# Ukraine and Netherlands, two odd countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387 "2010-06-24T17:58:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/81 "2010-06-27T15:57:11Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > None of them had a third bass! They had to make do with a couple of cellos? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/82 "2010-06-27T16:00:23Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > None of them had a third bass! > [@Musicat](#): > > They had to make do with a couple of cellos? Or some trout. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/83 "2010-06-27T20:06:31Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Given that there are thousands of languages spoken today, I find it highly unlikely that most living languages have regulatory bodies. Perhaps you mean some sort of restricted subset of languages for your “matter of fact”. Yeah, okay. I meant most languages that are the majority or official language of an independent country. I would guess this to be true, although I didn’t actually count them to make sure. The main point of my post was to point out to **aruqvan** and other Americans that the “Weird French” and their French Academy aren’t all that weird in the grand scheme of things; it’s actually a quite common phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/84 "2010-06-27T21:18:55Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Spanish doesn’t use articles generally in the same way, but uses them for a larger list of countries than English does; they’re optional, but idiomatic (_la India, la China, el Brasil, el Canadá_). Los EE.UU. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/85 "2010-06-28T01:32:53Z")
The Bahamas, The West Indies - lots of Thes are being lost … where are they going, there must be a huge pile of them somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/86 "2010-06-28T03:50:57Z")
> [@Scheidt-Hoch](#): > > Vinyl fans may be aware of ‘The Pink Floyd’. > [@tr0psn4j](#): > > He’s very good! Oh, by the way, which one is Pink? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/87 "2010-06-28T07:57:33Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > No, The Guess Who. _likes this comment_ ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/88 "2010-06-28T10:48:59Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > FWIW, there’s also The Pas, Manitoba, and The Dalles, Oregon. Also [ul] [li]The Colony TX[/li][li]The Plains VA[/li][li]The Village OK[/li][li]The Woodlands TX[/li][/ul] As far as I know, these 4 plus The Dalles are the only incorporated municipalities in the US whose official names begin with the word The, provided you ignore such introductory phrases as “The City of”, “The Town of”, etc. I believe The Pas is the only such place in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/89 "2010-06-28T15:07:17Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > “The Argentine” always sounded very strange to me. It seems to have become obsolete before I was born (i.e. a very long time ago). I have no idea why Argentina was ever called that, unless it was the name of a geographical zone like the other examples. Direct translation from Spanish, the question becomes why does it carry an article in Spanish. A lot of the New Places got names which back then had articles; some have lost them, some haven’t. Many of the initial Spanish names were real long at first but a lot of them got ellided rapidly; in this case, the Río de la Plata (Argentine River) seems to have gotten its name first from what I find googling, and referring to its shores as “la región argentina” (the area around the argentine river), then elliding the “región”, sort of comes naturally. This matches previous examples where the name of the country was previously the name of the region it occupies. So are some other names **matt\_mcl** mentions: la China was shorthand for “places far east” (un mantón de la China was usually not from China but from the Philippines) way before becoming a big colored blub in a map, for most people. Nowadays what gets ellided is not the region, but the República; in Spanish people may as well talk about Argentina or about La Argentina; this second version is seen as archaic but was in common usage just 50 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/90 "2010-06-29T03:10:18Z")
There is The Ohio State University, the school’s official name. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/91 "2010-06-29T04:35:08Z")
The Bronx. It was original a farm owned by Jonas Broncks in the 1600’s. Hence the Bronck’s. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/92 "2010-06-29T09:15:07Z")
I have a sort of silly question about the Netherlands … I know that pot has an odd sort of legal standing there, it isn’t legal, but it is accepted as long as it doesn’t become a problem. So … who grows the commercially available pot in Holland? Is it only available in the cafes, or is it available in pharmacies? I did Holland back in the 70s, and smoked some in a private residence we were staying in, and didn’t really go there for the drugs anyway [we were there for a wedding party] so any experience there is way outdated and really not anything like what would be ‘normal’. I for one would love the US to decriminalize marijuana, even though I don’t smoke it. I think it is not much different than a beer and a cigarette. Pot smokers don’t seem to have destroyed Dutch society as much as drinking on the street during Mardi Gras does to NoLa. ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/93 "2010-06-29T09:27:45Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I have a sort of silly question about the Netherlands … > > I know that pot has an odd sort of legal standing there, it isn’t legal, but it is accepted as long as it doesn’t become a problem. > > So … who grows the commercially available pot in Holland? Is it only available in the cafes, or is it available in pharmacies? > > I did Holland back in the 70s, and smoked some in a private residence we were staying in, and didn’t really go there for the drugs anyway [we were there for a wedding party] so any experience there is way outdated and really not anything like what would be ‘normal’. > > I for one would love the US to decriminalize marijuana, even though I don’t smoke it. I think it is not much different than a beer and a cigarette. Pot smokers don’t seem to have destroyed Dutch society as much as drinking on the street during Mardi Gras does to NoLa. Well, this is the big problem. It isn’t legal but there is a policy of not prosecuting sellers and buyers within a certain context (gedoogbeleid). it is almost as if they said: Attention everyone, we the state have decided not to enact the law that prohibits marinujana! the thing is tehre are strict regulations on who is allowed to sell it (coffee shops) and how much ‘stock’ they may carry. In addition to that every person is allowed to have a small amount of hemp plants (I think it is two). But it is illegal to produce pot commercially (large amounts), so the pot is not legal until it gets inside the coffeeshop. There are people who have the job of restocking coffeshops and in doing so are doing somethiong illegally until they get to their destination and give the pot to the coffe shop. there have been political parties that have called for real legalization of pot, but it has never reached a real majority. Most people know the system is ridiculous (allowing somethin to be sold, but not allowing it to be produced) but since tyhere is no clear majority to change it either way (the Christian parties would prefer to ban it again) we ‘choose’ to just muddle through with what we got. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/94 "2010-06-30T03:07:20Z")
> [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](#): > > Well, this is the big problem. It isn’t legal but there is a policy of not prosecuting sellers and buyers within a certain context (gedoogbeleid). it is almost as if they said: Attention everyone, we the state have decided not to enact the law that prohibits marinujana! Substitute “hooking” for “marijuana,” and that’s exactly the situation with prostitution in Thailand. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/95 "2010-06-30T04:32:50Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I believe The Pas is the only such place in Canada. There are, though, some places in Canada that start with Le or La, like the town of La Malbaie, and city of La Tuque, Quebec. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/96 "2010-06-30T05:09:06Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Gambia. > > “The” is an official part of the name, to prevent confusion with Zambia. I thought that was what the “G” was for. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/97 "2010-06-30T06:01:50Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > There are, though, some places in Canada that start with Le or La, like the town of La Malbaie, and city of La Tuque, Quebec. Yes, but I explicitly restricted my statements to names starting with the word The. The English article is much rarer in placenames than those of French or Spanish, so it’s more notable when it does show up. The US has a goodly number of places with non-English articles in them. Several from Spanish have been mentioned previously in this thread and there’s many more. There’s also a number with French articles – for example there’s La Grande here in Oregon. If you want, you could count many (but not all) of the numerous places named after the marquis de Lafayette as having a French article. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/98 "2010-06-30T06:02:25Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Substitute “hooking” for “marijuana,” and that’s exactly the situation with prostitution in Thailand. So…it’s cheap to travel to these countries, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/99 "2010-06-30T06:04:32Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > There’s also a number with French articles – for example there’s La Grande here in Oregon. I imagine there’s a reason you say that one is French rather than Spanish, may I ask what it is? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387/100 "2010-06-30T06:06:42Z")
And lest we forget, it’s THE Ohio State University. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-and-netherlands-two-odd-countries/544387.md?page=6)