Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.01.2007, Blaðsíða 16

In an attempt to bring to light the unbear-
able lightness of being, we bring you the
funniest, oddest and most amazing news
stories from our website in 2006.
Friday, January 6, 2006
Giant Goldfish Caught Near Húsavík
A goldfish, measuring 34 cm long and
weighing 850 grams, was caught just out-
side Húsavík early this month. According
to Jón Sverrisson, a goldfish expert from
Reykjavík, this may very well be the largest
goldfish ever caught in Iceland. Giant plastic
castle still not found.
By Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
300,000th Icelander Born
Iceland’s population officially reached
300,000 yesterday morning with the birth
of a boy, son to Erla María Andrésdóttir and
Haraldur Arnarson in Landspitali hospital.
According to Vísir, Prime Minister Halldór Ás-
grímsson will be visiting the baby later today.
According to Statistics Iceland, there is one
Icelander born every two hours, while five
Icelanders die every day. In addition, about
3,700 Icelanders emigrated from Iceland in
2005, which is the highest number to leave
the country in many years.
by Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Friday, January 20, 2006
Skiing in the Dark Leads to Accidents
Grétar Þórisson, manager of the Bláfjall ski
slopes, told reporters that safety conditions
on the mountain were good, despite two
accidents that happened on the slopes last
night, one resulting in broken bones. Accord-
ing to Vísir.is, Þórisson explained that both
accidents happened when it had already
grown dark, when accidents on the slopes
are most likely to occur.
by Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Friday, February 10, 2006
Name Committee’s New Picks
The Icelandic Name Committee has released
its latest decisions on what names parents
may or may not give their children. In boys
names, the committee approved Bill (which
would be pronounced “Bidl” in Icelandic) and
Tóki while rejecting Mikhael. In girls names,
Daley and Naranja were accepted, while Jú-
dith, Apríl and Hnikarr were rejected.
by Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Monday, February 06, 2006
Man Goes Berserk in Tanning Salon
Employees of the tanning salon Ibiza alerted
police when one of their clients burst from
his tanning booth naked and went berserk.
According to Vísir, the man arrived with
some friends and apparently fell asleep
while getting a tan. When his friends at-
tempted to wake him, the man, who was
having a nightmare, sprang from the tan-
ning bed, threw a trash can at employees,
knocked over displays of merchandise and
ran out the front door. Police were called to
the scene and arrested the man.
by Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Prisoners Stealing from Within Prison
Four or five different inmates of Litla Hraun
prison are believed to have made fraudulent
withdrawals totalling a combined 600,000
krónur, most of which has now been re-
covered. The identity of the alleged culprits
was discovered during the course of an in-
vestigation into the whereabouts of some
funds that had gone missing from the bank
account of a company in Reykjavík.
The police investigation, which is now
said to be nearing completion, indicated
that a series of phone calls were made from
the prison by inmates who apparently had
all the personal identification and PIN num-
bers required to access the company’s ac-
counts. Erlendur Baldursson, a criminologist
with the Department of Prison Services, told
the Grapevine that such calls could have
been made from literally anywhere and the
fact of the suspects’ incarceration was inci-
dental to the crime. “They all get access to
a telephone at certain times. Most of them
use that opportunity to talk to their family
and loved ones, but if they are caught abus-
ing telephone privileges for the purpose
of committing a criminal act then that is a
matter for the police,” said Baldursson. The
Litla Hraun telephone system operates on
a system of passwords, with each prisoner
holding a unique four-digit code needed to
activate the phones. Despite this, Baldurs-
son believes it may prove difficult to ascer-
tain exactly who made what call, as “the
numbers can be traded or stolen.” Asked
whether the guilty parties could expect to
have their sentences extended, he replied:
“That’s not for us to decide, this is a sepa-
rate case from whatever they were initially
convicted for. It’s the job of the courts to
mete out punishment; we just enforce their
judgments.”
by Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Icelandic Consumers Happiest with
Soft Drink Companies
According to the results of a survey from
IMG Gallup, Icelandic consumers are hap-
piest with soft drink companies, and least
satisfied with mobile phone companies.
The survey polled about 8,500 people be-
tween the ages of 15 and 75, divided into
groups of 250 per company. The survey
noted an overall drop in customer satisfac-
tion between 2004 and 2005, with 73.5%
saying they were happiest with soft drink
companies. Coming in second were banks,
with 71.6%, followed by insurance compa-
nies, with 69.5%. Icelandic consumers were
least happy with “corner shops,” with 66%;
oil companies, with 64.2%; and least of all
with mobile phone companies, with 61.9%
by Paul Fontaine-Nikolov
Monday, March 27, 2006
Morgunblaðið and Sunnlenska Frét-
tablaðið Report a Series of Paranormal
Incidents
Morgunblaðið, following a lead from Sunn-
lenska Fréttablaðið, has revealed that the
Sólvangur farm in Eyrarbakki appears to be
haunted by one or more ghosts. A young
woman, who moved into Sólvangur a few
years ago, is quoted by both publications as
saying she immediately noticed unfamiliar
sounds and smells when she moved into her
new home. Morgunblaðið and Sudurland.
is further quote the young woman, Sigríður
Pjetursdóttir, as saying she experienced a
string of paranormal incidents in the house,
ranging from a mysterious broken mirror to
the perplexing vehicular induced death of
her dog on a nearby road. Furthermore, a
young cat belonging to Pjetursdóttir was
found dead alongside an adjacent highway;
a place that we are told was undoubtedly
impossible for the small quadruped to reach
under its own locomotion. After a frighten-
ing bout with sleep paralysis, Pjetursdóttir is
then said to have successfully exorcised the
evil spirits from her home with the help of
mediums and clairvoyants, who advised her
to keep her drapes open during the day to
allow sunlight into the house. According to
Morgunblaðið and Sunnlenska Fréttablaðið;
“These measures worked, and the polter-
geist was driven away.” The longer version
of the story, which was broken by Sudur-
land.is, includes more detail and the caveat
that while the nasty spirits have left, one or
more benign entities remain. Thus we can
presumably expect further updates, as the
evidence continues to stack up.
by Gunnar Hrafn Jónsson
Monday, April 24, 2006
Foreign Worker Arrested after Re-
questing Glass of Vodka
A man was arrested at a restaurant in Sel-
foss late yesterday afternoon, after he re-
fused staff’s orders to leave the premises.
The man, who appeared to be intoxicated,
was asked to leave after he ordered a glass
of vodka at the bar and was refused ser-
vice. When the man refused to leave and
continued to request his drink, the police
were called and they arrived shortly there-
after. After questioning the man briefly they
determined that “he could not sufficiently
explain himself” and took him into custody
for the night. It was later discovered that
the reason for the man not being able to
make himself understandable was that he
was a Lithuanian migrant worker and may
not have expected what is a common drink
order in his country to arouse such a reac-
tion. Morgunblaðið quotes the restaurant
staff as saying they took action out of con-
cern for a group of children who were cel-
ebrating a birthday party elsewhere in the
establishment.
by Gunnar Hrafn Jónsson
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Confused Man Apprehended Outside
Library
There was a large police presence outside
the National University Library of Iceland
yesterday, after police were called to appre-
hend a severely intoxicated man who was
caught tampering with computer equip-
ment. According to the police and eyewit-
ness accounts, it was not clear if the man
was attempting to steal the computer or if
he was simply fumbling about with it in a
confused fashion. The man absconded soon
after being asked to explain his actions, but
police canvassed the area and apprehended
him minutes later.
by Gunnar Hrafn Jónsson
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Iceland Faces Eurovision Expulsion
The Icelandic entry for the Eurovision Song
Contest, Silvía Nótt’s Congratulations Ice-
land, has received an official complaint from
Svante Stockselius, the executive supervisor
of the contest, for foul language. The lyrics
to the song make use of the word “fuck”.
The use of vulgarities is strictly forbidden ac-
cording to the rules of the contest and the
song is considered to be in violation of at
least two different rules. Iceland has been
given an ultimatum, either comply with the
rules or face expulsion from the contest.
So far, Silvía Nótt’s only response has been
through her website, where she maintains
that she will “fucking say what [she] fuck-
ing wants”.
by Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
1_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 01_007_NEWS/ BEST OF
The Most Bizarre News Stories of 2006
Text by Grapevine Journalists Photos by Skari