mean, I feel like France was like a little bit in between because we had our guest on. Yeah. Yeah. That did mix it up a little bit. I like this. All right. What are we talking about? Let's go. So it's a little off the empath. Unexpected Iceland. I'm intrigued. I mean, it's a little island that's way up by the Arctic Circle, and it has volcanoes and glaciers, and supposedly little elves that run around everywhere that no one can really see. Yeah, I know. They're there. I know. Oh, this is gonna be fascinating to talk about. Yeah. Okay. I love Iceland. Oh, really? Like, oh, yeah, yeah. No, no, no. I've like always wanted to visit ice. And actually, Amanda, believe it or not, I'm planning a trip there right now. Are you really? For next summer. yes. Is that why you picked this episode then? Well, technically no. Is there something happening in Iceland that we should know about? Kind of. So here, check this. 'Cause when I was booking the travel and getting ready, I realized that uh, their independence Day Oh, is like June 17th? Yeah. Okay. June 17th, 1944. So I think it just passed to be exact 81 years ago. Wait, yeah. They're only 81 years old. They're only 81 years old. What? Yeah. Iceland formally declared its full independence from Denmark and officially became a republic. Huh. So, I mean, yes. I guess you could say technically I picked the episode 'cause I was researching and like you going travel there. But like, I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for the whole independence thing. 'cause I'd I mean, that isn't big deal, like to connect Right? I like to connect that kind of stuff. I mean it's things that we can talk about in real life. Exactly. Yeah. Which was hysterical because I totally like how a DH ADHD 'cause you, well we all know this. Yeah. So I totally stopped booking my trip and started going down this like stupid rabbit hole of like how they gained their independence and everything. And fun fact. But did not make you more excited to go visit? No. Let you know. No, I'm, I'm crazy now. Like I am stoked completely. Yes. Can I, fun fact you. Yeah. Okay. So they got their independence. They didn't even like win any, it wasn't like a battle or a war, like just like everybody starts Yeah. What they were kind of like. Um, yeah. So I just, uh, decided it's independence and they just did it. Yeah. Huh. So apparently it's based on some dude's birthday, a guy named John Gerson. Full disclosure, both of us are not gonna say no old Norse or Icelandic. It's gonna be like language, right? It's gonna be up the shit show. Yes. So don't judge us too much. Yes. So I guess this guy, John was like the leader of what's called the Icelandic independence movement during the mid 19th century, so not even that long ago. And his birthday was June 17th. So they just like picked that day and I guess told Denmark Go buzz off super random. June 17th. And then Denmark was like, yeah, wait. But then we're like, what happened? Because there wasn't a war and nothing like dramatic, but they just like woke up one day and were like, peace. We're independent now. Oh, right. And then Denmark was like, okay, have fun. So I thought it just seems weird. It's totally weird. And here's my problem. I had like one tab open looking at Airbnbs and like how, and the other one, the history, the other one, like going Yes. Okay. So apparently Iceland had been under a Danish rule. Like that's Denmark. Yeah. Danish, Denmark rule. Okay. Since around like the 14th century and little by little, like over the years, they kept like pushing for more independence and having more autonomy like a little at a time. And then in 1874, thanks to our buddy John Gerson, uh, they got their own constitution. Which was like a massive step, but not quite independent, but like, good first step, 1874. So then 50 years goes by. Okay. Like, and they're just like down. Yeah. Yeah. Denmark's still around hanging out there. 1918, they signed something with Denmark called the Act of Union. Oh. Uh, I looked up, it gave them more power, like to handle their own shit, but they were still recognizing the Danish king, but essentially now they were on their own and the Danish king was just like, sort of the figurehead. Okay. So far so good. So kind of like how Britain is with their other territories? Yeah, like they handled everything domestically, like internationally. They depended on Denmark still. I guess that's like the best way to say it. Okay. Yeah. But isn't that like the Monarch? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. okay, so then basically by the early 20th century, Iceland's running its own show and then World War II breaks out. Okay. And that changed everything. cause Germany invades Denmark, you probably don't remember this because like in America, we don't learn who invades who. Yeah. So I was like, yeah. So that was like a big thing. 'cause now Denmark is occupied by Germany. So Iceland sort of is feeling a little bit on their own, right? Like, fuck, I don't want to be, we don't wanna be invaded, right? So then, the Brits get involved and they go to Iceland. And so does the US subsequently after that, because they want to protect Iceland against Germany, like using it as some sort of like base to like launch from. Okay. So like now there's sort of, you know, sides, right? So Iceland's like, okay, Denmark, you can't even help me anyway, anymore. Like, so just cut ties? Yeah. We're cutting ties. We're literally declaring independence. So they're occupied by Germany. When the war ends, they get unoccupied by Germany. Denmark. Denmark. But then Denmark's, like, they're just happy to not be occupied. So they're like, not fighting Iceland to be like, uh, no, we're keeping you. They're like, fuck. Like, thank God we're just alive. Everybody's okay. You want your independence. Sure. Like we're, we're not, we're not fighting. Yeah. And so Iceland just sort of voted, literally just voted One day. I think it was like in, I don't remember, it was like the spring or something, and they waited till June 17th. 'cause they're like, oh, it's, it's gonna, Johnny's B day, June 17th. So even though like we voted in April, we're gonna call it June 17th. Right. And it was like, you know what? It was, it was the perfect breakup. Have you ever broken up with like an old boyfriend or girl? Like, like Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where? Where it's like perfect. It's like symbiotic. Like you're not mad at each other. Yeah. This is the same thing. They're like, ah, everything's fine. Oh. And they both want, I guess that kind of totally makes sense. Yeah. Okay, but don't get mad at me or anything. Wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I kind of feel like we are halfway through the episode already and we haven't even answered the cultured and curious question, so I think you gotta lay it on us. Oh, I, oh, I'm ready. Okay, go. Oh, no, I prepped for this response. Of course you did. Yes, I know you did. No. Well, because, I figured it was time, like I had some snarky answers. Okay. So Amanda learning about Iceland makes us cultured and curious because they're one of only 19 countries that don't have a McDonald's. 19. Thank you very much. Huh? Yeah. If that's not a reason, I dunno what is, I mean, it's fascinating that there's only 19 countries. There's only 19. Yeah. So I guess they did have one up until 2009. Um, but the import costs were like way too high. Oh, so they shut it down. They're not, they're not really fast food junkies over there, so they shut that shit down. I mean, we all shouldn't be, but here we are. Yes. But I mean, I also think like, most island countries might not have like, well, I mean Hawaii does, but, I don't know. Who knows? I'm always fascinated by which McDonald's actually serves what at their McDonald's, which McDonald's. Um, okay. Seriously, do you want the real answer to like, why we're Turing first? Absolutely. learning about Iceland and their whole way of life makes us more cultured. 'cause it introduces us, Amanda, to a society that has different values than ours. Right? I mean, but that's what you say. Every time you learn about a different country. Listen,, Amanda, listen, that's true. I do say that about every country, but this one's a little different. Like this one is like, they have somehow built this amazing, independent, super intellectually rich culture on an island in the middle of nowhere. By the Arctic Circle. And it kind of challenges our thinking on like the way a modern country should look. 'cause we're all like consumerism and they're the opposite. They're the anti-consumerism, huh? Completely and totally. I'm moving to Iceland. Right. Sorry. They are all about community. Love it. They are all, they're books. They're crazy about books. I got, I got fun facts about books. You're gonna die like Amanda, you'll see. Well, sounds like it's like the epitome of where I wanna go. So you have to take me on your vacation with you. But before then, um, word of the day please. Word of the day. Word of the day. You're gonna love Word of the Day. Okay. Go. This one's gonna kind of freak you out. Okay. Untoward. Untoward. Like not toward something. Well, you actually say untoward. Okay. Untoward, right? So the word right. So this is Uhhuh. So toward you say toward right, but this is spelled the exact same way. Untoward. Okay. So but you say un learning lesson of the day. Untoward. Okay, so untoward. Untoward. And it's not, not to go forward. No it is not. Okay. No. It's a formal word that describes something that is improper or inappropriate or something that's like adverse or unfavorable. Like the untoward comments I make to you all the time. How's that? It's from the old English. It's not even Latin. That would be why. There you go. Untoward. Your face is untoward, right? I'm just kidding. It's improper, inappropriate. I feel like this is gonna be an easy one. Okay, fine. No, yeah. We'll see. Maybe. Okay. We just gotta remember improper, inappropriate, adverse, or unfavorable. Okay. All right. Well, I mean, you already got me kind of excited about Iceland and what we're doing in this episode. So why don't you start with like, what's so fascinating about Iceland? Besides all the books, besides all the community and the elves. And the elves. Well, I, you haven't talked about the elves yet, but the elves are gonna be amazing. I mean, can I start with the fun fact? Sure. Well, can I start with my second fun fact already? Yeah. Um, so most people don't know it, but geologically speaking, Iceland is one of the youngest land masses on earth. Interesting. It's only somewhere between 16 to 18 million years old and was formed by obviously a bunch of volcanic activity. As many of the islands are, yes, all the audience on, but I mean, 16 to 18 million years old is kind of old. Well, it's old if it's like human years, but like, not for like, I mean, I guess not For island years, man. Not for island years, man. 16 to 18 million years is, is a baby. They're, they're still in diapers. Okay. I guess we have to put it into like perspective then. Grand Canyon. You wanna know how old that is? Sure. Okay. Uh, 1.8 billion years old. Oh, that's crazy. With a B. Um, also, how can we test for all this? That's what blows my mind. Carbon. I need to ask, I need to ask Lucas. I feel like Lucas would know. He would. Yeah. We need to ask Lucas. Do you wanna know how old Australia is? How 500 million years old? Oh yeah. That's a big island. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So 16 million years old. Not very old. That's so interesting. No, that's baby. But it's probably 'cause like volcano was like in the ocean. Yes. And then it erupted and they created an island. Do you know, do you know lava, the song Lava? The Disney song LA Oh, the lava You one? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, it's the cutest ever. Okay. Sorry. I do, I do, I do. We digress, right? This is the best. Okay. So on top of that, since it was a volcanic island in the middle of nowhere, It wasn't even until the ninth century that people even showed up as far as we know. Like, there wasn't like indigenous people sitting on the island. Oh. There was like birds and shit. Okay, so it was a landmass that was created Yeah. So basically, yeah, it blows outta the water like 18 million years ago. And then some explorers from Norway jump on their boats, start paddling west and run into Iceland somewhere in the ninth century. But like, is it a giant glacier? Because Iceland, why is it called Iceland? Not like lava land. I like that. They should have done love land, um, or like West Norway. So that's, that's exactly why they named it Iceland. You're absolutely right. So you actually pronounce it, uh, let's get sort of sophisticated here. Uh, it's Eastland. You say Eastland? Eastland. Eastland. Yes. Uh, and it literally translates to Iceland in old North Story goes a guy named, sailed over to the island in the ninth century by accident, like I said, and after this brutal winner where all his animals died, he climbed up to the top of a mountain soft fjord, filled with ice and says, fuck it. I'm calling this place. Eastland, huh? And did he like, establish no life there? He, like no Floki just took off. He was like, he wasn't the founder. Oh. So he calls it Iceland takes off. Uh, and then the first permanent settler, the guy who like the ice is traditionally considered to be the founder guy. Okay. Who you're like, sort of thinking about right now. Mm-hmm. So his name is Ingle Han, who founded Kovic, like the main city and now of course the capital city. And that was in 18 75, 80. That's crazy. Yes. That's like when he said that's the first settlers, I wonder if he found out from the other guy that there was like a landmass there and then he decided to go right. Or did he just find it on his own? So maybe, maybe Floy comes back and he's like, Hey, Ingle war. Right. Get the hell outta here. Ingle War's. Like, I'm going, I'm taking my people and I'm, I'm establishing a city in a rakk. And how many people went up? I have no idea. Oh, I'm, it was probably like the, that's too sophisticated. Gotta guy got, right. This is probably like the pilgrims here. Okay. I have no idea. Probably a little, He started like with little farming communities, they like, it was kind of a cool little thing that they just established over a period of time over like the, I guess like hundreds of years. But it's like, yeah, you're right. Started with like probably a couple hundred people who knows. Okay. Then over the next few hundred years, I guess, like, you know, the a hundred people or so that he brought start making offspring and then like they developed a bunch of small, little farming communities and they were all connected by something called the alt thing. Okay. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correctly, which fun fact. Amanda is considered one of the oldest parliaments in the world. That's crazy. Like governing body. 8 75. Little place called Iceland. They made their own community. They made it, they, they started own government. I know. Own rules, right. But back then it was technically still being ruled by Norway. Okay. 'cause those were the people that who moved over. Yeah. Right, right. Uh, and then by Denmark, right? When the Norwegians and the Danes like united under one crown for a minute. Okay. And it stayed that way for like 500 years or so, kind of like in a bubble really. 'Cause you gotta remember it was totally isolated and like balls cold at the time. And um, yeah, fire would shoot out of volcanoes and spew love everywhere. So it was kind of like, you know, scary to be. And because of that, it sort of stayed like this little time capsule and kept its culture and language and traditions like preserved and untouched, like all the way up till today. That's wild. And I know this may come off as being like ignorant, so I'm sorry, but what is the official language. Of Iceland of So I, they're not ignorant at all. 'cause I had to look that up 'cause I was like, I mean, just because they were like Norway. No, total, total nother rabbit hole. I had to go down. Yes. Right. Yes. And then Denmark came, right, they would be Danish, right? So the official language is Icelandic, right? That's what they speak today tracks. But it was developed from old Norse, which was like the old, Norwegian, right, okay. Like the, the Viking language, um, But here's the cool part. So since Iceland is like so geographically isolated, the original language hasn't changed in like. 1100 years, 1200 years, whatever. Like since 1875. Oh, okay. So no other influences, right. So I know that seems like, then why aren't they speaking like the, the Norwegians speak, but that's not true. They don't speak the same language because the Norwegians were like, they had more outside influence, I'd assume coming to Norway than Iceland would. Yes. So then their language, 'cause you had changed and developed, you had Denmark and you had what, a Sweden. Right. So over 1100 years, like that Scandinavian language started, started changing, evolving, yeah. It's just, it's like, it's the same crap with our regular English and like old English in England. Yeah. So if you tried to read Shakespeare right now, you could read it, but it would be pretty complicated. You'd be looking up words rough. Yeah, you'd be right. It'd be rough. So Icelanders, they don't worry about that. Like they can literally read the sas, everything from the Absolutely. It's crazy, right? Because their language didn't change. It's amazing. It's. It's fascinating. It's like picking up the Bible and like trying to read the Bible and like completely understanding it. Like, like that, like it is kind of wild when you think about it. It's stuck in time. Alright. So is that all of it for history or is there more or No, it, no, that's basically it. Like we were a 1918, I think, right? So this is the basics. Yeah. Sovereign state, uh, personal union with Denmark. Then World War II declared independence and that brings us up through today. So now Iceland is known for renewable energy, high literacy rates. There's strong cultural heritage and just a bunch of other really cool shit, man. And that's, that's Iceland. I really, that's a wanna go now. A history, like, it just sounds amazing. Um, but what. I do have a question, which I always do. I know, I'm so sure. So on Instagram I've seen this like geothermal pool. Of course you have like it's, yes, it's, I'm obsessed. It's like fascinating. It is. It's gorgeous. So did you like research about that? Because I did. It doesn't make sense in my brain. I researched everything. Okay. And that is a whole cultural phenomenon all by itself. Like really? Dude, Amanda, there's a whole protocol on how to behave like, oh yeah. Tell me. Seriously. No, no. Are you gonna go? Don't, no, I'm going. But you can't spoil it. 'cause I have a whole section like how to take a bath like further down. Okay. Like, and how, we'll, we'll back to that. Yeah. Yeah. So first I gotta get super sophisticated and nerd out, like right now on all the geothermal stuff for a second. Okay. Okay. So let me read this here. Okay. So Iceland sits on top of what's called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is where apparently the North American and Ian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart. The island has over 130 volcanoes, of which that's crazy. 32 are still active. The island's not that big ice, right? I don't know, but like 32 active volcanoes. That's crazy. Where you supposed to stand and not die. Okay. So in recent years, eruptions on the Ness Peninsula have captured global attention. Some erupting just miles from Kovic, the capital city. Miles away from the capital city? Miles. Just miles. Where do the people live? Where they're like safe? It's like in Hawaii and kill away goes like everybody goes over there and wants to watch kill whale. Like they figured out like how to live around the volcanoes. That's true. That's true. We just don't, 'cause we don't volcanoes. But 32, that's only one. Trust me, dude, they have 32. They're hopping around, they're popping around quick, you know, just to make sure they, I don't know. When we go, I hope that, I like the way you slipped in when we go That's, I hope that there's like an actual active volcano. There will be. That's crazy. I'm sure there will be. Okay, wait, I need to keep going. Okay, so the volcanic activity is responsible for both the rich geothermal energy and the exceptionally dramatic landscapes with lava fields, hot springs and glaciers coexisting in a sort of geological tug of war. It's crazy. I know. And these volatile forces power Iceland on a daily basis, I didn't even know this. Geothermal heat from underground volcanic system fuels everything from electricity to their hot water. And the country is run almost entirely on renewable hydro and geothermal energy. That was a lot to say. That was a lot to say. It's incredible. It is absolutely astonishing. Is that the only place on earth that like has such a good wrap on renewable energy usage and it's, it's high up on the list, but no, there's a few other places. Oh really? Yeah, I looked it up. New Zealand super high on it. The Philippines. I'll let you know how that is in September. Uh, you wanna know another one? Uh, the United States? No. Yeah. for what? Because there's a lot like, like, the Midwest. Arizona, Nevada, like, um, New Mexico. It's this whole area. Like really? I, yeah, like I was kind of freaking out, well, they also have Alaska, right? Yeah. So, but nobody thinks about the US that way because like population wise, like. It's so massive that. We don't use this, we're not running our country on geothermal energy. Right. Iceland, because they only have 375,000 people. They're running their whole country. Like what would you call it? They scaled it like nationally. Well, and I wonder like all of our renewable energy that we have here, like what is it, per capita, is it similar to Iceland? Yeah. I don't know. No, no, no, no, no, no. Like if I send it not per capita, they'll win like the hands down. That's my point. Oh, okay. Yes. Speaking of per capita. Yes. What, how many elves live in Iceland? Um, nobody knows because What do you mean nobody knows they're invisible. I don't even understand how they're invisible. Okay. Go. You have to tell me about this. Are you ready for this? Yes. Okay. No, this is what, this is awesome because they're not Santa Elves. Okay. So check this. No they look like us. So they're supposed to be like legless elves. Well, technically legless elves are taller and much better looking. These, so they're not better looking. Right. They're They're us. They're like us. They just are in an alternate universe. They're literally invisible. It's like, I don't know. It's like the upside. Okay, go ahead. Explain. Okay. They believe in something called H DeFolk Who? DeFolk. I don't know if I'm saying it right. Otherwise known as hidden people. Okay? Apparently these like elf like beings from Icelandic folklore, they like live in the rocks, in the hills and all the other like parts of the remote landscapes. And they're totally invisible to most humans. Well, most, who are they not invisible to? To maybe some Icelanders that can, don't know. Okay. They look like us, same size, same shape, everything. They just live parallel lives alongside of us going about their day. Farming, fishing, raising families, doing whatever normal people do. They're just literally invisible from us. Like literally like stranger things. No way. No. Yeah. So totally like, I'm not making this up. I chat bd, this whole thing. And listen, in modern Iceland survey show that about 60% of Icelanders won't say they don't believe in them. I know that's a double negative. Won't say they don't believe in them, which means they, they are, they do believe in them. They, they're scared to say they don't, huh? Yes. 60%. Why? 'cause they're gonna come eat them, right? So check this like on a regular occurrence, Amanda, they will like move construction projects or roads they're building Reroute them to avoid disturbing their habitats. If they believe that like they live there. Like it's, it, it's crazy. I mean it's kind of like the, the goat man. The goat man. The, the Pac Cabra. No, what's the goat man? The one episode that we did, and it was Krampus. Yes. Krampus. That was, it's kind, it's kind of like frigging Krampus. That was a good poll right there. But not, 'cause you can see Krampus, so No, here you can't see these people. That's weird. Okay. I don't know. Yeah, so like, I don't know that it's that crazy because when you think about it, like a lot of like Christians, like they believe in angels, they believe in demons. They believe that there's spiritual beings. Forces. For sure. So then where did this all come from? Uh, that's a hell of a good question. Icelander see them as spiritual guardians of the natural world, Which I think is a cool cultural tradition. But, um, to answer your question, they come from Norway. 'cause when the Norwegians came over, of course they brought their language and their customs and everything. And Norse mythology already had a belief in these elves or spirits that connected to nature. And so when you combine that with Iceland's, like super active natural environment, ideas start to merge and some magic gets created. And we have. Invisible elves running around Iceland that, um, some people run into every once in a while. Look, hey, you know, when you misplaced stuff at home and you're like, I don't know where that just went. Yeah. And then you find blame. Okay. They just believe that they're invisible people. Mm. We gonna say that. We also have, they live under the stairs. Okay, wait, but before we get too sidetracked, 'cause you know, the elves are fascinating, mystical creatures. Um, can we go back to the geothermal baths? Because you said that you would explain the whole protocol about taking a bath. Yes. Oh, totally. That's right. Which I don't even understand. Okay. Right. So here's the deal. So I learned that Icelandic culture is best described as sort of like emotionally reserved or like really calm, like super low maintenance. It all comes from their Viking heritage. And it's basically like hundreds and hundreds of years of surviving. I don't think I would survive. Well there. No, me neither. This is my po. But this, no, they'll kick me out. This is why we have to be culturally sensitive. No, no. This my point. That's true. That's it's true. Yes. Absolutely. So, like it makes sense that their mindset evolved into this whole like national attitude of I guess perseverance over anything else. Yeah, that's like, a motto, right? Like persevere at any cost. Like, well, there's actually a fun fact about that. Um, so that plays into their whole, bath culture. So you gotta remember for us, the geothermal pools, the ones you see on Instagram, it's like huge bucket list thing. Yeah. Oh my God, I gotta go, I gotta Instagram. No bullshit for them. It's like a, like it's a way of life yeah, it's a way of life, right? Like they go to these pools, like after work on weekends. It doesn't matter if it's winter or summer, rainy or snowing. For them it's like, meditation. Like where to go to relax and like reset for like, it's kinda like how we go the spa, but it's like a natural, like yes. Oh. Mm-hmm. So now let me like bring this all together and go back to my point. So talking too much in the pools. Is like lame. It's like culturally inappropriate. It's a total tourist faux pa. The whole idea of stepping into the communal bath comes with this culture of silence is respected. Mm. And nobody is there to network. Like that's not the plan. It's the one place you don't, you don't even have to make eye contact. Like they wouldn't be mad if you did, but like a lot of people don't make eye contact with each other. Like you can't be American there. You have to like know what have their own zen. Yes. That's the whole point. And so be chill. And then these people go there and then they take the stupid Instagram pictures and it pisses everybody off. Yeah. Like don't, don't be that person. And it's hard because it's not that they're probably trying to infringe on this cultural phenomenon that they have or that, you know, they've grown up and lived, but people go in just not caring. Right, not having self-awareness. No, no. And then, and then it sucks because like if you're from Iceland, you want tourist dollars? Of course you do. Right? But then you're, you're like, really? Like, respect my way. So it just goes back again, like, I love our podcast because it goes back to take five effing minutes to figure out how to like, learn a few of these things. Know where you're going to just like, to just fit in a little bit. You don't have to be perfect. Everyone's gonna know you're American, like, and they're gonna respect that you're there. Right. But like, be cool. So basically they're pretty chill in their culture, like, no pun intended. There's like no drama, no big energy. They're not mean or anything. They're just chill. And I guess it could seem a little scary unless you're prepared and understand the culture. You know what, what? It's not like they're untoward or anything. They are not, though. They're not unto They're very nice actually. Yes. Right. Okay. Um, just a different way of life. Right. It's like, you know, Costa Rica, like, you know their motto like, Pura Vita. No, but is that the bracelet? You know? Put, you don't know Pura Vita. Is that the bracelet? Yes. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, no worries. Life is good. So I said I'd get to Iceland's a fun fact. Iceland's motto. Retest. Retest. Mm-hmm. It means, don't worry, it will all work out somehow. Huh. But like, that's beautiful. That's like words, but culturally it goes like way deeper than that. You can't really explain it unless you're like, part of like their culture and their vibe. But that's as much as I can offer. Retest. Yes. It's sort of like having like a deep trust or faith that things will sort themselves out and like stressing is not gonna help. Yeah. I'm really worried when you go visit, you're gonna move there. I, I totally wanna live there. Yes. Um. Can I tell another cool part of their culture? Uh, yeah, that would totally fit here with our podcast. Uh, they're a culture of storytellers. Oh, that's why you're gonna move there for RealReal? Yes. Okay. Have fit right in Amanda. They have the highest number of authors in the world. Really? Yeah. Per like capita or population or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I mentioned earlier they have the highest literacy rates, like somewhere when we were chatting. That's amazing. Yes. They have this saying in Iceland, everyone in Iceland is a poet until proven otherwise. Oh, I love it. Right. I love it. Like you're born, everybody's a poet until proven otherwise. Well, that's how into this now. But it's also like high expectation, right? Well, either you're born a poet, you better like meet up straight a baby. Let's go, let's go. Um, is there a reason like behind them all being so high in their literacy or They're super smart? Yeah, they're super smart. Expectations. Yeah. Smart as fuck. Um, why don't we have their schooling here? There's right, there's two, there's two real reasons. Okay. These aren't my reasons I look this stuff up. People. okay. First, like before they had Netflix and everything. Let's be real like, it was winter up there and it sucked like balls so it gets cold even though there's a volcano. Yeah. Okay. It was like dark as shit for like three straight months. Right? Like you're up towards, yeah. Like, so it makes sense that they That's true, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They would pass time telling stories, like that's what they did. Like it was a way to stay connected and to entertain each other. Yeah. Especially, so go back like before electricity, like they were isolated, like really? Okay. Two, they have these excellent stories in sagas that I was talking about. Like they can still read in old Norse, like all these Viking stories from like the 11, 12th, 13th centuries recounting the epic. You remember The Iliad and like, um, um, the Odyssey written by Homer? Yeah. Yeah. With these ma. Right. So they have like a million of those kind of stories. Oh, from the Vikings? Yes. So since their language didn't really change over a gazillion years, they can still read these. So they pass them down from generation to generation. Way easier than we can. Right. Alright. And another thing that sort of reinforces the whole storytelling culture this thing they call y Boca Flu. What is that? Yeah. Translated in English to the Christmas Bo flood. Yo. Is it like Y Boca flu? Is it like a flood of Christmas? A flood of Christmas books? Yes. What? Yes. It blends their literary roots with Christmas and gift giving. Yeah. I guess it all started during World War II when the import of goods were like super, super hard to get, and Paper was the one thing that they still like had pretty easy access to. So this made books extremely popular 'cause they were easy to get, like relatively speaking, I mean, and super affordable, which of course led to a massive surge in giving books as Christmas gifts. So the tradition goes like this. Each year, starting around mid-November, Iceland releases a catalog called the Bodi, or the book Bulletin the Bodi, which is free and gets mailed to every house in Iceland. Okay. Families, pick their books as Christmas gifts and send it back in with all their choices marked. Um, you remember book fairs like at elementary schools? Yeah, same exact concept. Right, but they don't buy the books. They buy the books, yeah. Yeah. Oh, they do buy? No, no, no. They buy the books. It's just like a catalog that they do. Yeah. Yeah. So then on Christmas Eve, it's a tradition. They all exchange the books. They bought each other and then they spend the night reading them. Usually with a little hot chocolate or some like other holidays we write. Aw, I love it. So it's like totally chill vibe and it builds community and togetherness. Like, I think that's like totally awesome. And promotes Literacy. Right. See, it's not that hard. This is why they're all authors and poets so good. Right. Well, from an early age. Right. You appreciate that. Fun fact. Yes. Um, have you heard the band of Monsters and Men? You don't know a lot of music, do you know? Um, little Talks. Hey, no. So go, go. Oh, yay. Hey, they're from Iceland. Oh, really? I know, right? Oh, it's like my favorite band ever. I didn't even know that. That's amazing. Oh my God. It's like the best song. Okay. Um, so you're giving me all these reasons why we wanna move to Iceland. We got the great band. What is this? We kimmo Sabi. It's me and my family. I don't know. Well, I'm gonna be adopted into your family. There's, there is no room for co-hosts. Lucas will let me go. It's fine. Okay, fine. Um, so the music, their traditions, the, she, their geothermal pools, let's go. But you have to be respectful and meditate. Yes. Yes. And literacy. Yeah. Like all these things are calling my name. Okay, fine. So what else do I need? You need food. You gotta have food. So we gotta talk about food. Oh, I did, I did. I forgot about the food you did. Which that might be the one reason why I may not be able to live there. That's true. But since you're prepped and ready to go on food, you gotta gimme some food. I amm because you know I'm a foodie. I need to, so here we go. I need to hear all about it. Okay. So the reason why I'm probably not gonna love living in Iceland is because their food is based on survival. So it's not glamorous, and it's an island on the edge of the Arctic Circle. So they're kind of limited on the options that they have, and so they have to get creative and maybe even borderline terrifying because they have to preserve what they have. You're getting me nervous. I mean, you should be a little nervous because there's something called Hal and it is basically fermented shark. What? What is, what is fermented shark? Just like you think of like anything you would ferment. Kimchi pickles. What they do it with shark? Mm-hmm. Yes. Okay, so check this. So the shark basically is poisonous and you can't actually eat its meat. It's like you had caught the shark, you can it, you can't eat it, right? But because they didn't have food in the winter, they had to learn by trial and error to catch the shark, kill it, bury it, let it rot for a while, and then they dried it out and somehow figured out that it was okay to eat. And I'm a little concerned on how many people must have died to figure out this process. Uh, I would, I would argue, I would argue a million. A million. But what? We don't even have a million people, so, okay. But, but like, I mean, over like hundreds and hundreds of years, Amanda, that doesn't make any sense. They kill the shark. They try to eat it. Fresh people die. They're like, okay, well it didn't work. That's, that was bad, bad food. I have an idea. Let's kill the safe. Let's kill the shark again, but this time let's bury it. Nope, that didn't work. I mean, I, one would say they was resourceful. Okay. But like, like how many days ago? Like after 10 days? Did they, they're still dying. No. 20 days. They're still dying. 30 days or so. Didn't get that sophisticated. Oh my God. That's kind of like, that's crazy. They don't need to do that anymore. Oh, thank God. Yeah, of course. Holy crap. But it has, do I have to eat fermented char if I go there? No, unless you go to the Midwinter Festival. What's it called? Hal? Yes. How? I wanna have some Hal. Okay. I mean, I think you should try it. If you go, wait, what is this midwinter festival? Well, it's called Flora Boat and at the festival it's custom to eat and then chase it with a shot of brevin. Which is kind of. Like a schnapps. Um, and Icelanders call it Black Death because who are you kidding? It's probably gonna kill you. Wait, wait a second. So you eat Fermented Shark at this festival? Yep. And then chase it? Yep. With something called Black Death. Yep. Oh, I, I want to go to Iceland now. It's all for fun. Let's go. Come on. Oh my God. Wait. But they don't really eat the shark and drink that anymore on the regular. They just do to prove how their grandpa is better than our grandpa. And it's like the grandpa's totally better than our grandpa cultural experience. Oh my God. That was, that was hilarious. Okay. But for like the regular food, 'cause again, that's, please tell me about regular food because I do not want to eat hot at festivals. Um. They keep it pretty simple and it's clean food. Right? So four basics. Okay. You got something called Skyer. Um, it's a thick yogurt light thing that's been around since like the Viking Times and actually you can find it at Whole Foods. So Yeah, of course you can if you try it. Yeah. Major staple for their culture. That's the way the world has come together. Yeah. Let's go sky number two would be, you said number two? Yes. Then there's Kyoto Sapu, a lamb and vegetable soup that they basically have all year round because it's cold for like 300 consecutive days a year. Yeah. No shit. Which like Trent would maybe argue that I will love their food because I will have soup when it's like nine, the nine degrees out. So all the time you'll have co I. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Or whatever that is. And is lamb and vegetable soup. Sounds delicious. I love it. Okay. Uh, then there is, that was two, Gimme the other ones. Okay. So the next one would be Something Called re a sweet rye bread baked underground. And thanks to all the geothermal heat we talked about, it's like another staple re delicious. All right, I could do a little, I could do a little re with a little lamb and vegetable soup. I like what all together? What's going on here? All. All right. What else I got? Well, and then they have like all the lamb and fish you can eat. 'cause those are really the only things that survive there in that kind of climate. And who are you kidding? I mean, it's also quite delicious. Pretty funny. You see what I did there? I did lamb, fish. I did, I don't know, fish sound. So I did a lamb sound? Mm. Okay. Whatever. Okay, ready? Fun fact. Fun fact. What? Yeah. You can't do fun facts. Yeah. We're not a fun fact. Ready? What? Coffee. What about coffee? Icelanders drink more coffee per capita than almost any other country in the world. Look at these. They have more authors than poets per capita. Yep. Right. They have more, geothermal energy per capita. And now they've drink the most coffee per capita. Who are these people? And they're super chill people. Right? Here we go, because they're probably freezing their balls off all the time. Oh my gosh. All right. So I got the menu here. Okay. It sounds like I gotta try all this stuff. but I'm not going to go to Iceland for the culinary delights, like you said. No, I mean, it's be more about the culture Absolutely. And the environment. Right. I'll, I'll try anything though. I'll do even, I'll do, I know You will. The bread cooked underground. Great. Just not the, not the for minutes. It's gonna be great. Um, anything else on food or, or, Nope. Can I do fun? That's it. You can go. I can go. Hit it. All right. Here we go. I must say I like this episode, it had a little of everything. This was a good, right? It did. A little sprinkle. Yeah. After doing like all my research, it's way more fascinating and now, I'm totally like hooked and getting excited to go. So like, I'm already booked, baby. I got air travel, I got Airbnb's, like, you're crazy. I'm ready. I'm unstoppable. Yep. Uh, fun facts. All right, here we go. Um, did you know that Iceland has no forests? Like, none really? Yeah, like almost none. Okay. So I guess Vikings chopped down most of the original forests way back when they settled on the island. And their whole reforestation process has been insanely slow in Iceland, they even have a joke about it. What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest? I don't know. Stand up. That's because there isn't, that's crazy. I didn't even know that. Okay. Um, number two, I knew there's a country without forest. There it is, right? Yeah. They chopped on all the trees. They had to, they had to build boats, I guess. So they're boat builders. Uh, number two, did you know that there are more sheep than people in Iceland? I mean, that kind of tracks, I guess. It does. Yeah. So Iceland only has a population of 375,000. Yeah, like you said. But they also have over 800,000 sheep. I don't know who's counting. Yeah, right. What's that all about? Like, I guess they're all like free ranging for the most part, and just walk around wherever they want. So check this. Every year in the fall, they're all rounded up for this traditional event called ti, I guess. What is that? So. All these, Icelandic people own the sheep. Okay. But since they roam the land. Yeah. You don't know who's this, who's, or they all like round them up together mm-hmm. In a festival and they each find who's sheep or who's, 'cause they're all marked Oh, branded. Okay. And they bring them back together to like, I don't know, shearer them, kill them, do whatever they do with the sheep for food, whatever. Right. And subsequently, when they're done, when that festival's ended, they all get to go back out. And they Oh. Get to roam again. Like, so they're all together, like, as part of a sheep community. Okay. Yeah. It's like this cool festival they do every year. Oh, interesting. They round up the sheep again. Community living. It's what you do. Yeah. Um, okay. How about this one? You're gonna love this next one. Are you ready for this? I'm ready. Okay. So because Iceland's population is so small and closely related, they created an app called Ice App that lets you check to see if you're too closely related to someone before you decide to date them. Whoa. Yeah. Because there's only 375,000 people there. So you like, you have to log in all your info. I don't know when you're born, who knows? And then you're like, oh my God, can I date you? Oh my God. No, you're my sister, right? Huh? Super weird. Okay, we should do that here in America. We'd probably way better off. Okay. Uh, speaking of being related, uh, number four, they don't even have or use last names. Check this one out. Yes. They use something called patrons or matronix, meaning their last name is based on their parents' first name. So for example, your name is Amanda and then you have a daughter. You name your daughter Emmy. Okay. Then it's Emmy Amanda's daughter. Oh, that's her name. So her last name becomes Amanda's daughter. Huh. Does that make sense? Okay. Yeah. So if I had a son, my name's son's, Luke, I, it would be Luke Peter's son, right? Not spelled exact same way. Yeah. Yeah. Because there's two S's, right? Yeah. They spelled a little differently, but it basically means daughter of Amanda or Son of Peter. Makes sense. And they mostly do it with a man's name. So in this case, it would be Emmy Trent daughter and Emmy Trent son. Yeah. But you can choose. You don't have to, you can choose whichever one you want. So all last names in each generation are different. Oh, interesting. Isn't that wild? That is. Yeah. I think that's, that's like super fascinating., So number five, no mosquitoes. Seriously. Seriously, none. Iceland is one of the only inhabited places on Earth with zero mosquitoes. That's why I'm gonna live there. I'm just kidding. Right? You'll eat fermented shark. I don't have to. Right. Let's go the whole free Shaw cycle. Like they have like no standing water anywhere in Iceland. Impossible. Wow. For mosquitoes to survive. Alright, so there's that. Yeah. You might accidentally date your cousin, but at least there's no mosquitoes. It's okay. And finally, did you know that Iceland had the world's first democratically elected female president? The world's. Wow. Yes. Her name was Vida Ter. There it is. Ter. So that must mean Oh yeah. Her dad's name was Fin Bga. Yeah. Or her mom's. Yeah. And she was elected all the way back in 1980, making her the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a democratic election. She served for 16 years until 1996. Go Iceland. Look at them. Right. So Progressive. Yeah. That's all I got. Alright, well do you wanna sum it up for us so that way you know, we make sure that we What is it? Crossed our T's in? Dotted i's? Yes. Amanda Dotter. Let's do this. Okay. Except I don't know if there's eyes or ts in, well, probably not Old Norse. Okay. Um, first, if this episode got you at all curious, start by reading one of these Icelandic sagas we were talking about. So we recommend Ego Saga. It's epic poetic and surprisingly binge-worthy. Once you get the rhythm, like you'll see where the culture of storytelling really begin. I didn't read the whole thing or anything, but I did look this up to get a sense of this. Yeah. And it is like, the I or the Odyssey. I mean, these things are amazing, right? Like these, they don't tell stories like this anymore, right? Or like Beowulf, they're classics, but you gotta want to be committed, but they're excellent. Um. And then I guess like for anybody who hates to read, right, watch the documentary Jaima by Cigar Ross. So SGA Ross is a famous Icelandic, post rock band and the documentary follows them on like a free concert tour around Iceland. And it's super cool and it gives you a sense of like how the land and the people are all connected and it's totally worth the watch. Yeah. Yes. Sig Ross or just look him up online. He's awesome. He's everywhere. Love it. Um, and then of course just go visit Iceland like me. 'cause that would be awesome. And if you ever do go, don't just do like the touristy checklist stuff, visit the Open Air Museum in Kovich or explore like the island of Grimsey. Which is actually on the Arctic circle. The high school Iceland is close, but like that island is on the Arctic circle. Um, walk through the lava fields, like sit in the hot spring, and say nothing at all. Buy a book in a bookstore, just be still like in a place that has mastered stillness, right? I think that's a super cool way of doing it. Um, and then finally, remember these irrelevant details that seem sort of sophisticated. Number one, Iceland is one of the youngest land masses on earth formed by volcanoes just 16 million years ago. But its culture runs deep, ancient, and weirdly poetic. Number two, Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic ridge with 32 active volcanoes at enough geothermal power to heat homes, bake bread underground, and keep entire towns running. It's a geological wonderland. Number three. Icelanders are famously reserved, fiercely independent, and deeply communal. Just don't talk too much in the hot pools, like we said. And remember to shower naked first so you don't get all like your grossness on everybody else. Gross. I forgot to tell you that. Yeah. So you have to shower before you go into the pool. That makes sense. I mean, right? Absolutely. We do that at a spa, but we're supposed to, but here you go. Uh, number four, storytelling isn't just a tradition. It is literally their national identity from the medieval sagas to the Christmas book, flood, Iceland, read, write, and remember better than almost anyone. And finally they believe in elves and even reroute roads for them and drink more coffee per capita than nearly any other country on earth, because when it's dark, half the year round, you need both caffeine. A little mystery. Who are we kidding? And there you have a dear listeners, Iceland, in all of its glory look, learning about Iceland isn't just a bunch of quirky facts or dramatic landscapes. It's a story of resilience, restraint, and a culture built on surviving the elements by leaning into stillness, storytelling, and especially each other. So if we've done our job today, you're leaving a little more curious and maybe ready to drop a fun fact about elf detours or hot tubs in the snow at your next dinner party. Uh, and if you learn something new people hit subscribe please. Or send this episode to that one friend who thinks Iceland is just a colder version of Ireland. Right? 'cause people don't even know the difference. Or you can leave us a review and let us know, was it the coffee obsession, the sheep roundup, or the idea that books make the best Christmas gifts that stuck with you the most. So until next time, stay curious, stay cool. And remember, even in a land of fire and ice, you don't have to be loud to be unforgettable.
