Countries that couldn’t think of a name for their capital
Ten countries named their capital after themselves. Six added the word City, and four didn’t even do that.
Language
Terrible maps of what everyone calls everything: words, names and translations taken far too literally.
Europe, translated literally from Chinese
Most Chinese names for European countries are spelled out by sound. Read the characters for what they mean instead, and Russia becomes Sudden Net This.
Where each country thinks the turkey is from
Turkeys come from North America and were probably first domesticated in Mexico. Most of the world’s names for the bird point somewhere else.
What colour a black eye is in each country
In English a black eye is black, but in most of Europe it’s blue. In Spain, Portugal and Turkey it’s purple, and in France it’s an eye in black butter. This map shows what colour a black eye is in each country.
What each country says instead of ‘when pigs fly’
Instead of ‘when pigs fly’, Russians say ‘when a crayfish whistles on a mountain’, Germans say ‘on Saint Never’s Day’ and Albanians say ‘on the 36th of August’. This map shows what each country in Europe says instead.
Which foreigners each country named the cockroach after
Russians named the cockroach after the Prussians, Germans named it after the Russians, and Slovenes and Croats named it after the Swabians. This map shows which foreigners each country in Europe named the same small brown cockroach after.