No, I'm not proposing an unlikely World Cup pairing, but recently, a friend brought up the old saw about how these countries got their names. If you haven't heard it, it says that the first settlers of Iceland found it a very amenable home, what with all the geothermal activity to warm it up, but they named it Iceland because it was so small, they didn't want people horning in on their good thing. Conversely, the settlers of Greenland found a desolate wasteland, but wanted to encourage more settlers, so they named it Greenland in the ultimate example of false advertising.

I learned it way back in elementary school, and it has the whiff of one of those fictionally acronymic word origins (Port In Starboard Home, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, etc.). Any truth to it at all?

The good Doctor Bill (wwh) guides me via PM to the ultimate repository of human knowledge, The Straight Dope:

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/micegreenland.html

The kind folks there answer my question five ways from Sunday, if you are interested.

Yes, that was interesting. Thank you. If the Norse settlement finally failed, in part due to climatic conditions - then come global warming there might be a resurgence of interest.

I'll clear the mouse nests and dead birds out of the longship next week and put a few patches on the sail, Dixbie. I'll have to buy some new oars, though. How many of you will be travelling with me? I could do with about twenty on a side. People experienced at working in a shieldwall would probably be useful, too. The locals may not be too impressed with us just turning up unannounced.

Garðarshólsmur is just too good to touch.