Vikings: History's Metrosexuals

Historians at Cambridge University are hoping to bust some myths about Vikings with their new guide on the impact of the ancient Danes on British culture. For centuries now, Vikings have gotten a bad rap as the dirty, hairy, horn-headed rapists of northern Europe. Not so, according to these researchers. Vikings did not, in fact, wear horned helmets. They weren't dirty, either. They regularly combed their hair, took baths once a week, changed clothes often, and were sometimes criticized for being too hygeinic. Instead of spending their weekends raping and pillaging, Vikings were largely a peaceful race. And they were so stylish that they were known to wear fashionably baggy pants, not another relic from history known as M.C. Hammer. This dolling up of the Viking image has even trickled down to Hollywood, where I hear Marvel Films are seriously considering casting wax-faced realdoll Zac Efron as Thor. Or so I've just made up. More details here.