There is no consensus on when humans first arrived in Iceland, but most historians agree that Iceland wasn't permanently inhabited until around 870 AD. According to the ancient Viking 'Book of Settlements' called the Landnámabók, Ingolfr Arnarson was the first chieftain to settle Iceland, in a place he called Reykjarvik or "Smoke Cove".
In 2018, Iceland had a population of approximately 340,000, 23 of whom were selected for the men's football World Cup squad. That means that a boy born in Iceland has a 1 in 7,391 chance of playing for the national team. By contrast, in Brazil the odds of going on to play in the iconic yellow jersey is 1 in 4,504,322.
Iceland fans jumped to global fame for their iconic 'Thunder Clap' during the Euro 2016 tournament, where thousands of spectators clap in unison. However, the 'Thunder Clap' was actually created by Scottish side Motherwell. When fans of Icelandic club side Stjarnan traveled to Motherwell for a Europa League qualifying game in 2014, they enjoyed the spectacle so much they adopted it for their own team.
Before becoming a politician Katrín Jakobsdóttir starred in a music video for the Icelandic pop rock band 'Bang Gang' in their song 'Listen Baby'. She even put together a playlist for music streaming service Spotify while in office in 2018 to promote an Icelandic music festival.
Iceland's 2008 financial crisis was the largest collapse of a country's baking system in history, relative to the size of the economy. Worried about the political situation, Hörður Torfason began a one-man protest in Austurvöllur Square which snowballed into months of protests involving thousands of people. The demonstrations became known as the 'Kitchenware Revolution' because protesters would bang pots and pans to make their presence heard. It would force the resignation of Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde in 2009.