I Can't Believe It's Not Butter: Norwegian Butter Shortage Pushes Cost to $400 a Lb.

Gingerbread men might be a little lonely this year in Norway, as a shortage of butter has increased the price of the kitchen staple to an astonishing $400 a pound! The cooking necessity is being traded on the Internet like stock in Apple!

The shortage creates a serious challenge for Norwegians who are trying to finish their traditional Christmas baking, a task which usually requires them to make at least seven different kinds of cookies and yummy treats.

The shortage has been blamed on an extremely rainy summer that cut into feed production and therefore dairy output, but also the popularity of a fad, low-carbohydrate, fat-rich diet that has sent demand for butter soaring in the wealthy Scandinavian nation.

The price for butter has jumped so much, it's even being illegally smuggled! On Friday, customs officers stopped a Russian citizen at the Norwegian-Swedish border and seized 200 pounds of rich, creamery butter stashed in his car.

 God Jul, Norway...go easy on the cookies!