January 31, 2006
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Country Time
June is going to the International Business School at Brandeis, and she recently met a classmate from this country I’d barely heard of. I was like, “Is that a real country?” Her reply: “You are such a (country) snob.”
This, coming from a woman who will openly challenge people in Geography trivia. I think I’m pretty normal for a college-educated American. Who has time to keep up with all the near-zero-GNP countries vying for independence and U.N. recognition? Plus, I learned everything playing Risk in the 80′s, including the famous dictum, “Never get involved in land war in Asia.” Or maybe that was from The Princess Bride. Anyway, before you get on your global high horse, maybe you’d like a little quiz. Which of these 10 are real countries, and which are made up? (If you don’t know, don’t worry — the list will probably change next year, and they’ll have to print up a new Risk board.)
Kyrzykstan
Kyrgyzstan
Khivastan
Kazakhstan
China
Turkmenistan
Fezzikstan
Tashkenstan
Sao Tome
Elbonia
Comments (14)
Hm… are you sure China’s a real country? =D
I count 4 for sure.
i’ve also only met people from 4 of those countries
I call false on only 3 countries. Wait, maybe 4. But I’ve only met people from 1, mayyyybe 2 of them.
I’m pretty sure at least Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, and Turkmenistan are real countries. Fezzikstan I’m sure is fake. And isn’t Elbonia from Dilbert?
I count 5. Hehe, although I do like Fezzikstan ["you are the brute squad"]
hold on. do you watch anime? if so, I increase my count to 4, maybe 5.
ohmydog, you guys are hilarious. june challenges people to geography trivia?? that’s hott (and no, i’m not being sarcastic).
I also count five: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Turkmenistan, Sao Tome.
And yes, I like being globally minded. Near-zero-GNP countries vying for independence and U.N. recognition are probably more important (and interesting) to read about than the current state of Angelina’s baby.
For the record, I have only ever *been* challenged to geography trivia, and unfortunately lost to the question: name three capitals with religious names. I still contest “La Paz” or “Peace” as necessarily religious.
i like urktusk..haha…
But what if Angelina had adopted a baby from Fezzikstan? I like the republic of Georgia, because the people there speak Georgian, which, in a display of blatant American ethnocentricity, I find amusing.
“Never get involved in land war in Asia.” – I think the U.S. learned that after Vietnam.
The last is fake, unless you count Dilbert.
haha. good thing you didn’t put Taiwan on that list… Fezzik was Turkish!
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, China, and Turkmenistan are real. (It helps that I’ve traveled in central Asia, I guess!) Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan. I thought Sao Tome was a city, but I don’t have an atlas in front of me.