Q 01/05

In Game of Thrones, a golden kraken is the sigil of which noble house of the Iron Islands?

A) House Greyjoy

B) House Lannister

C) House Tully

D) House Baratheon

Answer · why

A) House Greyjoy

House Greyjoy. Its ironborn are sea raiders who take what they want rather than farm for it, which is why the words beneath the kraken read 'We Do Not...

Q 02/05

Per lore recorded by Hans Egede, how could a fisherman escape a kraken tangled on his hooks?

A) Speak its name aloud

B) Cut every line

C) Throw silver overboard

D) Sing a hymn

Answer · why

A) Speak its name aloud

Speak its name aloud: on hearing it, Egede wrote, the beast sank back as softly as it had risen. Left alone, a hooked kraken rose slowly to the surfac...

Q 03/05

The kraken's name apparently comes from a Norwegian word for which many-armed shape?

A) A crooked tree

B) A frayed rope

C) A tangled net

D) A forked river

Answer · why

A) A crooked tree

A crooked tree. The '-n' on the end is simply Norwegian for 'the', so anyone who says 'the kraken' is really saying 'the the krake'.

Q 04/05

An 18th-century account said the kraken's arms could drag even what down to the sea bed?

A) The largest warship

B) A whole fishing fleet

C) The largest whale

D) A drifting iceberg

Answer · why

A) The largest warship

The largest warship. The account added that the danger was just as great when the beast sank again, because the whirlpool it left drew everything down...

Q 05/05

Who is usually credited with the first detailed description of the kraken, published in 1753?

A) Carl Linnaeus

B) Bishop Erik Pontoppidan

C) Hans Christian Andersen

D) Olaus Magnus

Answer · why

B) Bishop Erik Pontoppidan

Bishop Erik Pontoppidan was more cautious than his reputation: he guessed the monster was some giant polyp or starfish and invited better-informed rea...