Icelandic "Elf Lobby" Tries to Halt Highway Project

"An Icelandic group called the Hrauvinir, or 'Friends of the Lava,' have joined with environmentalists to seek an injunction from the country's Supreme Court against a building project by the Icelandic Road and Coastal Commission which was green-lit in September," reports Zachary Green. "In addition to arguments about the environmental impact of such a project, the Hrauvinir also claim that the road work will disturb the 'Huldufolk' -- or 'hidden folk' -- the ancient elves of Iceland."

No, dear readers, this is not a joke. According to Green: "The belief in elves is widespread enough and the objections to road work projects that might disturb ancient elf habitats so frequent, that the Icelandic Road and Coastal Commission has written a boilerplate, standard reply for any press inquiries on the subject, saying it will not answer questions on whether its 'employees do or do not believe in elves and 'hidden people' because opinion differs greatly on this and it tends to be a rather personal matter.'"