Iceland

I was riding the subway this morning with Mrs. Rogers, on our way to work, and saw this advertisement:

And it reminded me that I recently became aware of the fact that the pleasant people of Iceland, by and large, believe in elves...

Not Lord of the Rings elves, or Santa's elves.  Think creepy Keebler elves...

Apparently these elves live in boulders and other large, impenetrable terrestrial objects, and generally leave people alone.  The only time you really have problems with them is when you build on their house, or crush it for gravel.  I guess if I was an imaginary creature that lived in a rock, I might be pissed too if someone crushed my house and used the rubble as a driveway or something…

And it gets worse.  Not only do most people believe these little Keeblers are running around, they also have to consult with elf “mediums” when new construction is to take place.  The “mediums” will check to see if elves are currently residing in the rock in question.  If there are elves in residence, the “medium” will either advise the builder to move the project, or they’ll “ask” the elves to move…

Apparently, if you try to build on an elf home in Iceland, your equipment will malfunction and your project will be plagued with problems…  

Mrs. Rogers wants to visit Iceland, because apparently all of her friends have gone there and said it was awesome.  I brought up the elf issue, and she basically told me to shut up.  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't kind of interested in visiting a country where more than half the population is delusional.  It makes you wonder if it's in the water, and if so, where you can get some... 

And for reference material, I'll direct your attention to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/international/europe/13elves.html

and

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081211-elves-video-ap.html

And about the picture, who thought it was a good idea to use a lay-over flight as a marketing tool?  I would have thought that Iceland should have been the destination, not a stop on the way. But then again, this is a country that generally believes in elves...