Posts Tagged ‘Viking’

Thor and Pandora

by Peter Molenaar To the ancient observer, the approaching cumulonimbus cloud appeared as a giant hammer from which lightning bolts penetrated the earth.  Hence, the hammer-wielding Viking god associated with thunder storms and destruction, but also healing and renewal, was born in the people”'s mind.  Thor was his name. In the modern world, Thor”'s considerable legacy is honored once a week (“Thor”'s day”). But what redemption might he bestow upon the suffering people of Japan?  Curiously, there is a chemical element which also bears his name.  Thorium, atomic number 90, has emerged as the alternative to uranium. (more…)