Although by this point you probably know that the Vikings didn’t actually wear horned helmets, there are a lot of things you may not have realized about these Scandinavian raiders. These are 25 crazy things that the world forgot about the Vikings.
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You may know this by now, but the Vikings didn't actually wear horned helmets
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia24
In spite of their raiding, Vikings were a clean people. Archeological sites have revealed tweezers, razors, and combs
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia23
They also bathed once a week, which is much more than any of their European counterparts at the time
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia22
Vikings collected a fungus known as touchwood from tree bark and boiled it in urine for several days. They then smoothed it out into felt and used it to create fire.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia21
The reason for this is that the sodium nitrate in the urine would cause the felt to smolder rather than burn
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia20
This ingenious method allowed them to take fire with them on their journeys
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia19
The greatest honor for a Viking was to be buried on board a boat
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia18
They believed that the boat would take them to the afterlife and so they were usually buried like the pharaohs - surrounded with weapons and valuable goods
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia17
Sometimes prominent Vikings would be buried with sacrificed slaves
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia16
Enslaving people was a big thing for them. They would quite often capture as many slaves as they could while they were pillaging Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Slavic villages
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia15
The slaves were known as thralls and were sold in markets across Europe and Asia
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia14
Viking girls got married as young as 12
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia13
They typically would watch the household as their husbands were off raiding
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia12
They had a lot of freedom for that time period though. As long as they weren't thralls, they could own property, divorce, and reclaim dowry
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia11
In spite of their raiding reputation, most Viking men were farmers and not warriors
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia10
They skied. That's right, nearly 6,000 years ago the Scandinavians developed primitive skis.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia9
Skiing was actually seen as an efficient method of transportation
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia8
Vikings preferred to be blond. Men with darker hair would use strong soap with a high level of lye to bleach their hair
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay7
Some Vikings would bleach their beards as well
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia6
Vikings were never part of a unified group, as in they didn't see themselves as being one nation of Vikings
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia5
The term Viking only refers to Scandinavians who took part in overseas expeditions
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia4
During the Viking Age, present day Denmark, Sweden, and Norway simply consisted of a number of tribes who were constantly at war with one another when they weren't off raiding
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia3
The average Viking lived to be around 40 years old
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia2
Long before they reached that age, their teeth would have been worn down by the grit in their bread
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia1
A Viking's most treasured possession was his sword. It was often handed down from generation to generation.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
