One things Americans have been accused of is never being fully disconnected while on vacation. We sorta have a reputation for continuing to check email, dialing into calls, and overall monitoring things when we're on PTO and trying to relax. Iceland's tourism board is looking to change that.
A scenic and beautiful country, Iceland's tourism board is looking to help you disconnect and enjoy everything it has to offer. To help facilitate this, it came up with delegating your out of office email responses to a horse. Yes, a horse.
When you visit the site you get to choose one of three horses. One takes naps and another is 'trained in corporate buzzwords'. Any of them are perfect options! Once you pick your horse, it will create a random message by walking across a giant keyboard. You can then use it as your auto-reply in your work email. And it's perfect.
When I went through the process, here's what I was given:
Here is Hekla frá Þorkellshóli’s response:
Aælkj5hbyiu89 n89u ð´'i2+ji hð9 u3boæjrk2 n 9089ui qeægj eronbqo ð gnjqergni8h aq fear i
Qfiuoq4uhhæ 34 4 4 ædoifuuuuuuuuua q34o
Can't say that's bad at all. Given if I've been clear to people I work with that I'm away, the general gist is I shouldn't be emailed and I certainly shouldn't be checking my email. Hekla frá Þorkellshóli’s response is a good reminder to people to leave me alone on vacation.
Once you have your email set, the site conveniently has articles on what you can do with all your free time. Even if you're not going to Iceland, this is a fun thing to do and it's completely free.