# What Country Is This? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369 "2008-08-09T02:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/21 "2008-08-10T01:04:33Z")
It’s interesting to see the order, so different from our alphabetical order. I had to search for the US team though, they were near the last. Canada was #62. 🙂 Yesterday I was passing through the Eaton Centre and I happened to be in time to see part of the CBC rebroadcast of the opening ceremonies, on a big screen at the Bell booth. It was a nice feeling when I saw the Canadian team march in, resplendent in their red, white and gold uniforms and their white caps and red turbans. The CBC kind of ruined it afterwards, though, going to a split screen thing where one window showed the Canadian team as they arrived in the middle of the stadium, and the other showed a smaller view of the later arriving teams. I never saw the US team because I left in annoyance and went into Trinity Square and checked out the labyrinth (which has been made permanent). ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/22 "2008-08-10T04:39:47Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] It’s interesting to see the order, so different from our alphabetical order. I had to search for the US team though, they were near the last. Canada was #62. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Canada’s rendered as _Jiānádà_, 加拿大; I _think_ the literal meaning is “to capture the eldest and add [to one’s possessions]”, I’m not sure. My Pinyin is really bad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/23 "2008-08-10T05:33:56Z")
Uh… perhaps I’m missing something here, but Chinese doesn’t _have_ an alphabetical order because it doesn’t have an alphabet. Not so? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/24 "2008-08-10T05:51:56Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Uh… perhaps I’m missing something here, but Chinese doesn’t _have_ an alphabetical order because it doesn’t have an alphabet. Not so? [/QUOTE] Just because there’s no alphabet doesn’t mean you can’t put it in order. [Chinese collation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collation#Radical-and-stroke_sorting). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/25 "2008-08-10T06:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] Just because there’s no alphabet doesn’t mean you can’t put it in order. [/QUOTE] Right, but not _alphabetically_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/26 "2008-08-10T11:09:57Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Right, but not _alphabetically_. 😃 [/QUOTE] Strictly speaking, neither does English (alpha and beta having failed to make it into our language 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/27 "2008-08-10T11:17:27Z")
I thought the Chinese just went last to emphasise to all the other teams who the big cheer was for? ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/28 "2008-08-10T11:24:25Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Strictly speaking, neither does English (alpha and beta having failed to make it into our language 😉 ). [/QUOTE] so your alphabet starts at c? just because we don’t have cutesie names for our letters doesn’t mean we don’t have them. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/29 "2008-08-10T14:19:26Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] I thought the Chinese just went last to emphasise to all the other teams who the big cheer was for? [/QUOTE] Assuming this isn’t a whoosh (since my whoosh detector is in the shop for adjustment) it is traditional for Greece to lead the parade of athletes and for the host nation to go last. At the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens the parade was opened by the Greek flag bearer, and the athletes marched at the end. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/30 "2008-08-10T21:53:44Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] so your alphabet starts at c? just because we don’t have cutesie names for our letters doesn’t mean we don’t have them. [/QUOTE] No, our list of letters starts at “a”, which we pronounce “ayee” or something like. It is followed by “bee”. So we have an Ayeebee. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/31 "2008-08-10T23:04:59Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] I thought the Chinese just went last to emphasise to all the other teams who the big cheer was for? [/QUOTE] The host nation usually always goes last. I say usually because I can’t remember if the Greeks went first or last in Athens (since Greece usually goes first). ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/32 "2008-08-11T01:02:19Z")
[QUOTE=WormTheRed] The host nation usually always goes last. I say usually because I can’t remember if the Greeks went first or last in Athens (since Greece usually goes first). [/QUOTE] See post #29 - > [@LurkMeister](#): > > At the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens the parade was opened by the Greek flag bearer, and the athletes marched at the end. Perhaps I should have been clearer - the Greek athletes marched at the end. eta - to clarify ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/33 "2008-08-11T08:18:47Z")
[QUOTE=LurkMeister] See post #29 - Perhaps I should have been clearer - the Greek athletes marched at the end. eta - to clarify [/QUOTE] Somehow I completely managed to miss your post when reading the thread. I do apologize. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/34 "2008-08-11T12:10:48Z")
No problem…I sometimes think my LurkMeister powers are too strong, judging from the number of times other posters have said the same thing I did several hours previously and gotten responses instead of me. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/35 "2008-08-11T12:59:26Z")
Hey, you are the LurkMeister 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/36 "2008-08-11T14:43:25Z")
Yes, and his powers are strong, judging from the number of times other posters have said the same thing he did several hours previously and gotten responses instead of him. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/37 "2008-08-11T15:12:57Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Yes, and his powers are strong, judging from the number of times other posters have said the same thing he did several hours previously and gotten responses instead of him. [/QUOTE] Sure seems that way. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/38 "2008-08-11T15:52:57Z")
spot on, **Cervaise**. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/39 "2008-08-11T17:12:25Z")
It’s so weird this thread skipped post 34. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369/40 "2008-08-11T17:14:08Z")
[Jack Benny]Now cut that out![/JB] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-this/459369.md?page=3)