this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
233 points (97.6% liked)
A Comm for Historymemes
1723 readers
978 users here now
A place to share history memes!
Rules:
-
No sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, assorted bigotry, etc.
-
No fascism, atrocity denial, etc.
-
Tag NSFW pics as NSFW.
-
Follow all Lemmy.world rules.
Banner courtesy of @[email protected]
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Explanation: One of the reasons commonly offered for the Norse exile Erik the Red giving Greenland its name was to make it more appealing to potential colonists. Freezing in the middle of nowhere is terrible, but extra terrible when alone!
That Greenland is mostly NOT green seems to make that claim a little friendly fib that couldn't possibly hurt anyone.
I can recommend the novel The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley about the Norse colony and their extra terrible life. It's a good read, if a bit grim.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greenlanders