I've often poked fun of (many) Americans' lack of knowledge concerning the world around them. Geography seems to be like a foreign language to us. Then again, when we look at the story of Christopher Columbus, perhaps we were destined to be ignorant when it comes to world geography:
Columbus (after arriving in America): "This is India, right?"
Fact-checker: "Close to 8,500 miles away from there..."
Columbus: "Very well... I'll call the people here Indians then."
Fact-checker: "That would make no sense at all actually..."
This brings me to a country which tends to confuse us Americans more than most, and that's saying something. The country I'm referring to is the Netherlands. While Holland comprises two of the twelve provinces in the country, we sometimes refer to the entire country as Holland. Not only that, but I've also heard multiple Americans refer to the country as Amsterdam, which is the most recognized city in the country (the Netherlands, not Holland). To add to the confusion, residents of the country aren't called Netheranderthals, Hollandites, or Amsterdamonians; no, they're called the Dutch.
When thinking about two such Americans discussing the country, I picture the following dialogue:
Setting: A couple of friends having lunch at the restaurant To Hell With Weight Watchers
Jeff Johnson: "You know where I want to go sometime? Holland."
Bob Jones: "Oh, the Dutch? Those are my kind of people!"
Jeff: "Who are the Dutch?"
Bob: "You know, the Netherlands."
Jeff: "But I said Holland."
Bob: "Isn't that the Netherlands?"
Jeff: "The country has two names?"
Bob: "I don't know. We call ourselves the United States and America, right?"
Jeff: "Well, the United States of America, so I mean, both names are in the one. What's this other country called, the United Netherlands of Holland?"
Bob: "I don't know. I just know about the Dutch."
Jeff: "What about Amsterdam?"
Bob: "What about it?"
Jeff: "Don't they speak Dutch there?"
Bob: "What country is that in?"
Jeff: "I thought it was a country."
Bob: "I think it's a city in the Netherlands."
Jeff: "You mean Holland?"
Bob: "To hell if I know. How should we pay for this lunch?"
Jeff: "Let's go Dutch!"
Bob: "Ha! Good one!"
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