One can only imagine what it was like in a Viking longhouse come the middle of February, when all there’s been to do for the last month is sharpen weapons and deplete the mead supply; when people’s fuses could be measured in microns, you’d need a pretty elaborate social code to keep it from being one lethal brawl after another. — Tam, ‘Tis The Season

 

Viking longhouse?  Heck, how about a 3 bedroom house with a basement in North Dakota?  I’m continually surprised that my siblings and I survived the long winters.