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from the there's-always-money-in-the-banana-stand dept.
"Iceland is the king of the banana republics!" host Stephen Fry once declared confidently on the popular British game show "QI."
That sounds implausible: Just look at the island nation's pitted igneous landscape and brutal climate. But the claim isn't as ridiculous as it sounds. A rumor has circulated for the last 60 years proclaiming Iceland to be the banana capital of Europe.
Spoiler alert: It's not. But where did this rumor come from? Can Iceland even grow bananas? With average temperatures registering between 32 Fahrenheit in winter and a tepid 50 at the height of summer, Iceland's climate seems most suitable for growing mold and frostbite.
But Iceland's secret to agricultural innovation lies beneath the surface — way beneath.
Now we have all we need to colonize Antarctica.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 01 2016, @02:29PM
For the readers almost everywhere except the US on this planet: 32 °F is 0 °C and 50°F is 10°C. To the submitters and/or editors: Please save everyone the burden to look it up themselves, and always add the converted units to the summary.
Actually, I'm surprised that it's only 0 °C in the winter. I would have expected it much lower.
(Score: 2) by r1348 on Thursday December 01 2016, @06:00PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland#Climate [wikipedia.org]
It's actually not that cold, average low in January in Reykjavik is -3°C. I guess the cold climate is due to cold summers.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday December 01 2016, @06:31PM
> Actually, I'm surprised that it's only 0 °C in the winter. I would have expected it much lower.
I'd have to check inland, but most residents live near the ocean, which limits how cold you get.
"but wait, oceans freeze in the far North and it gets really cold"
Two words : Gulf Stream