News In Brief: Trapped Frenchmen, Arson, And The “Kattarshians”

We’ve had a spate of stories lately involving tourists, and the wacky shenanigans they get up to. Amongst the most popular of these stories was that of a French man who was trapped in his car for five days, on account of having tried to drive over a mountain pass and subsequently getting stuck in the snow. Importantly, he emphasised that all the weather information was available to him; he simply didn’t read it. Further east, hundreds of tourists got trapped in Seyðisfjörður due to inclement weather. In fairness, there are worse places in which to get trapped than Seyðisfjörður, arguably the most beautiful village in the country.

President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson literally cannot stop being endearing. When Rakel Ósk was running late to pick up her son and his friend from Laugardalslaug swimming pool, the two boys asked the President, who happened to be visiting, for a ride home. The President happily obliged, and even allowed a selfie beforehand. All clearly a ploy to make himself more charming than any Icelandic president previous. We suspect he will soon “just happen” to discover a kitten trapped in a tree that he then rescues, while someone “just happens” to take a photo. We’re on to you, Guðni!

You know how the IKEA Christmas goat is always getting set on fire or being torn down by winds? Well, three suspects who were charged with having set it on fire last year have pled not guilty to the crime, despite being caught in the act on CCTV and subsequently apprehended by the police. Will this legal battle go all the way to the Supreme Court? Does the Christmas Goat have a right to self-determination? We may never know, dear readers.

You may think of Iceland as a pure country devoid of the problems in the rest of the developing world, but you, my friend, are wrong. Take note: rat infestations are on the rise in Reykjavík. It’s not unusual for any harbour town to have rats, but these pests—which chillingly live in the sewer system and have been seen entering homes via toilets—are not only breeding like, well, rats; Icelanders are typically not insured against damage done by rats and rat mites. Our advice: leave the lid on the toilet down when not in use, and if you see a tail poking out of the underwater toilet cave, flush that little bugger. Empty the tank. You’re welcome.

In less gross news, the online sensation Keeping Up With The Kattarshians, a livestream of a bunch of kittens living in a little cat-sized house, recently got some new additions: Vanilla, and her five little kittens. Check out their stream sometime by searching “Keeping Up With The Kattarshians” on Facebook if you ever need to relieve some workday stress.