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Grýla the Troll Eats Naughty Children on Christmas in Iceland

If you’re a bad kid who finds coal in his stocking instead of gifts, well…consider yourself lucky. If you lived in Iceland, you just might have been eaten by a troll instead.

Human-eating trolls feature heavily in many Icelandic myths, and during jól (Christmas season in Iceland), a Christmas troll named Grýla comes down from her mountain cave to gather all of the naughty children.

Then she hauls them back home to her lazy, nagged husband to turn into a holiday stew.

Stories of her antics have been around since at least the Middle Ages, and, according to experts on local mythology, Icelandic trolls are typically stupid but dangerous giants who actively hate Christianity and Christians. Early folk used them to explain rock formations (legends would claim they were trolls turned to stone).

Sometime in the 13th century, the general word for a she-troll – grýla – became the name of a specific troll who ate children around the holidays.

Which only goes to prove that, even hundreds of years ago, people needed a way to keep their kids in line at Christmastime.

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Happy krampusnacht! Our friend the krampus has gotten a lot of play the last few years, and I wholly approve of bringing back the traditions of terrifying children(and adults!) into good behavior. Iceland has an entire pantheon of holiday ghouls that I’m gleefully exploring and can’t wait to share with you. Without further ado, I welcome you to a Christmas full of holiday fear! . . . First, we’ll meet Gryla. She’s the matriarch of this northern band of bloodthirsty goblins. She has thirteen sons , the “Yule boys” and (depending on the telling) these creatures are murderous wretches or charming tricksters who leave gifts or rotten potatoes. Gryla, however, has received no politewashing treatment, and watches children all year long from her cave on the lava fields. If a child has made the naughty list, she’ll steal them away in the night and stuff them into her simmering stewpot. . . Clearly, Nordic wintertime festivals are the most metal. If the cold dark winters don’t kill you, there’s plenty of monsters hiding in the gloom that will. So grab your Rowan, yew, and a fresh pair of socks, and we’ll navigate how to protect ourselves from this family of fiends! (Unless you’ve already been bad. Then I’m sorry, Gryla’s claws are coming to town.) . . . #krampus #krampusnacht #folklore #christmastraditions #iceland #icelandicfolklore #goblin #troll #oagress #gryla #krampuslauf #icelandicchristmas #vikingmythology #nordictraditions #nordic #fantasticbeasts #badfairy #faerie #faerieart #betweenmirrors #popeofhell_art #whatsfordinner #darkart #fairy #badsanta #unseelie #christmasfear #nightmarebeforechristmas

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Like all trolls, Grýla is gross and huge, but she might also have 15 (or 40) tails to hold her many bags of naughty children, 300 heads with 3 eyes each, eyes on the back of her head, long ears, a beard, black teeth, and/or hooves – all depending on who tells the story.

So, I mean, they agree that she’s super ugly and scary, which is the point.

Despite her looks, Grýla is the mother of the 13 Yule Lads, who visit on the 13 days of Christmas, and she owns a cat called Jólakötturinn, who devours people who didn’t get clothes for Christmas (because they didn’t work hard enough).

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Day 3 of #folktaleweek is #witch. Grýla the Christmas witch of Iceland lives in a mountain cave with her husband (who is a giant yule cat!) and her 13 mischievous sons the Yule Lads.  Each Christmas, Gryla comes down from her mountain dwelling to hunt for naughty children. She places them in a sack and drags them back to her cave where she boils them alive for her favorite stew. Her sons join her and do all that they can to terrify the children before they're stuffed in Grýla's sack (because scared kids are tastier!) one is named 'the door slammer' and another 'the sausage swiper', one of them goes around stealing candles so the children are left in the dark. If you haven't heard of Grýla and her family yet go do a quick Wiki search, you're in for a treat! . #folktaleweek2018 #Gryla #christmaswitch #instawitch #witchesofinstagram #folktale #fairytale #folklore #fable #forest_of_twinkling_fireflies #iceland #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbookillustration #childrensillustration #childrenswritersguild #illustragram #illustratenow #illustrationartists #illustrationoftheday #illustratorsofinstagram #illustratorsoninstagram #kidsillustration #artforchildren #whimsyillos #whimsicalart #best_of_illustrations #scarystories

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As with Santa Claus, Grýla is a cautionary tale used to get children to behave, not a creature adults believe in themselves.

You can see her depicted in statues and other artwork all over Iceland – even in airports – and you won’t have any trouble seeing why Icelandic kids are probably very, very nice when the season is upon them.

I’m inspired to be a little kinder myself, even!

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This Is Why Medieval Castles Were Built with Clockwise Spiral Staircases

If you’re enjoy medieval history and like watching TV shows based on the times (and who doesn’t?), you’re probably used to seeing the spiral stone stairs leading up through the castle to distressed damsels, hidden jewels, the king’s chambers and the like. These stairs are awesome settings for all the sword fights and other close combat clashes that make up a big part of the nail-biting drama.

Photo Credit: Flickr

But, did you ever notice how in the shows and movies the stairs mostly went clockwise?

In old castles, most every staircase was built to go clockwise. Here’s why: it put the enemy at a huge disadvantage when they tried to climb them.

Most soldiers were right-handed, which meant they had to get around the inner wall to fully extend their weapons. This exposed them to the defenders as they were descending the stairs.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

For defenders, a clockwise set of stairs gave them an incredible advantage. As they ran down the stairs to contend with intruders, they were able to swing their swords in the wide open space along the outer wall, while using the inner wall to shield themselves.

Defenders had a natural advantage anyway because they knew their own staircases and where the uneven spots were. Plus, it’s always easier to fling yourself down stairs onto your enemies exclaiming, “Long live the king!” then to fling yourself upwards.

Meanwhile, the (presumed) marauders, already tired from their long march, inevitably get out of breath as they climb.

Photo Credit: PublicDomainPictures.com

At any rate, next time you’re planning to invade the castle across town, pick up any left-handers you see. They’ll come in handy.

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Some Scientists Think Humans Began Walking Upright Because of an Ancient Supernova

Humans have always been trying to figure out where we come from. How did we get here, and why do we look the way that we do?

One trait that sets humans apart from other apes is the ability to walk upright. Proto-humans began to walk upright about 6 million years ago. According to one theory, the ability likely gave us an evolutionary advantage — it allowed us to excel at hunting in the savanna, because we were able to see prey at a distance.

But where did the ability come from? Scientists believe that the ability to walk upright is due to a gene mutation on chromosome 17. An event in ancient history must have selected for this mutation, but it’s not clear was it was.

In The Journal of Geology, scientists propose that the event was an ancient supernova.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

It may seem unlikely that a faraway exploding star could have affected our evolutionary development, but the theory is surprisingly easy to understand.

According to the theory, a star detonated near the Earth and showered the planet with energetic cosmic rays, which in turn increased the amount of highly energetic particles in the atmosphere. As a result, lightning strikes become a lot more common. Lightning strikes are the biggest natural cause of wildfires. Wildfires create treeless savannas. Treeless savannas are where upright-walking humans found success because being able to see over the tall grass was such a benefit.

This theory may seem farfetched, but the timeline matches up — the geological record shows an increase in forest fires 7-8 million years ago, just a million years before humans began walking upright. Also, a separate ancient supernova event was possibly connected to an increase in wildfires.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

It’ll be a long time before anyone knows whether this theory is valid or not — for one, scientists would have to wait for a modern supernova to put the lightning theory to any practical test.

Nonetheless, the idea that human evolution could be affected by the stars isn’t so far-fetched after all!

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A Town in Austria Is so Sick of Nazis Visiting Hitler’s Birthplace That They’re Turning It into a Police Station

In a small town in Austria on the border of Germany sits a structure with a notorious past. It was here, in a nondescript building downtown called the Braunau am Inn, that Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889.

The building has been used as a school and a library over the years, but it has also been a magnet for neo-Nazis who view it as a shrine to Hitler. People have been coming since all the way back in the 1940s just after World War II ended, when Austrian and German veterans would flock to the house on Hitler’s birthday.

In 1972, the interior ministry of Austria took over the main lease from the family that owned the building so that the government could eventually have the final say about what the building would be used for. In 1984, the Austrian government tried to acquire the building outright from Gerlinde Pommer, who had sole possession of the building, but she refused to sell. Pommer also refused to renovate the structure so the government could not find a good tenant for the property.

Finally, in 2017, the Austrian government seized the building from Pommer and the dispute ended. Authorities have decided to turn Hitler’s birthplace into a police station to hopefully deter neo-Nazis from visiting the site.

In 1989, a stone was put in place in front of the building that reads, “For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again fascism. Millions dead are a warning.”

There will be an international architectural competition to redesign the building for its future police tenants.

Wolfgang Peschorn, the interior minister of Austria, said, “The future use of the house by the police should send an unmistakable signal that the role of this building as a memorial to the Nazis been permanently revoked.”

And it’s about time.

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A picture of a giant robot helping…

A picture of a giant robot helping Russia revolutionaries storm the winter palace in 1917, was accidentally used in an Australian history exam. Some students wasted time in trying to figure out what the giant robot was, thinking it was a statue of a Russian politician or a battleship.

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10 Tips on Reading from President Teddy Roosevelt

This might be news to you, but Teddy Roosevelt was a voracious reader. He reportedly read around a book a day, and was often reading more than one book at a time.

Setting aside the fact that the piece he wrote for Ladies Home Journal smacks of a dude imparting knowledge to a bunch of daft ladies, he does gift humanity with some pretty great tips about books and reading.

So here we go!

10. Start reading young.

“Fathers and mothers who are wise can train their children first to practice, and soon to like, the sustained mental application necessary to enjoy good books.”

9. Take a big book on your journeys.

“Railway and steamboat journeys were, of course, predestined through the ages as aids to the enjoyment of reading. I have always taken books with me when on hunting and exploring trips.”

“In such cases the literature should be reasonably heavy, in order that it may last.”

8. Read what you love.

“The reader’s personal and individual taste must be the guiding factor when choosing a book. I like hunting books and books of exploration and adventure. I do not ask anyone else to like them.”

“…the equation of personal taste is as powerful in reading as in eating; and within certain broad limits the matter is merely one of individual preference, having nothing to do with the quality either of the book or of the reader’s mind.”

7. Even when the recommendation comes from someone respected.

“If a man or woman is fond of books he or she will naturally seek the books that the mind and soul demand. Suggestions of a possibly helpful character can be made by outsiders, but only suggestions; and they will probably be helpful about in proportion to the outsider’s knowledge of the mind and soul of the person to be helped.”

6. But the classics are always worth a go.

“Let man or woman, young man or girl, read some good author, say Gibbon or Macaulay, until sustained mental effort brings power to enjoy the books worth enjoying.”

5. There’s nothing wrong with using books to escape the real world.

“There are enough horror and grimness and sordid squalor in real life with which an active man has to grapple; and when I turn to the world of literature …I do not care to study suffering unless for some sufficient purpose. It is only a very exceptional novel which I will read if He does not marry Her; and even in exceptional novels I much prefer this consummation. I am not defending my attitude. I am merely stating it.”

4. Read to learn – on the topics that interest you.

“Even in pure literature, having nothing to do with history, philosophy, sociology, or economy, one book will often suggest another, so that one finds one has unconsciously followed a regular course of reading.”

3. Don’t pigeonhole yourself.

“A man with a real fondness for books of various kinds will find that his varying moods determine which of these books he at the moment needs.”

“A book must be interesting to the particular reader at that particular time.”

2. Read every day.

“All kinds of odd moments turn up during even a busy day, in which it is possible to enjoy a book. And then there are rainy afternoons in the country in autumn, and stormy days in winter, when one’s work outdoors is finished and after wet clothes have been changed for dry, the rocking chair in front of the open wood fire simply demands an accompanying book.”

1. Ignore those “must-read” lists.

“There remain enormous masses of books, of which no one man can read more than a limited number, and among which each reader should choose those which meet his own particular needs. There is no such things as a list of ‘the 100 best books’ or the ‘best 5-foot library.’ …To attempt to create such a library that shall be of universal value is foreordained to futility.”

“It is all right for a man to amuse himself by composing a list of a hundred very good books; and it he is to go off for a year or so where he cannot get many books, it is an excellent thing to choose a 5-foot library of particular books which in that particular year and on that particular trip he would like to read. But there is no such thing as a 5-foot library which will satisfy the needs of even one particular man on different occasions extending over a number of years.”

I love reading, and anyone who reads as much as Teddy is a-ok in my book!

See what I did there? Ha!

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Prehistoric Mammoth Traps Were Discovered Outside Mexico City

This is big news.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has revealed at a press conference that ancient traps containing the remains of 14 woolly mammoths were uncovered in Mexico.

At least 15,000 years old, the traps were discovered in Tultepec, a city approximately 25 miles north of Mexico City.

Named “Tultepec II,” the site has been under excavation for about 10 months, and archaeologists working there have discovered around 824 bones from 14 mammoths, including skulls, jaws and ribs. The site has been named a “Mammoth Megasite.”

At the press conference, Pedro Francisco Sánchez Nava, the national archeology coordinator at the INAH, said, “It represents a watershed, a touchstone for how we previously imagined groups of hunter-gatherers interacted with these enormous herbivores.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Researchers think they now have a better understanding of how the beasts were hunted and used by hunter-gatherers in the Mexico Basin. Twenty or thirty hunters would separate one from the herd and, using torches, lure it into the trap. Once there, the animal would be killed, with most of the body either eaten or used in other ways.

One of the skeletons was laid out in a ceremonial way with evidence that indicated it took several hunts to bring it down completely. The arrangement of the bones points to a level of reverence the hunters had for such a fierce kill.

A Mammoth Museum is already open in Tultepec with a nearly complete wooly mammoth skeleton, discovered there in 2016, on display.

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Disney+ Has Content Warnings About ‘Outdated Cultural Depictions,’ but Is It Enough?

Disney+ is all the rage at the moment, as the iconic entertainment company is now in the streaming game in a major way, releasing their archived films, old and new, for all to enjoy.

With the release of many of these older films comes a problem, though. Included in the description of some Disney+ films come warnings about possible “outdated cultural depictions” that some people may find offensive.

“Outdated cultural depictions” is kind of code for offensive, racist, misogynistic portrayals of minorities, women, etc.

Warner Bros. has done similar warnings before some of their cartoons. And if you’ve ever watched any of these old cartoons (or you grew up on them), you know that a lot of them contain imagery, themes, and scenes that definitely wouldn’t be acceptable in today’s environment.

And, as you can see, the warning on some Warner Bros. content is a little more forthcoming and honest as compared to just saying there might be some “outdated cultural depictions” in Disney classics such as Peter Pan, Pocahontas, The Jungle Book, and Lady and the Tramp.

Some minority advocacy groups have spoken out about the Disney+ disclaimer. Azita Ghanizada, founder of MENA (Middle Eastern North African) Arts Advocacy Coalition, said, “I would hope that Disney would do it for all the films that might include some things that are a little outdated. Especially with Aladdin, with those orientalized tropes that we’re kind of pushing back against.”

But there are more recent concerns as well.

What about the depictions of Native Americans? And specifically, the decision to cast Johnny Depp as Tonto in The Lone Ranger?

Sonny Skyhawk, founder of American Indians in Film and Television, said, “We talked to people at Disney about that depiction … I said there are probably a hundred [Native] people of that caliber that can do that and yet you’re going to try and force Johnny Depp down our throat. That’s basically what they did and it’s the arrogance of Hollywood and the arrogance of Disney to say it’s our idea, it’s our money and we’re going to do it, whether you like it or not.”

What do you think about this? Is Disney going far enough with their warnings? Should these movies even be streaming for people to see?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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More Than 100,00 Ribbons Were Hung Above the Berlin Wall to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Its Fall

It’s been 30 years since the first bricks of the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989.

East German officials had just announced that all German Democratic Republic citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin, and that was only the beginning.

The process of German reunification would take another year, but November 9 is the day the country remember remembers this most Peaceful Revolution that happened only 30 years ago.

To celebrate one of the most important events in world history, artist Patrick Shearn and his team at Poetic Kinetics installed a huge art piece as a symbol of the unification effort.

The a massive kinetic installation was called Visions in Motion and went on display from November 4-10, 2019. The 20,000-square-foot work measured 450 feet in length at the Brandenburg Gate, the site of the former wall.

Shaped like the wall, the piece actually flew above the site and contained around 120,000 colorful streamers – 30,000 of which had handwritten messages from people in Germany and around the world.

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Thank you @designboom for posting this amazing photo of Visions in Motion! ……………………………………………………………………………….. ………Repost: @designboom ‘visions in motion’ is an art installation by patrick shearn of @poetickinetics in #berlin celebrating 30 years of the fall of the berlin wall. installed at the brandenburg gate, it features 30,000 ribbons representing the wishes, hopes and memories of 30,000 people today. image by @mischaheuer #installationart #designboom …………………………………………………………………………………………. “Visions in Motion” by Patrick Shearn of @PoeticKinetics, curated by @kulturprojekteberlin as part of @mauerfall30. ………..………………………………………………………………………………… #PatrickShearn #PoeticKinetics #SkynetArt #VisionsInMotion #kulturprojekteberlin #mauerfall30 ooo

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The artwork was inspired by the words of Germans, how they did not have weight by themselves, but still wielded power.

In a statement, Shearn said:

In light of the state of affairs in the world today, I feel it is a time to be bold, gather together with a unified voice, and throw our shared colors and our dreams skyward for the world to see.

It was just 30 years ago that communism was cutting Germany and its people in two. And though walls may be built to keep people out, but those same walls keep people in.

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William the Conquerer Literally Exploded at His Funeral

Yes, History Can Be Both Fun And Interesting!

Some might argue that, given the brutal, bloody way William the Conquerer ruled England, his brutal, stinking, bloody end was more than fitting.

William who-would-be-the-Conquerer was born around 1028 to the Duke of Normandy and a peasant girl. Officially a bastard, William still inherited his father’s titles at the age of 8. Normandy, though, found itself embroiled in a Civil War, and William’s childhood could not be described as idyllic, title or no.

 

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Whether it came naturally to him or he learned the behavior of brutality, William embraced his legacy as he grew, punishing his defeated foes by chopping off their hands and feet in at least one instance.

In 1066, he won the bloody battle of Hastings and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day the same year.

Though he instituted some constitutional and social reforms and forged close ties with France while ending Viking influence in England, he’s mostly remembered for the way he treated the people that disagreed with and fought against him.

 

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In 1069, he began a campaign known as “The Harrying of the North,” in which he put down rebellions by burning villages and slaughtering livestock (and sometimes people), leaving those who survived starving to the point of cannibalism.

William, however, grew fatter and fatter until an incident with his horse – an unexpected movement caused the saddle to puncture his intestines – eventually killed him.

It took 6 weeks, and while dying, the king supposedly confessed that he regretted at least some of his atrocities. According to Orderic Vitalis, a Benedictine monk and chronicler of English contemporary life, William spoke from his deathbed:

“I treated the native inhabitants of the kingdom with unreasonable severity, cruelly oppressed high and low, unjustly disinherited many, and caused the death of thousands by starvation and war, especially in Yorkshire …In mad fury I descended on the English of the north like a raging lion, and ordered that their homes and crops with all their equipment and furnishings should be burnt at once and their great flocks and herds of sheep and cattle slaughtered everywhere. So I chastised a great multitude of men and women with the lash of starvation and, alas! was the cruel murderer of many thousands, both young and old, of this fair people.”

He wanted his wealth to be given to churches and the poor upon his death, “so that what I amassed through evil deeds may be assigned to the holy uses of good men.”

A nice speech, though most historians and other experts  – including author David Bates – doubt he ever said it.

“Orderic has William express regret for the terrible bloodshed as a part of his deathbed confession. Although the speech is, as far as we know, entirely Orderic’s invention and an idealized version of what he thought ought to have happened, what he was certainly saying is that he believed William made a good end, as also did Eadmer and William of Malmesbury.”

The fruits of his time on earth caught up with William, and when he finally died, the knights and other noblemen fled, leaving the King’s corpse vulnerable to the peasant class who despised him. Orderic paints a ghastly final scene.

“The lesser attendants, seeing that their superiors had absconded, seized the arms, vessels, clothing, linen, and all the royal furnishings, and hurried away leaving the king’s body almost naked on the floor of the house. …as if he had been a barbarian.”

Only one knight – Herluin – came back to ensure the king would be properly buried. He did this, according to Orderic, because of “his natural goodness,” and “procured at his own expense persons to embalm and carry the body; and hiring a hearse, he caused it to be carried to the port on the Seine; and embarking it on board a vessel, conducted it by water and land to Caen.”

 

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The 70 mile trip took some time, and by the time the body arrived in Caen, the bacteria in the king’s gut had leaked and begun to decompose the rest of his tissue at an alarming pace. The funeral was further delayed due to a fire in Caen, then again by a “mourner” who claimed he had been robbed of his land by the church. A legal meeting proceeded, and by the time the heckler was compensated and sent on his way, things had begun to get smelly.

The body had overheated and swollen to enormous proportions. He would not fit into his tomb, and while they were trying to decide what to do, his “swollen bowels burst, and an intolerable stench assailed the nostrils of the bystanders and the whole crowd.”

And everyone peaced out because, yeah. Gross.

William the Conquerer hasn’t exactly been undisturbed since – he’s been disinterred 3 times (by the Church, at the hands of the Calvinists, and again during the French Revolution). All that remains of his unlucky corpse is a thigh bone, which is marked by a slab of stone.

If ever there was a guy who was definitely haunting people, it’s William the Conquerer.

Not that I blame him, even if he was a big of a wanker in his prime.

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