Iceland is a distant northern country. It is not closed from the rest of the world, but it is far from the most popular tourist destination. Surprisingly, the Icelandic language has not changed in the last 1000 years, and the Icelanders themselves still strongly believe in trolls and other folkloric creatures. What are some unexpected facts about Iceland?
The locals love sweaters. Moreover, sweaters, woven in Iceland, from the wool of local sheep, which is considered insanely warm and soft. In fact, the sweater is the national dress of the Icelanders.
This country has a very low population density. Most Icelanders are at least distantly familiar with each other. Because of this, it is not customary in the country to lock the doors of houses, and children are quietly left on the street unattended.
Surprising fact about Iceland: there is no army in this place. There is only the police. However, the crime rate is very low here. Therefore, the profession of a policeman is not considered too dangerous. Moreover, representatives of the law and order here do not even have firearms.
Most Icelanders are blond. At the same time, many of them are fanatical about dark or red hair, because hair dyes in this place are in great demand.
It is not customary to use cash in Iceland. Even small purchases are paid here only by cards. And in this country, no one will look at you as crazy if you go to the nearest store in slippers and pajamas.
Despite the fact that Iceland is a northern state, there are no severe frosts and very heavy snowfalls here. In the cold season, the air temperature rarely drops below -10 degrees.
Aurora Borealis is a common sight in Iceland. It is always present, because the locals do not even pay any attention to this natural phenomenon, which cannot be said about casual tourists.
Icelanders more often than many other nations are faced with diseases caused by a lack of vitamin D, lack of sunlight.
Iceland has very clean water, both cold and hot. The fact is that it enters the water supply system directly from local natural sources and geysers. Therefore, water in Iceland can be drunk just like that, without filtering or subjecting it to the boiling process.
In Iceland, there is a law that prevents young parents from choosing a name for a child that is not on the public register. In this case, the name must be "reserved" before the birth of the child. If parents want to name their child in something unusual, then they need to go through a complex procedure for registering a new name in the registry. By the way, Iceland, together with Norway, occupies the first position in the list of countries with the highest fertility.
The country's territory is a volcanic island. There are many not only active volcanoes, but also geysers, which are a kind of "visiting card" of this area.
Another surprising fact about Iceland: it is impossible to find dense forests here. In fact, there are, in principle, very few trees in this place.
