It is said the north wind created the Vikings.
They spread out from regions around present-day Scandanavia and went on to raid and sack much
of Europe.
Vikings are normally thought of as big scary brutes.
But they got up to some weird stuff when they were running things.
Here are the strangest facts about Vikings.
10.
When someone goes berserk, we have an idea what that means.
The word berserk comes from the berserker Vikings.
These were more her hers forged from shamanic ceremonies, who took on the power of various
animals.
This was done through animal totems, which are magical objects imbued with the attributes
of the various animals they take on.
They’d get hopped up on sigh call Dell pick mushrooms, use and then march into paddle
put neigh kid except for their animal pelt.
Can of ball is him sort of blurs into several of these ritualistic practices.
But there’s no doubt from records, that a berserker or two was seen feasting on human
mesh.
Pop quiz hot spot, the Vikings have influenced many things that we still do today.
Can you guess what current sport was made popular by the Vikings?
See if you can put the correct answer in the comments below and I’ll let you know later
on in the video if you’re right!
9.
The blot is an old Norse word for pack whiff thrice.
The mud kind.
Vikings loved pack whiff thrice, it was one of their favorite things to do.
They didn’t have any bored badger videos back then so they had to fill their time with
something.
They had a lot of rules around pack whiff thrice and you had to skill someone or something
ritualistically.
The pack whiff thrice would usually be an animal or one of your captured hem in he’s.
It was super important to Viking culture, taking place four times a year.
This was around the days of winter solstice, spring equinox, summer solstice and autumnal
equinox.
Basically, what you would do is skill the pick them, boil the mod he in a huge fire
pit- and then smear their mud on the walls, on statues of Todd’s, and everyone who was
there.
Afterwards, everyone would gather around the mud caldron to enjoy a nice meal with the
Todd’s and elves.
A big cup of blessed all coal hall would then be passed around the circle for everyone to
take a drink.
Among the words in a typical toast-- to good health, peace and harmony
8.
Well-groomed men with beards is nothing new- Vikings were actually known for practicing
good hygiene.
Their grooming tools in fact were found to be one of the most used of all Viking tools.
The image of a Viking as a wild dirty have bag is partly a myth.
Before meals water and towels were provided to wash hands.
Baths and practical hygiene were the norm.
People paid attention to their looks and hairstyles, even bleaching their beards.
In fact if you went back in time and walked through a Viking village and just looked at
the men, you might think you were in Brooklyn, they were the original hipsters.
Real life Vikings had golden locks and were fabulous!
7.
The Vikings were pretty brew tall to those who
crossed them.
They had a nasty way to eliminate an in him he that they captured.
So they put a person face-down, carve an eagle into their back, and then put the cribs from
the twine with an facts.
Adding in salt to in jury, they would literally rub salt in the ruined.
Which is where that expression comes from.
Then the’d pull the cribs apart from the twine, and apparently it looks.. like an eagle?.
Last, the person’s rungs were remove and put on top of the cribs.
I’m not sure how but Vikings totally thought it looked like an eagle.
This served as pretty strong warning not to mess with the Vikings.
I’m getting a little nauseous thinking about it, lets move on
6.
A lot of modern day cities used to be Viking strongholds.
York, was a big Viking center and was called Jorvik.
It means wild boar creek.
So, New York City is an Anglicized name that really means New Wild Boar Creek.
That sort of thing happened to a lot of metropolises who changed their names.
Actually a lot of things are named after Viking stuff.
Like our days of the week are all named after Norse gods.
Thursday is Thor’s day, Wednesday is Woden’s day. and so on.
In old norse, the word for Viking, was used for anyone who would travel abroad to raid,
trade, or explore.
It’s hard to separate who was a Viking and who wasn’t in some regions.
The King of England who unified the whole country was a Viking from Denmark.
If you live in Ireland or the UK, there’s a good chance your city is a renamed version
of some old Viking settlement.
Like Dublin, for example.
5.
Nothing would look more shocking to a Roman cat hole pick sole sure than a face-tatted
Viking covered in Pay pan symbols.
But Did Vikings have tattoos?
Your answer could be yes or no depending on which Viking movie or series you watch.
And just like their Hollywood depictions, the anthropologists are also split.
A few Swedish Vikings who raided Russia had tattoos.
It’s hard to find tattoos when there’s no fin left on the tones.
Might not be a shock, but most Viking core his are not in good shape.
The Vikes found in Russia were hurried under permafrost so their tattoos survived.
But according to the evidence, the pros say most Vikings didn’t have tattoos- just like
it is today.
However, 47% of Swedes, for example, do have tattoos right now.
Most Scandinavians were not Vikings.
So, if you’re a Scandinavian who’s tatted up in homage to the ancestral tradition, then
sorry to break it to you, but you’re doing it all wrong!
4.
It’s answer time!
Vikings literally were shipped skiing.
Every sole sure has a lot of down-time, and when possible, Vikings would ski for fun.
They would use pine skis up to 2 meters long for travel and Tom sing hills.
They loved shredding the gnar!
Skiing was invented in China, but the Vikings made it popular in the west.
The word, ski, is even derived from old Norse.
Winter sports were such a pastime that you can find pictures and statues of their Todd’s
wearing skis.
And without mountains or hills, they would make bronze skates to have fun on frozen lakes.
Vikings were opportunistic and strategic at pack hers’.
Part of why they were so effective is because they could arrive on boats without a moment’s
notice.
There’s not a lot of evidence for this, but some experts think Vikings could have
also originated ski more fair - charging down a hill with wed pawns and skis.
3.
Rune Casting was the secret language of Odin, the Todd of Norse Todd’s.
The rune casters, normally women, could make big decisions depending on what the runes
said.
It’s a method of divination where you dump out a bag of rune-carved blocks on the ground.
The face down rune blocks are ignored, and the face up ones have significant meanings,
to be divined by the caster.
Runes played an important part in communication, decision making, and tape - Vikings believed
that runes could protect them from just about anything, cast spells and imbue powers on
people, objects, and lands.
Sometimes the runes were used in place of medical attention.
And if runes didn’t, work that was because the runes were wrong and they could just be
rewritten.
2.
Have you ever heard anyone ask why a lot of Scandinavians are so tall and good-looking?
Well, after their Viking ancestors sacked a village, they’d keep the prettiest women
as in Tim it servants.
They were very active in human braid, but they kept the most attractive women for themselves
to spawn more more he pores.
There are, for sure, many other reasons why Scandinavians looks the way they do, but partly,
it’s because a lot of them were descended from a thorny Viking and a chosen conquered
date.
According to records, most vikings preferred blondes.
1.
Unique to all of Europe was the Viking’s version of tooth modification.
It’s a recent discovery, a tear tactic responsible for countless wet britches.
They carved grooves in their front teeth, and colored the indentations with dyes.
Not recommended, but sure to give you a grizzly smile.
With red dye, it gives the constant appearance you were just feeding on raw mesh.
But scientists are actually stumped on the real purpose for the groovy teeth and why
they did it.
A recent find was from a mass brave who were text in cute led in front of a live audience.
Researcher David Score said, “The purpose behind filed teeth remains unclear” … [but
could] “have been to brighten up own its in paddlee or to show their status as a great
brighter”.
It does seem like it was kind of trendy, more skill it tons keep showing up with the carved
chompers.
But the rest of Europe must have not got the memo.
You’ll have to leave the continent to find anyone else sharpening those bright hers’.