Just another Parksville-based event to assist local cachers (and visitors, of course!) in collecting another piece of their Celebrating GIFF Treasure Hunt.
I was unaware of the significance of the cache title until I did some research on Leif Erikson, whose day we celebrate each October 9 in honor of the arrival of his ship Restauration in New York on October 9, 1825, from Norway. This marked the beginning of organized immigration from Norway. Apparently the cartoon SpongePerson's creators thought the words in the title sounded something like Norwegian words and a meme was born!
VIKING FUN FACT #1: Leif Erikson (also known as Leif the Lucky) is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental North America approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus.
VIKING FUN FACT #2: Leif Erikson established the first known European settlement in North America around the year 1000, believed to be in present-day Newfoundland at a site called L'Anse aux Meadows.
If you wish to really get into celebrating Leif Erikson you might wish to "dress like a Viking" but I caution you, there is absolutely no hard evidence that Viking Helmets were EVER equipped with horns. The horns were an anachronistic idea of an overzealous Hollywood costume designer. If the Viking helmet, indeed if any battle helmet was equipped with horns, those could seriously interfere with the effectiveness of their sword's strokes when engaged in battle.
And while you celebrate your smiley for attending today's event you can ponder this riddle (don't worry, it's clean):
Q. How many Vikings does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A. NONE! Light bulbs weren't invented until 1879, approximately 813 years after the death of The Last Great Viking King Harald Hardrada