Who was Leif Erikson

Hey, what's up, Leif Erikson? Our history of the Vikings in one take featured a scene on a longboat with a character called Leif Erikson, who is credited as the first European to set foot on North America in around 1000 AD. We chose to make the music and visuals rather dreamy and surreal to reflect the uncertainty surrounding this enigmatic historical figure. You see, much of what we know about Leif Erikson is derived from the Sagas of the Icelanders, a series of historical texts written about 300 years after Leif Erikson was alive. The Sagas agreed that Leif Erikson was the son of Erik the Red, who had settled in Greenland after being exiled from Iceland. However, the stories around how Leif Erikson discovered North America vary quite a lot. For example, the Saga of Erik the Red tells of how Leif Erikson was blown off course when returning to Greenland from Norway and accidentally discovered a land of vine trees believed to be in North America. Yet in the Greenland Saga, a chap called Bjarni Hulsholmsen was on his way to Greenland when he was caught in a storm and sighted land further west. Within this saga, Leif Erikson is said to have heard Bjarni's story, purchased Bjarni's boat and set off on his own expedition further west. Leif apparently discovered a land of vines, which he called Vinland, and a land of stone slabs, which he named, you guessed it, Stone Slab Land. Genius. There is still much debate as to where Vinland actually is. The most compelling archaeological evidence was discovered in the 1960s when a husband and wife team uncovered a Viking settlement dating to 1000 AD at Lorn or Medor, on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland. The only problem is there aren't any vines there. Other possible sites have been identified as Baffin Island and Point Rosie. And the debate still rages on. Now it's time for your top three mind blowing history comments from last week. In third place, we have everyone who commented about Wozzeck, the Polish bear in the Second World War. I'm not sure if it was some sort of special Wozzeck commemoration week, but yeah, very good. You're absolutely right. In the Second World War, there was a bear that served with the Polish army and apparently did a very good job and was later relocated to Edinburgh Zoo. So an amazing, mind blowing fact. Well done, all of you. In second place, we have Podragoi Kandidesi with his fact about Chrysippus, the ancient Greek philosopher who died laughing. Apparently, this is correct. Chrysippus saw a donkey eating his figs, and he thought it was so funny that he asked his slave to fetch some wine to give to the donkey. And he subsequently died from laughing too much. Go figure. And in first place, we have Bill Kiyu with his mind blowing fact about carrots being bred orange for the Dutch royal family. Now, there's some debate as to whether this is completely true and to whether the carrots being orange is solely due to the connection with the Dutch royal family. But there is something in it. So congratulations, a mind blowing fact. You will be receiving a History Bomb sticker and mug very, very soon. If you would like to get your hands on a sticker and mug, then all you have to do is comment below with your best mind blowing history fact. So thank you very much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed our history of the Vikings in one take video. Go check it out if you haven't watched it already. And do go check out our Patreon page. By donating as little as two dollars per one take video, you'll make a huge difference to the amount of content that we can make. So I really do appreciate it. And go check it out. Thanks so much for watching. And I'll see you again next week.