Vikings are known as one of the most innovative tribe in human history with great solutions for the simplest things of their time, also when it came to medicine. When a wounded Viking warrior came back from battle, the Vikings in the village would give him/her very strong onion soup. After a few minutes a person of the tribe would smell the wound of the warrior very closely to check if they could detect the smell of the onion. If so, it meant that the abdominal wound was serious and deep enough that death was inevitable.

You’ve probably never noticed this before, but it’s very likely that you’re using a Viking symbol in your everyday life since the rise of smartphones. Over 1000 years ago, around the year 958, there was a Viking king called Harald Bluetooth (ca. 910-986). He ruled over all tribes in Denmark and managed to conquer parts of Norway, where he succeeded in making several mutually contending tribes unite and communicate with each other.

Jim Kardach, who developed the technology behind Bluetooth that we use today, was reading the book ‘The Long Ships’ during its development and decided to name his technology in honour of the famous Danish king. For the logo he took the initials of King Harald Bluetooth and combined them into the well-known logo that is used for wireless connections in telephones and many other devices.

In addition to the use of Viking symbols, you’re also using Viking terms/names daily, most likely without knowing it! That’s because our days of the week (in English) are named after several gods that were worshipped by the Vikings. Sunday and Monday are named after the Sun and the Moon, Tuesday after Tyr who was the god of war. Wednesday (Woden’s Day) is named after the king of the Viking gods: Odin, also known as Woden. Thursday is named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. And also, most people’s favourite day of the week, Friday gets its from Freya (Frigg), who was the goddess of love and marriage. The only day of the week that’s not directly named after a Norse god is Saturday which gets its name from Saturn, an old Roman god.

At school you’re taught that the man who discovered America was the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. However, this fact isn’t entirely true. There’s a saga from the Greenlanders supporting the proof that the Vikings found America ‘by accident’ when a trader went on a trip to Iceland around the year 896. The lost trader ended up near the land ‘covered with forests’, when he turned around a successfully found his way home.

Later, in the year 1.000 the saga of the lost trader inspired Leif Eriksson, an Icelandic explorer, to buy a boat and explore the unknown. If the rest of the legend is true, Eriksson landed on the coast of Canada 500 years before Columbus set a foot on American ground. Nowadays, there is a substantial amount of evidence that confirm this ‘saga’. As real Viking fans, we of course support this theory, what are your thoughts?

Roughly 6000 years ago, the Scandinavian Vikings developed their own version of skis and used them for hunting, traveling and sometimes also for entertainment. They even had a god of skiing, who was named Ullr. Kings and high lords indulged in skiing for entertainment, and sometimes had competitions where the best skiers could win prizes.

Do you have more fun facts that you want to share with us? Let us know!