"Fool's World Map" project

[Odoriou]

Yesterday a friend of mine asked me, how Leonid Brezhnev, ruler of the Soviet Union in the 1970s, could tolerate a Japanese emperor in his territory. After some confusion I understood what my friend meant: he thought that Japan used to be part of the Soviet Union! :-( I had to tell him that Japan has always been a sovereign state - and that it's an island east of China. :-)

Well, this story reminded me of the "Fool's World Map" project, which I was reading about some months ago. This project tries to create a map of the world, how fools imagine it:

Some of the ideas behind this map: :-P

"Due to a Texan who thinks "Japan is accessible from Texas by car", Japan and Texas is land-attached."

"Since a Japanese fool had thought that Europe is a name of a country, a country named Europe appeared in Europe."

"Black Sea appeared in Africa. It seems that fools tend to think that anything in black belong in Africa."

"..."

If you have any ideas what the map should look like... you can make your own suggestions here: http://www.zen-style.com/ :-P

[Odoriou]

I just want to add that they've created a "Fool's Japan Map", too: :-P

Of course I can't read it... :-(

Edited April 27, 2005 by Odoriou

[aderechelsea]

I have a friend whose girlfriend said to an Argentinian:

-Tango is a Spanish dance.

the Argentinian replied in surprise:

- No!! Tango is a trademark dance for Argentina.

This girl replied to "save" face ... :

-But Argentina is in Spain.Right?

:-(

She also said once that Ontario and Toronto are in Italy (i doubt if she knows there is a country called Canada) but this pales in comparison with the "argentina-spain" thing ....

[Jakusotsu]

I remember reading a homestory about Janet Jackson some time ago, who was particularly eager to show off her "ancestral" wood statues decorating the living room. The reporter took the bait and asked if they were from Kenya. Janet: "Of course not! Can't you see they're from Africa?!" (Just do not get it...)

[Fujisan]

I used to think America and Africa where the same country when I was a child,I remember very distinctly being confused why Tarzan never met any cowboys in his films. :-( :-P :-P (Just do not get it...)

[sekihiryu]

Hey thats not too bad - NZ ended up in Java (Indonesia) not too shabby as I have been told in the past NZ was near Russia or even just South of the USA!

:-(

[Manekineko]

I often get "Oh, that's ex-USSR, right?" when people hear I'm from Croatia. It's common knowledge all those new European states came from USSR... :-P

Even CNN made a similar goof once, placing croatian city Dubrovnik in Russia.

OTOH, I'm probably one of few Croats (and non-UKs in general) who can tell the difference between United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England. :-(

[Odoriou]

After the new pope was elected, a German TV station asked people from all around the world what they knew about Germany. One question was "Can you name a famous German?" Most popular answers were "Arnold Schwarzenegger" and "Adolf Hitler". Both come from Austria... (Whistling...)

[Jejima]

OTOH, I'm probably one of few Croats (and non-UKs in general) who can tell the difference between United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England.  :-D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about the British Isles? (Whistling...)

[Zentoryu]

Once had the following exchange with a former girlfriend:

ex-GF: "Is Vermont in New Hampshire?"

Me: "No."

ex-GF: " Then what state is Vermont in?"

Me: "Vermont IS a state."

(Sound of crickets chirping)

ex-GF: "You're kidding right?"

Me: "You want me to show you on the map?"

(sound of crickets chirping again)

ex-GF: (DEAD SERIOUS) "I always thought Vermont was a city."

Edited April 27, 2005 by Zentoryu

[aderechelsea]

could be worst Zentoryu-san.

you were talking about USA (i take that the girl was American, right?) which is a bit big....

a former girlfriend of mine didn't know where Trikala is (my home town) and we are talking about Greece and a province capital .... (Whistling...)

since then i use as a screening process for new girlfriends the geography basic knowledge ....

[Gernobono]

offtopic in offtopic

since then i use as a screening process for new girlfriends the geography basic knowledge ....

i might fail the gender test, but i sure would pass the geographics session...

i still remember what might have been the hottest day i ever experienced...i was on holidays near katherini (?) with my parents and we were on the way to meteora with my parent's sunbeam 1300(!) coming all the way from austria....i guess it must have been 70

[aderechelsea]

he he ... nice story.

not very happy day but you got to see Meteora.This must be worth it a bit.

The whole region from Katerini-Larisa-Trikala is a nightmare in the summer months.Temperatures of 39-40 degrees shouldn't surprise you at that regions

[Zentoryu]

could be worst Zentoryu-san.

you were talking about USA (i take that the girl was American, right?) which is a bit big....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, its a bit big, but Vermont isn't that far from where we live and is famous throughout the northeastern part of the country for its ski resorts (and yes, the girl was American). Still, I admit, not as bad as your example though. (Whistling...) :-D

Edited April 27, 2005 by Zentoryu

[Sasanishiki]

I've had Japanese thinking New Zealand was one of the states in the US, you know, like New Hampshire...A little more interesting than being considered part of Australia I suppose.

[Mark Buckton]

I've had Japanese thinking New Zealand was one of the states in the US, you know, like New Hampshire...A little more interesting than being considered part of Australia I suppose.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

it isn't? :-D Thought the Scots sold it to the Americans in 1879 for beer money? (Whistling...)

[sekihiryu]

The best one I ever got was

Japanese student : "how long is the bridge between Australia and NZ?" (Sigh...)

me : there is no bridge

student : why not??!!

me : Because its about 3000km!!!

student : Oh I thought you guys could drive to see eachother!!

(Punk rocker...)

[Asashosakari]

I've had Japanese thinking New Zealand was one of the states in the US, you know, like New Hampshire...A little more interesting than being considered part of Australia I suppose.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, the solution to that is obvious: drop the "New" and just go by "Zealand". (Punk rocker...)

[Gernobono]

The best one I ever got was

Japanese student : "how long is the bridge between Australia and NZ?" (Sigh...)

me : there is no bridge

student : why not??!!

me : Because its about 3000km!!!

student : Oh I thought you guys could drive to see eachother!!

(Punk rocker...)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i think of myself as rather good at geographics but i would never have thought NZ is 3000km from australia :-D

i think anyone of us saw silly answers on tv but i think they have to tape quite some people to get the silly ones they show on tv afterwards....a different story are those stories the members of this forum actually witnessed....

although the next story is from tv, it cannot be a fake...

in the austrian or german version of "who want s to be a millionaire" (?) (the show with the four answers where A,B,C or D is right) a student and therefore highschool graduate was asked at some low level:

Which of those islands does not belong to greece?

Rhodos, Crete, Korfu or Elba (might have mixed the order)

as european especially from austria or germany it is very likely you have been to one of this islands for holidays and if you haven't been you still have at least 8 years of geography or in this case even history might help....

now comes the juicy part....

the quizmaster looked at her, realizing that she does not know right out and asked what the trouble is....she answered:

"I have never heard of a single one of those islands before"

this is not being unsure of 2 of them..NO...NONE!!!!

Edited April 28, 2005 by Gernobono

[Sasanishiki]

Well, the solution to that is obvious: drop the "New" and just go by "Zealand". (Punk rocker...)

I think the Dutch and the Danish would have something to say about that! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe both of those countries already have regions called Zealand.

[Sasanishiki]

I was looking more closely at the "Fool's Japan Map", and I think it is pretty funny. On the extreme east (right hand side) the islands have been described as "drift ice". The dark area on the right is described as undeveloped land, but right in the middle of it is "Ainu village". The area at the bottom in the middle is the "Kingdom of the Mudskipper (a type of fish, apparently). Directly north of that is Ohotsk, which apparently is a region in northern Hokkaido, instead of being a sea off the coast.

Edited April 28, 2005 by Sasanishiki

[Manekineko]

i think of myself as rather good at geographics but i would never have thought NZ is 3000km from australia  (Sigh...)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was also surprised when I realised (just other day, can't remember the context now) how far New Zealand actually is from Oz... My mental image of the world had it at about the same distance as Japan is from mainland Asia. (Punk rocker...)

[Elenrian]

I think the Dutch and the Danish would have something to say about that! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe both of those countries already have regions called Zealand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes Zealand is in Netherlands, by the Belgic frontier. I found a map!

[Sasanishiki]

AH, I see a slightly different spelling! I definitely know that Denmark has Zealand as one of its islands. In fact, it's the island that Copenhagen is on. I'll be there for a look in a month's time. (Punk rocker...)

[Doitsuyama]

AH, I see a slightly different spelling! I definitely know that Denmark has Zealand as one of its islands. In fact, it's the island that Copenhagen is on. I'll be there for a look in a month's time. (Punk rocker...)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's not the spelling which is different, it's the language... I would be very much surprised if Denmark has a "Zealand" as this doesn't look Danish at all to me.

Edit: I looked for it and came up with "Sj

Edited April 28, 2005 by Doitsuyama