News CNN reporter thinks Copenhagen is the capital of the Netherlands

[Andre]

Actually, the Neanderthal (or Neandertal) is a region in the western part of Germany, close to Düsseldorf. It is therefore indeed close to the netherlands. Just saying.

Poor Germans ... *runs from Godwins Law*

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Nether-what? Isn't that where Michael Jackson lived?!

.

That would be "Neverland". If you told Erin Burnett that the name of the country was "The Neverlands" , she would accept it without a thought. However she might question the statement that Michael Jackson was King of the Neverlands. She would know that Michael Jackson never lived in Copenhagen.

 

[edward]

That would be "Neverland". If you told Erin Burnett that the name of the country was "The Neverlands" , she would accept it without a thought. However she might question the statement that Michael Jackson was King of the Neverlands. She would know that Michael Jackson never lived in Copenhagen.

Just for clarification, the CNN reporter who made the blooper in the OP is Max Foster. He is British, lives in the U.K, and is a foreign correspondent for CNN.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Just for clarification, the CNN reporter who made the blooper in the OP is Max Foster. He is British, lives in the U.K, and is a foreign correspondent for CNN.

British? Amazing! I apologize to Erin Burnett.

 

[edward]

British? Amazing! I apologize to Erin Burnett.

Actually she may have said something even worse had she been there. Most of the 24 hour news skirts are hired for their appearance. (oh boy am I ever going to hear about that)

Although I used to enjoy watching Burnett and Jim Cramer interact on the early morning financial news.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Although I used to enjoy watching Burnett and Jim Cramer interact on the early morning financial news.

I like the title of that video clip. Cramer got a little flustered there. BTW who is Canute? I know there was a Dane by that name who ruled England in the early 11th century (also spelled Knut or Cnut). Maybe Max Foster was thinking of Canute the Dane he when misspoke about Copenhagen being the capital of the The Netherlands although I have no idea why.

 

[mfb]

Oh, an interesting thread.

We would hope that Americans read the news and are "global citizens" when realistically, the average populace of other countries are just as ignorant.

Are you sure?

In the case cited by AlephZero, no American employee should be sent to a foreign country without a thorough briefing on the country to which they are going. That is negligence on the part of the employer and stupidity on the part of the employee.

It is telling that this could be necessary.

The English speakers have made it difficult, in the native language it's easy: I live in "Nederland", I am a "Nederlander", and I speak "Nederlands". Couldn't be simper.

I agree, it is the same in German: You live in "[die] Niederlande", you are "Niederländerin" (based on your nick)[/size] and you speak "niederländisch".

As for Americans not understanding Europe, how many Europeans can tell me the capital of Missouri or Alabama without looking it up? Missouri has a higher GDP than some countries, and that's one of our little states in economic terms.

If I would be in that state? Easy. If I would report about something there in the news? ...
Alabama and Missouri have 5-6 million inhabitants each. The Netherlands have 17 and they are a sovereign country.

Here are some countries from Europe with similar population (4-10 millions), their capitals are in the spoiler. Bonus question: how many (US-)americans recognize the name of the country as a country in Europe?
Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia

Spoiler

Minsk, Sarajevo, Zagreb

Now please pick the country with the most inhabitants from this list and estimate the difference to the runner up:

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Czech republic, Hungary, Portugal, Greece.

Nice list ;). It is not a coincidence that the Dutch increase the (dry) size of their country.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Oh, an interesting thread.

Most of the quoted items have assumed that it was an American who misspoke. As edward pointed out, it was a Brit. While it's true that many Americans are geographically challenged, a false assumption was made here. Now consider that the British CNN reporter was standing in Dam Square (Amsterdam) just across the North Sea from Great Britain. Would the typical American, standing in the heart of Amsterdam to witness the coronation of the new king of The Netherlands, think he or she is in Copenhagen?

I made the same assumption, and thought Erin Burnett was the guilty party, but I apologized (for what it's worth).

 

[mfb]

Would the typical American, standing in the heart of Amsterdam to witness the coronation of the new king of The Netherlands, think he or she is in Copenhagen?

Problably not.
Thinking that you are in a different city is probably a rare mistake, and I would not expect a strong correlation between its frequency and the origin of those who make it.