Q 01/05

The kraken legend comes from the folklore of sailors off the coast of which country?

A) Norway

B) Ireland

C) Portugal

D) Japan

Answer · why

A) Norway

The name is the Norwegian definite form of 'krake', so 'kraken' already means 'the krake'.

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

The same fishermen said you could stand on the beast as if it were a sandbank, since fish swarmed around it.

Q 03/05

The root of the word 'krake' in Norwegian refers to what?

A) A crooked tree

B) A dark cloud

C) A whirlpool

D) A giant crab

Answer · why

A) A crooked tree

Old spruce tops with crooked branches were used as primitive anchors, and their tentacle-like look is thought to have inspired the monster's name.

Q 04/05

Pontoppidan wrote that if the kraken's arms took hold of even what, they would drag it to the bottom?

A) The largest warship

B) A whole fishing fleet

C) A lighthouse

D) A small island

Answer · why

A) The largest warship

He also thought the beast spent months feeding and then months excreting a thick cloud that lured fish - which a later writer suspected was cephalopod...

Q 05/05

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

A) Bishop Erik Pontoppidan

B) Carl Linnaeus

C) Hans Christian Andersen

D) Olaus Magnus

Answer · why

A) Bishop Erik Pontoppidan

He was bishop of Bergen, and his two-volume natural history came out in 1752-53.