Odin threw it into the sea to be rid of it. Instead it grew until it circled the entire world. The full story of Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent fated to kill — and be killed by — Thor at Ragnarök.
JoinedJanuary 29, 2020
Articles105
How a teenager's mail-order side hustle became the world's largest furniture retailer — the flat-pack idea, the "democratic design" philosophy, and the complicated legacy behind the blue-and-yellow boxes.
From Pippi Longstocking's total freedom to a Nobel Prize won for a story about a boy and a goose, the Nordic countries have shaped children's literature more than almost any region on earth. Meet the authors behind it.
From Trollstigen's road signs to the Danish toy that conquered the world, here's where Scandinavia's trolls actually come from — and why Norway, Sweden, and Denmark each imagine them so differently.
Dog sledding has quietly become one of Scandinavia's fastest-growing winter adventures. Here's the history behind it, where to try it in Norway and Finland, and how to pick an operator that treats its huskies right.
Hans Wegner designed nearly 500 chairs in his lifetime, including the Wishbone Chair and the seat that became famous in the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate. Here's the story of Denmark's master of the chair.
Saab began as a Swedish fighter-jet manufacturer that only started building cars because World War II ended and its engineers needed something to do. Four decades, one Monte Carlo Rally-winning hatchback, and a General Motors buyout later, the brand collapsed into bankruptcy and never recovered.
Oslo is still treated as the layover before the "real" Norway. Here's why the opera house roof, Vigeland's sculpture park, a 700-year-old fortress, and a wilderness forest at the edge of town deserve two or three days of their own.
Korvapuusti, Finland's ear-shaped cinnamon bun, is a national institution as central to Finnish daily life as coffee itself. Here is the story behind its name, how it differs from Sweden's kanelbullar, and how to make it at home.
Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for manslaughter and founded Greenland out of spite and ambition. His son Leif Erikson went further still, reaching North America five centuries before Columbus. Here's the real story behind the Vikings' most famous explorers.
The Sámi don't speak one language — they speak ten, from Northern Sámi's 25,000 speakers to Ume Sámi's handful of elders. Here's the family, the geography behind it, and the fight to save it.
Denmark caps the working week at 37 hours. Sweden tried six-hour shifts. Norway and Finland built flexibility into law. Here's what's actually behind Scandinavia's work-life balance reputation — and what of it genuinely travels.
