Getting countries wrong

biko

Now, it can be confusing at times getting countries right and I know Americans never gets European, African or Asian countries right. For instance distinguishing between Austria/Australia as well as Sweden/Switzerland and for some odd reason Denmark/Holland.

Myself, I'm guilty of mixing Austrian and Swiss cities up which does annoy people from these two countries.

Is there any other countries that constantly gets mixed up? Nigeria/Niger has to be a candidate here. As well as Ireland being in the UK...

shane86

When my firm was having a football tournament divided along national lines I forgot and asked an Indian colleague if there were enough "other lads from Pakistan" for him to form a team :eek: Its a bit like asking someone from the Falls Road are they in the Orange Order.

Ireland won in the end

Miss Fluff

North and South Korea, always forget which one is still hardcore/which isn't.......erm still can't, is it the North that's the freaky one?

Ruu_Old

Miss Fluff wrote:

North and South Korea, always forget which one is still hardcore/which isn't.......erm still can't, is it the North that's the freaky one?

Aye its the North with the loveable Kim Jong-il in charge.

Irish Wolf

Miss Fluff wrote:

North and South Korea, always forget which one is still hardcore/which isn't.......erm still can't, is it the North that's the freaky one?

lol... depends if you reckon eating dog is freaky or not - if you do then they're both freaky...

Back OT... Mozambique and Madagascar still confuse me...

Miss Fluff

Irish Wolf wrote:

lol... depends if you reckon eating dog is freaky or not - if you do then they're both freaky..

Moving to Beijing in a few days so eating pups wouldn't want to freak me that much Cheers Ruu, KJ was the dude I was thinking of, think I'll avoid there for my hols for time being

Wishbone Ash

Guinea and Guinea Bissau! Can never remember which is which!

(Not that I need to know it on a daily basis )

Fizman

Back when I was in primary school I used to know almost every capital city of the vast majority of countries globally (we had that massive book atlas so was always flickin through it). Anyhow, i always seemed to mix up Bucharest and Budapest.....and still kinda do at times to this day

Saint_Mel

Fizman wrote:

Anyhow, i always seemed to mix up Bucharest and
Budapest.....and still kinda do at times to this day

I remember trying to learn cities in school before and always managed to say:
Bucharect - Romaina
Sofia - Bulgaria
Budapest - Hungaria

The Hill Billy

Trinidad & Tobago.
I can never remember which is which.

davyjose

I was at an interview once and this guy started talking in a New Zealand accent - I recognised it and said "what part of New Zealand are you from". He was so happy I didn't say Australia, he offered me the job on the spot (no he didn't, but he did offer me the job - I declined)

Anti

Damn yanks always confuse Wales and England as the same country. One yank even said to me wales was in england......

:angryface:

davyjose

Anti wrote:

Damn yanks always confuse Wales and England as the same country. One yank even said to me wales was in england......

:angryface:

erm, yeah .... yanks

ROCKMAN

Wexford and Wicklow

North Tipperary and South Tipperary (can never remember which is freaky one)

davyjose

I get confused with Latvia and all them other places

cold_filter

Fizman wrote:

Back when I was in primary school I used to know almost every capital city of the vast majority of countries globally (we had that massive book atlas so was always flickin through it). Anyhow, i always seemed to mix up Bucharest and Budapest.....and still kinda do at times to this day

Exactly like me, we usually had a tables, spelling and capital city quiz every friday and i dont like not winning so i used to go home and learn all of the capitals...what a a nerd!! but i still got budapest and bucharest mixed up! my achilles heel!

Lirange

[Boast]I usually don't get them wrong. I am a geography anorak. I am a geography nut. I have a degree in Geography. [/Boast]

Having said that ... there are too many damn Guineas. Papua New Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and plain ol' Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Then there is Guyana ... which is not quite a Guinea but is next to a French Guiana (not to be confused with French Guinea).

Now excuse me while I go fritter my life away on Google Earth.

The Hill Billy

Lirange wrote:

[Boast]I have a degree in Geography. [/Boast]...

...Now excuse me while I go fritter my life away on Google Earth.

Should you not be busy flipping burgers?

Zillah

Miss Fluff wrote:

North and South Korea, always forget which one is still hardcore/which isn't.......erm still can't, is it the North that's the freaky one?

Just remember that China is evil*, and North Korea is closer to China, so they're in league together

*The government, of course, not the average citizen

BigTommyBomb

Damn yanks always confuse Wales and England as the same country

Thats because they are.

shane86

Lirange wrote:

[Boast]I usually don't get them wrong. I am a geography anorak. I am a geography nut. I have a degree in Geography. [/Boast]

Having said that ... there are too many damn Guineas. Papua New Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and plain ol' Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Then there is Guyana ... which is not quite a Guinea but is next to a French Guiana (not to be confused with French Guinea).

Now excuse me while I go fritter my life away on Google Earth.

Slightly off topic does anyone know how long google earth images last? I used it for the first time in ages yesterday, Im standnig in my drive way on it (well, black hair, white top, I think its me anyway). The weather in the shoit looks great and I havent been home since Sunday, so Id guess it was taken maybe last Tuesday? (though it loooks more like around midday, and I was working)

robinph

Anti wrote:

Damn yanks always confuse Wales and England as the same country.

The Irish seem to be quite good at getting England and the UK mixed up.

BigTommyBomb

Slightly off topic does anyone know how long google earth images last? I used it for the first time in ages yesterday, Im standnig in my drive way on it (well, black hair, white top, I think its me anyway). The weather in the shoit looks great and I havent been home since Sunday, so Id guess it was taken maybe last Tuesday? (though it loooks more like around midday, and I was working)

Do you have accesss to the military version of google earth or something?
I'm fairly sure that the satellite images used in google earth are a few years old with some newer stuff.

Canis Lupus

Can't say I ever get countries mixed up altho it helps that I work for a money transfer company.

I won't deny however that I would have issues pointing to a fair number of countries if presented with a unnamed map of the world although I know most countries general locations.

redfacedbear

The whole of central Asia is a bit hazy for me - Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan etc.

I also seem to be incapable of retaining any knowledge of Australian geography - always think Sydney is where Melbourne is and vice versa, Darwin, Perth, Brisbane - couldn't tell you where they are - not to mention the federal states/territories

Duggy747

redfacedbear wrote:

The whole of central Asia is a bit hazy for me - Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan etc.

I also seem to be incapable of retaining any knowledge of Australian geography - always think Sydney is where Melbourne is and vice versa, Darwin, Perth, Brisbane - couldn't tell you where they are - not to mention the federal states/territories

Bah, it's full of criminals, hot women, and Alf Stewart...........*gasp* which reminds me, it's nearly lunch and I gotta get me fix of Home & Away!!

LundiMardi

For some reason i always think Barcelona is in Italy and not spain. It's probably because i associate Spain with cheap holiday resorts and people on the piss. Where as i associate Italy with fine architecture etc...

redfacedbear

Duggy747 wrote:

Bah, it's full of criminals, hot women, and Alf Stewart...........*gasp* which reminds me, it's nearly lunch and I gotta get me fix of Home & Away!!

Alf Stewart is in Turkmenistan? Man! I need to catch up on Home & Away

Duggy747

redfacedbear wrote:

Alf Stewart is in Turkmenistan? Man! I need to catch up on Home & Away

Meh, Alf has done stranger things. Remember when he turned into a black guy and saw the future? Oh Alf, you and your future-saving mysteries!

As for getting countries wrong I'm hopeless with a lot of the former Russian ones.

John Mason

my friends young daughter got a leap pad for christmas, you have a map of europe and this magic pen! and the thing asks you point out different countries and tells you if you are a right, myself and friend had got a clue, there all these new countries now that werent around when we are in school, it was actually shocking how bad we were, we spent many hours trying to figure out how to remember what was where, eventually gave up and just opened a bottle of wine

monkeyfudge

LundiMardi wrote:

For some reason i always think Barcelona is in Italy and not spain. It's probably because i associate Spain with cheap holiday resorts and people on the piss. Where as i associate Italy with fine architecture etc...

There are Catalans who would be pissed off at you for saying it was in Spain as well.

onechewy

I always thought Tuscany was in France... it sounds French anyways. Actually I'm still not entirely sure it isn't in France.. it is in Italy isn't it??

Slow Motion

Not sure if this is a bit OT but...Was in the states a few years ago (Chicago) and was booking a hotel room in NYC through some third party crowd over the phone, the conversation went along the lines of ....

Me : Yes that's right I'd like a double room for friday night

Call center guy : OK I just need your credit card details

Me : Right here you go...

Call center guy : And what is your billing address

Me : Blah Blah Blah Ireland

Call center guy : Where ?

Me : Ireland

Call center guy : Is that in Canada ?

Me : No it's a country

Call center guy : Never heard of it ! Are you sure it's not in Canada ?

Me : Do you know where England is ?

Call center guy : Yes

Me : It's the island to the left of it as you look at the map

Call center guy : Erm ! No ! I don't think so

Me : Put me on to your supervisor !

monkeyfudge

I had a similar problem in the airport in Chicago.

Them: Where are you traveling form?

Me: Ireland.

Them: There are many Islands, sir, I'm asking which one you're coming from.

And in an airport in Mexico the couldn't work out what Ireland was either... they let me through, but gave me a crappy entry visa that only exactly covered the duration of my stay... Even as I was walking out the door they were bombarding me with guesses as to what country Ireland was in... Germany was their last guess.

biko

I got a jigsaw puzzle of Ireland's 32 counties to a niece. Looked like this one.

Spent more than 10 minutes trying to get the bloody pieces to fit. Only 32 pieces! My geography sucks.

John Mason

my friend does a lot of international travelling always in and out of america maybe 2/3 times a month and everytime was red flagged as "high risk" and would have to do the one hour security thing, she asked one day why she was red flagged all the time and the guy said "because you are from Iran" they stupid people had put her country as Iran instead of Ireland, she had it changed and now she just sails through the airport

Kailimh

Well...what do you expect of a country that elects someone like Bush?:p

markk06

When i was away a few years ago I met a group of US soldiers who were on leave. I told them i was Irish. Later when talking it came up that they surprisingly knew Ireland was not part of England... They knew it was beside it. Unfortunately for them they then went on to say that both England and Ireland are part of London.... That big country beside Europe: London....

What made it worse was that these guys were serving on a base in Germany so its not like they were on the other side of the world! Later their knowledge was further shown when they asked an Australian girl if she was used to the Euro... It went something along the lines of "look lady! We are United Stated Military serving in Germany. I think we know that Australia is next to Germany. Adolf Hitler is from there!" Idiots

Lirange

Americans are not distinguished for their geographical acumen ... generally speaking.

But it will help if yas dial down yer accents.

It's Ireland. Not Ur-land, or Oiyerluhnd. Ask them where leprechauns come from and about St. Patrick's Day. Play up the Paddy stereotype. That should do the trick.

If not it's probably due to one of three reasons:
1. They are taking the piss
2. They really are utterly stoo-pid.
3. You made it up. It never happened.

cailinoBAC

I know a lot of people get Slovenia and Slovakia mixed up. And Slovakia in Slovakian is Slovensko, which is even closer sounding. (God, how awkward was that spelling)
All the stans Kyrgystan and Kazakhstan (well not so much no)
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan

I go to Belarus the odd time, but sometimes it´s just easier saying I´m going to Russia.

5starpool

I get Spain and America mixed up. Those damn Spaniards, so smart all the way over there beside Canada......

Victor

CIA Political Map of the World
CIA Political Map of the World LARGE FILE 2MB!!

ROCKMAN wrote:

North Tipperary and South Tipperary (can never remember which is freaky one)

Both!

davyjose wrote:

I get confused with Latvia and all them other places

Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Slovakia

Alphabetical from north to south.

Lirange wrote:

Having said that ... there are too many damn Guineas. Papua New Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and plain ol' Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Then there is Guyana ... which is not quite a Guinea but is next to a French Guiana (not to be confused with French Guinea).

Equitorial Guinea?

BigTommyBomb wrote:

Damn yanks always confuse Wales and England as the same country

Thats because they are.

Same Kingdom, different country.

redfacedbear wrote:

The whole of central Asia is a bit hazy for me - Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan etc.

Kazakhstan is the big one. Turkmenistan is the one nearest Turkey. The others - check a map. They overlap anyway. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html

I also seem to be incapable of retaining any knowledge of Australian geography - always think Sydney is where Melbourne is and vice versa, Darwin, Perth, Brisbane - couldn't tell you where they are - not to mention the federal states/territories

There are hints in the names Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland is north of New South Wales and Tasmania is an island. Screw Victoria (that leaves her underneaths )

Darwin - 'Crocodile Dundee' territory - jungle, so up north nearer the Equator, Perth is way west, and seeing as Sydney and Melbourne are in the south East, than leaves Brisbane in the east.

markk06 wrote:

Later their knowledge was further shown when they asked an Australian girl if she was used to the Euro... It went something along the lines of "look lady! We are United Stated Military serving in Germany. I think we know that Australia is next to Germany. Adolf Hitler is from there!" Idiots

Too much Simpsons.

cailinoBAC wrote:

I know a lot of people get Slovenia and Slovakia mixed up. And Slovakia in Slovakian is Slovensko, which is even closer sounding. (God, how awkward was that spelling)

You forget Slavonia! Its the inland bit of Croatia, the other bit being Dalmatia.

Slovakia was part of CzechoSlovakia which are both north of Austria and Hungary, the Former Yugoslavia is to the south of them.

Victor

biko wrote:

Nigeria/Niger has to be a candidate here. As well as Ireland being in the UK...

Nigeria - lots of oil, lots of people, on the coast
Niger - the other one.

Irish Wolf wrote:

Back OT... Mozambique and Madagascar still confuse me...

Madagascar - island
Mozambique - not island, staging post for the ANC in their fight against apartheid. Doing it from an island would have been harder.

Fizman wrote:

Anyhow, i always seemed to mix up Bucharest and Budapest.....and still kinda do at times to this day

Budapest is formed from Buda and Pest, which sat on opposite banks of the Danube. Bucharest - not on the Danube.

Miss Fluff wrote:

North and South Korea, always forget which one is still hardcore/which isn't.......erm still can't, is it the North that's the freaky one?

Actually until the 1988 South Korea was hardcore enough. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea

monkeyfudge wrote:

, but gave me a crappy entry visa that only exactly covered the duration of my stay

This is usual in many countries or they go one day further.

monkeyfudge

Victor wrote:

This is usual in many countries or they go one day further.

Well when leaving the country the guy checking my passport thought it was very odd as the standard is supposed to be 3 months or something... They marked it the very same day I was flying out, so if anything prevented the plane from flying that day I'd have run into trouble.

He actually seemed pretty pissed off that they'd done it that way.