# What % of Americans can name the capital of Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170 "2005-11-09T04:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/41 "2005-11-09T19:28:17Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > What percentage of Americans can name the capital of Canada? None of them can. Dude, it’s already _got_ a name. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/42 "2005-11-09T19:34:15Z")
> [@bradministrator](#): > > But we burned down their capital, Toronto, too. > > Wait, what? It was named York at the time, and wasn’t so much burned as transiently occupied and selectively demolished. > [@RickJay](#): > > I know a lot of Canadians who can’t say how many provinces there are in Canada. And it’s a nice, round number, too. _counts on fingers_ Eleventy-mumble! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/43 "2005-11-09T19:35:10Z")
I knew Ottawa was the capital of Canada. I figured it was common knowlege; then again I grew up in northern New England and half of my family is Canadian. I also knew Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. But that’s only because I knew it was the answer to the trivia question - what’s the southernmost national capital in the world? (The northernmost is Reykjavík, Iceland incidentally). And I knew Brasilia was the capital of Brazil. But I thought Rio de Janeiro was the largest city in Brazil which it isn’t; Sao Paulo is bigger. I thought Kingston was the first capital of Canada - I remember reading that once. But apparently the issue is complicated; Kingston claims the title because it was the site of first meeting of Parliament of Canada after its unification. I knew Canada had ten provinces. I can name all ten but not all of their capitals. I don’t know all the state capitals either. I had no idea what the difference was between capital and capitol. But I’ve now learned that a capitol is a building in a capital, which is a city. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/44 "2005-11-09T20:01:46Z")
I have known that Ottawa is the capital of Canada since I was in second grade. However, I have never know someone who is from there. I have never been there. I may know people who have been there, but they’ve never told me about it. I have to conclude that knowing the capital of Canada is a fairly useless thing. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Bill\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/45 "2005-11-09T20:18:37Z")
The capital of Canada is Washington D.C., because Canada is the 51st state. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/46 "2005-11-09T20:20:42Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I still sometimes confuse which of Bismarck and Pierre goes with which Dakota Germany is a little more northerly than France, so the capital with the German name is north of the one with the French name. Now you can sleep in peace. Ottawa has a great aviation museum, if any of the rest of you ever get there. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/47 "2005-11-09T20:53:27Z")
Moved to IMHO. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/48 "2005-11-09T20:55:54Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > I have known that Ottawa is the capital of Canada since I was in second grade. However, I have never know someone who is from there. I have never been there. I may know people who have been there, but they’ve never told me about it. I have to conclude that knowing the capital of Canada is a fairly useless thing. So…_does it really exist_? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/49 "2005-11-09T20:59:23Z")
I knew it! I also know (without looking it up) that the capital of Mongolia is Ulaan Bataar (spelling may vary) and the capital of Bhutan is Thimpu (spelling also Thimbu). My mom used to drill us on capitals while we helped with the dishes, so I’m pretty good with state capitals, too. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/50 "2005-11-09T21:08:04Z")
About 12 years ago, when I was preparing to be on Jeopardy for the first time, I took it upon myself to memorize the capitals of the Canadian provinces, since I was already pretty good with the state capitals. I can’t remember most of them anymore, but I knew the national capital right away when I saw this thread. I myself was wondering the other day how many Americans would recognize the Canadian flag? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/51 "2005-11-09T21:16:37Z")
Probably about the same number of Americans who can name the captial of any other random U.S. state. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/52 "2005-11-09T21:19:36Z")
I went to school in Ottawa. The National Gallery was a great place to study. Also they have _much_ better poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy) than we do in Toronto. And a lot more shawarma places. And the Elgin Street Diner, which I miss because it was close and open 24 hours. It’s also fun to visit other countries by standing on embassy lawns. You could do that for most countries except the U.S. and Russia. They had big scary fences. I regularly went to Egypt on my way to class. It exists, and it is damn cold in winter. ---
**Author:** ![Poonther](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Poonther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poonther)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/53 "2005-11-09T21:21:22Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I know a lot of Canadians who can’t say how many provinces there are in Canada. And it’s a nice, round number, too. Ha **RickJay** that’s a trick question. Everybody knows, even us dumb Americans, that Canada has 20 STATES not PROVINCES. Provinces are what they call counties in the state of Mississippi! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/54 "2005-11-09T21:21:28Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > It exists, and it is damn cold in winter. Yeah, freezing rain as I type… ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/55 "2005-11-09T21:29:23Z")
Canadian provincial capitals from memory: PEI – (forgot) New Brunswick – Fredericton Newfoundland – St. Johns Quebec – Quebec Ontario – Toronto Manitoba – Winnipeg Saskatchewan – Regina Alberta – Calgary BC – Victoria Yukon – Dawson NWT – Yellowknife Nunavut – (read of it once … can’t recall now) … Now let’s go see how I did … ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/56 "2005-11-09T21:32:03Z")
OK, left off Nova Scotia. I know that one’s Halifax. I once knew about Charlottetown, PEI … once I read that name again, it came right back. ---
**Author:** ![party\_store](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@party\_store](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/party_store)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/57 "2005-11-09T21:35:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I can. (I still sometimes confuse which of Bismarck and Pierre goes with which Dakota.) I know one other Canadian who can. I’m not all that smart, I’m just a geography geek. I use the Simpsons to remind me of this. Quiz Guy: The capital of North Dakota is named after which German leader? Homer: Hitler! Marge: Hitler, North Dakota? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/58 "2005-11-09T21:37:59Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Canadian provincial capitals from memory: > > PEI – (forgot) > New Brunswick – Fredericton > Newfoundland – St. Johns > Quebec – Quebec > Ontario – Toronto > Manitoba – Winnipeg > Saskatchewan – Regina > Alberta – Calgary > BC – Victoria > Yukon – Dawson > NWT – Yellowknife > Nunavut – (read of it once … can’t recall now) > > … > > Now let’s go see how I did … PEI is Charlottetown. Remember the accord. Nunavut - I don’t know and I doubt I could pronounce it anyway. Is Yukon White Horse? Not a provence anyway. A jackass I went to high school with played for the Senators for years. I do know the capitol of Canada. Don’t know how many others do. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/59 "2005-11-09T21:42:09Z")
Oh and the Canadian flag would be widely recognized in the U.S. Hell in Mpls. they have it all over the place. Canadians used to own most of the office space in this city, there is a Canadian consulate here and just in general you see the flag all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/60 "2005-11-09T22:40:32Z")
I’ve got to admit it: When I saw the title, I thought to myself “I’m going to guess Toronto.” Never woulda guessed it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that. And I’m the smartest person in my town. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170.md?page=4)