Photo courtesy of Pete Chipman.
So a while ago, I compiled a list of facts about Puffins. They weren’t necessarily true or accurate, but they were frequently amusing. They were partly inspired by David O’Doherty who did the same for the Panda.
The list of 100 Crazy Puffin Facts has become one of the most visited pages on this blog (even Rough Guides tweeted about them today), and I still get the odd fact sent to me.
So, because I have a bit of time on my hands, I thought we could do it again. Twitter friends suggested the Icelandic sheep was fair game. Here is what we have so far. Please let me know if you have any lesser known facts about the Icelandic sheep.
Sheep have a lot of very important business in the middle of roads. You will often see them having meetings. @CatTheobald
Icelandic sheep have radars in their horns so they know exactly when to run in front of your car. @IheartReykjavik
Icelandic Sheep wear a peysa under their normal wool to keep warm.
Icelandic sheep are highly intelligent, and often spend the winter playing Scrabble.
Sheep are directly in charge of the Icelandic weather. They make it rain a lot so as to keep their coat frizzy. @CatTheobald
Icelandic sheep come in black, brown, white and the lesser seen mauve. The fleece of the mauve sheep is highly sought after.
Icelandic sheep are often mistaken for clouds, especially the rare lenticular sheep and noctilucent sheep. @nickminers
Icelandic sheep are often mistaken for pillows. You can usually see people asleep next to a sheep in Iceland. @BnGddrd
Icelandic sheep are like electrons – if you remove them from a field, eventually the field collapses. @nickminers
Never wear a lopapeysa when in the company of Icelandic sheep. It’s considered rude. It might be one of their relatives or friends. Wes Jay
The Blue Lagoon was originally a place where the Icelandic sheep would go to in particularly extreme weather conditions. @BnGddrd
The ‘sand’ on Vik beach is actually centuries old Icelandic sheep dung. It has been proven to have medicinal properties. @BnGddrd
At Airwaves Kraftwerk will be joined by the Icelandic sheep choir. Their last performance was in 1978 for the album Autobaaaaaaahn @BnGddrd
Icelandic Sheep favour Twitter over Facebook, due to the confusion around facial recognition.
Icelandic sheep have lead sheep called forystufe, who can operate GPS, and know the farmers phone number by heart.
Icelandic sheep make a great cup of coffee. @thorarinnh
An Icelandic sheep was partly responsible for designing Harpa, but not the bubbly looking windows.
Last winter, Icelandic sheep were found alive after being buried in snow for 45 days. For this reason, they always carry a book with them.
Iceland, Defrosted 