Fun Stats & Facts on Sheep & People
Iceland has 385,194 sheep on winter feeding. This is the lowest number since 1861. The number of people is almost the same as number of sheep but in 1861 we only had 66,839 inhabitants. The peak in number of sheep was in 1977 where we had 896,000 sheep on winter feeding while the number of people living in Iceland was 221,076. The ratio of people to sheep has gone from almost 1/6 to 1/1 – and in 1861 we had no tourists eating lamb at restaurants and hotels. Perhaps they are all eating pizza or gone vegan… which would be strange since Iceland claims to have the best lamb-meat in the world. We have some good arguments to back up that statement. Firstly, we are bad at business so we haven’t figured out to pump them up with growth hormones and anti-biotics, so they are organically grown. Secondly, we are kind of lazy so we just let the roam free in the highlands for the summer -and because there is not so much grass in the highlands, they eat a bit of mountain herbs, so they are pre-seasoned. Thirdly, the Icelandic summer is very short so they are slaughtered at an earlier age than anywhere else, so the meat is really tender.
Icelandic Sayings on Mountains
Because I love mountains, here are a few Icelandic sayings and proverbs with mountains as part of it: Hann er fjall-myndarlegur = He is handsome as a mountain
Hún/hann kemur algerlega af fjöllum = She/he totally comes from the mountains
(meaning she/he has no clue or knowledge of something, it took her/him by complete surprise)
Fjarlægðin gerir fjöllin blá og mennina mikla = Distance makes the mountains blue and the men great
No Beer in Iceland for 74 Years
Believe it or not, beer was banned in Iceland for 74 years. On March 1st 1989 this banned was lifted so we have now been able to buy beer in Iceland for the last +30 years. You still can’t buy beer in a supermarket – only in Governmently run Wine & Alcohol monopoly stores, Vinbud. The argument for banning beer was worries about public health, especially youth, and that people might be drinking at work and/or driving under the influence. (Side note: There is no such thing as the legal limit in Iceland; one drink is one too many for driving – so it’s illegal to drive after just one beer). Last year Icelanders over the age of 20 drank 2,5 liters of beer a week, way less than any other European nation. Icelanders will try to catch up.