h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Gnomon,

I was wondering if it would be okay to add some new information to your entry on Iceland at A487613 as suggested by ismarah. I've already added some, but haven't yet tackled integrating information that follows 'The inhabitants of Iceland were trying to avoid coming under the rule of one king of Norway, Harald the Fairhaired.' as it's quite a lot of information and I wanted to talk to you first. If I did add in the info, would it be okay if I added in ismarah as a Researcher?

It would be good to hear back from you

Anna

Hi Anna! Yes, I think it would be a good idea to put ismarah's name as a Researcher. He obviously knows more about the country than I do!

But I would dispute three things in what he says:

1. I know the sagas say that the name Iceland was chosen to discourage people from going there. But the theory I gave in the Entry, (that the name was given to the island because the first settlers saw the massive icecap of Vatnajokull) is also a recognised theory. It's not just something I made up. So I'd leave it in.

2. How expensive is Reykjavik? My "needing a second mortgage" comment is obviously not literally true. But everybody I knew who ever went there rated it as the most expensive place in Europe by far. My own experience was two of us sharing a 12-inch pizza and a half bottle of white wine and being charged £30. That was in 1986. I think my comment is justified, and it went through Peer Review and was approved by at least one other researcher who had been there. So I'd leave that comment in as well.

3. There is a problem with soil erosion in some parts of Iceland. It was caused by overgrazing by the sheep. Ismarah may not be aware of this. So once again, leave that bit as it is.

For all of the rest of what ismarah says, I'd bow to his superior knowledge.

1)The explanation of the name- it is historically accepted that Greenland and Iceland were named such to confuse people. This is taught in all historical books and classes I´ve ever read or attended. However, the Vatnajökull explanation is a rational theory.

2)At today´s exchange rate, 30 GBP is 3900 ISK. I had dinner last week in a very nice little pizzeria in Reykjavik, where two of us finished off 2 10" pizzas, and a 1L pitcher of soda, paying for that 2550 ISK, or approx. 19 GBP. Of course, wine changes the price significantly. However, it´s important to know that in 1986 pizzas were new to Iceland, and therefore expensive. The prices have changed radically since then...

3)Here I think the problem is mostly that Gnomon has old info - since 1986 drastic measures have been taken to stop erosion as such. Many areas that were once farmland or pasture and was then eroded has been reverted to farmland again. It is to be noted that there are also deserts in Iceland, and they can ill be changed. They are caused by such things as glacial rivers flooding, volcanos erupting and glaciers retreating. There is also one area in the Highlands that due to quirks of weather, geology and geography will always be a desert, even if the others can be changed...

OK, I give in on prices and erosion. I accept that my information is 16 years old. It was certainly accurate at that time. I'm glad to hear that prices have come down and that something has been done to stop the erosion. They were just starting to tackle it when I was there.

I'm still hesitant about the naming of the country. In my experience, stories about why certain countries and places have certain names are often untrue. The cleverer they seem, the less likely they are to be true. Given that virtually everything else in Iceland bears a literal name, I think the most likely explanation is the one I've given.

Perhaps, Anna, you could present both theories as to why it is called Iceland, calling ismarah's one the traditional explanation and my one another possible explanation.

Hello Gnomon and ismarah,

All fair points. I would add that Iceland is probably expensive to visit as a tourist. My brother-in-law went there recently and said something like 'Mars bars were £5' and I don't know whether it's true or not, and I suspect that either Mars bars have a huge import tax on them or he was raiding a very expensive hotel minibar! It's true to say that many capitals and tourist locations are expensive. London is terrible for that. I don't see it very often, because I don't eat out at tourist restaurants, but once in a while I see souvenirs for sale and by and large they're expensive and rubbish!

Anna

I remember that Mars bars cost about £2 each in 1986. Ten days in the wilds of Iceland meant that we needed a lot of energy. My wife and I spent £120 on nothing but hot showers and Mars bars!

Now I´m just cringing and going all eeek!
A Mars bar is now about 75 ISK, or approx. 60p and the kingsize ones are more expensive. I don´t know where your brother-in-law was buying his Mars´ from, but he should ask for a refund...

I hope you don't mind someone else joining the conversation....

There seems to be quite a lot of scientific infromation available about Icelandic soil erosion, and from a quick skim it certainly doesn't look as if the problem has been solved.

http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/~ajn/landscape_abstract1.html is a 2001 paper which says, among other things:
'Inappropriate land management strategies, exacerbated by climate change, appear to have been key factors in the island-wide process of soil erosion that seems to have stripped c. 40,000 Km3 of the Icelandic landscape in 1,100 years.'

The results page of the nation-wide survey carried out from 1990 to 1997 at
http://www.rala.is/desert/4-1.html says that erosion levels 3,4 and 5 (considerable, severe and extremely severe erosion) cover about half the country, while 'tolerable' levels of erosion cover the other half.

That doesn't sound like something which will be solved in just a few years...

Azara

Thanks, Azara! Have you anything in those scientific papers about the price of Mars bars?

Hi ismarah,

I think he probably should! The prices in those hotel mini bars are shocking!

Dear ismarah, Gnomon and Azara,

It looks as if this entry does need to be updated to some extent. Would you like to work together on it?

Since I wrote the original, it would be better if Ismarah brought it up to date. I'd be happy to let Ismarah edit a copy of the Edited version to his satisfaction. I'll then suggest some changes so that I am happy with it too. When we're both happy, Anna can make our version the new Edited Entry.

Thanks, Azara, for your contribution , but I don't think there's any need for you to be involved further (and I know you've plenty of other stuff to be doing).

Okay thanks Gnomon ismarah is this all right with you?



Anna

Sure...

Excellent Thanks ismarah

erm- was looking over this again...
What is wrong with the following sentence?
"The average temperature for July and August is 14°C is above zero."
And there are some other things that have been weirdly edited from Gnomon´s original and my corrections post. I think this needs a whole lot more work... If this is still work in progress, my apologies, but if not sniff sniff

I also had a thought- maybe the Guide shouldn´t allow entries that are over 10 or 15 yrs old? I wonder...
Cheers, ismarah

Ismarah, it is not the entry that is 16 years old, but the memories of this researcher. I wrote it on 6 Oct 2000. It may be out of date but it is the best we've got. We were hoping for someone like yourself to come along and update it.

As for it being badly worded, that's because Anna started to edit it and changed her mind. In my original at A449174, you won't see that strange sentence you quoted, for example.

We are hoping that now you will make a new entry, copy the content of A487613 into it (you can get the content at test487613) and edit that to your own satisfaction.

Is that OK?

Dear ismarah and Gnomon, I'm so sorry, that weird sentence is my mistake I just didn't delete 'is above zero', but I have now - should be looking better!