Why the heck is Greenland called Greenland when its full of ice and stuff and Iceland is called Iceland when its full of grass. Why dont they just switch up the names?
2007-07-06 09:16:36 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
amen.
they have to be soooo confusing....!
2007-07-06 09:19:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
" called this new land "Greenland" because he "believed more people would go thither if the country had a beautiful name," according to one of the Icelandic chronicles (Hermann, 1954) although Greenland, as a whole, could not be considered "green." Additionally, the land was not very good for farming. Nevertheless, Eric was able to draw thousands to the three areas"
2007-07-06 09:21:23 · answer #2 · answered by Sen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's called Greenland because when the vikings discovered it they named it that to bring in tourists. It was a complete and utter lie but it worked and they made lots of money. Then they came to Canada.
Iceland is called Iceland for... actually I don't really know the answer to that one. I think it might be because someone who was honest decided to name it. I don't know.
2007-07-06 09:22:18 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The story is that the Vikings, while exploring to the west, named the first island they found Iceland, because they wanted people to migrate to the bigger island farther west, which in an effort to make it sound more inviting, they called Greenland.
2007-07-06 09:21:53 · answer #4 · answered by righteousjohnson 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually I believe it was the pirate Eric the Red that called Iceland, Iceland. He did so to make people think that there wasn't anything there but ice. Iceland was a favorite hang out for Eric.
2007-07-06 09:20:24 · answer #5 · answered by JORDAN 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they wanted people to move to greenland and not iceland...to "preserve" iceland.
Those crazy vikings.
2007-07-06 09:19:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's an old pun, designed to fool ancient explorer-types.
At least I'm not...unemployed! In Greenland!
2007-07-06 09:19:54 · answer #7 · answered by SlowClap 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because they wanted to trick people into going to greenland. the guys who discovered greenland wanted people to go there, but not to iceland
2007-07-06 09:19:05 · answer #8 · answered by I am watching your every move. 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was to stop people from moving to Iceland.
2007-07-06 09:19:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
They don't teach world history where you're from? It was a 'marketing ploy' by Erik the Red to entice more Norsemen to make the journey west. He lied to them, but the name stuck.
2007-07-06 09:20:33 · answer #10 · answered by Captain Happy Pants 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Greenland was once homed to butterflies and other creatures, i just read today on msnbc.com that it was once green full of boreal forest.
check it out, its on the science and tech category, you cant miss it =]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19619301/
2007-07-06 09:20:32 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋