Iceland and Greenland Acknowledge Their Names Have Been Misleading People for 1,100 Years

In an unprecedented joint diplomatic statement, the governments of Iceland and Greenland have formally acknowledged that their names have been 'objectively misleading' since approximately 930 AD, when Norse settlers deliberately misnamed both landmasses in what historians now recognize as 'the most successful misinformation campaign of the medieval period.' 'Let us be clear,' the communique reads. 'Iceland is green. Greenland is ice. This has been the case for over a thousand years. We are aware of the situation.' The statement, issued from Reykjavik and Nuuk simultaneously, goes on to explain that the original naming was a deliberate Norse strategy. Erik the Red, exiled to the massive ice-covered island, named it 'Greenland' to attract settlers. Meanwhile, early Icelandic settlers called their relatively temperate island 'Iceland' to discourage further immigration. 'It was 10th-century reverse psychology,' said Dr. Bjorn Toponym of the University of Iceland. 'And it worked spectacularly. Erik got his settlers. Iceland got left alone. The only casualties were a millennium of confused tourists and several generations of geography students.' The acknowledgment has not, however, led to any proposal to swap or correct the names. 'We have considered it,' the communique states. 'We have decided not to. At this point, changing would cause more confusion than maintaining the deception. Also, it's funny.' Tourism boards in both countries have reported that the naming confusion generates approximately $14 million annually in 'accidental visitors' who packed for the wrong climate. 'They arrive expecting glaciers and find hot springs,' said an Icelandic tourism spokesperson. 'We consider this a feature, not a bug.'