Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Equal time for the Vikings

While repeating, “Christopher Columbus did not discover America. Christopher Columbus did not discover America,” read this.

Then spend a little time gazing at this painting, Leiv Eriksson oppdager Amerika (Leif Erikson discovers America) by Christian Krogh (1893):

(click on the painting and it will get larger)

Perhaps no one will ever know who really oppdagered Amerika, er, America.

But while the Vikings may have won the battle, the Italians eventually won the war. The new land was not called Vinland for long. Eventually North and South America were named after another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci.

Thank God for small favors. We could have ended up as North Vespucci and South Vespucci.

5 comments:

  1. I suppose we should be thankful for small favors. Vespuccians? Sounds like little green men from a distant planet.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Couldn't let the Vikings take the glory without a word for the Irish ...
    http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/58/04712670/0471267058.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  3. i met a vespuccian once attt the zoo in slc>>>>he wasn't at all green buthad a yellow hat with candy sprinkles all over it:::::::says he was there to take all my mopney but a lillypution was at my side and he woouldn't let this character touch me>>>>just sayin

    ReplyDelete

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