Island Life: Phones, Weightlifting, Ptarmigans

A primary school in Egilsstaðir instituted a 4-day ban on mobile phones in the school that applied to students and teachers alike. The hope was to have everyone focus on their schoolwork better. While some of the students were reportedly horrified by the idea, the response was largely positive. Back in OUR day, no one had phones in schools, because they were the size of VHS tapes and very expensive. What’s a VHS tape? Ask your parents.

An Icelander from the West Iceland town of Grundfjörður won the world championship for his class in weightlifting in Las Vegas last week. We don’t actually know what the class was, but speaking as someone who has trouble tying their shoes while wearing a coat, lifting weights in any capacity impresses me.

It’s ptarmigan-hunting season again, and it looks like pickings are pretty slim this year. A helicopter patrolling the Þingvellir National Park spotted a hunter and alerted authorities, and he was apprehended by the police shortly thereafter. Let that be a lesson to you, prospective hunters: do your hunting outside of national parks (and residential areas).