Kyrzbekistan Isn't Funny

Laugh all you want about Kyrzbekistan -- the country accidentally invented this week by the New York Times, and now blessed with its own Twitter account and hashtag, and even put on the map by Conde Nast Traveler. But the birth of another ridiculous nonexistent "stan" is a serious issue for countries that have that syllable as part of their names -- and for the rest of us, too. It's a reminder that, as it becomes easier to travel the world, we do so in cocoons, making little effort to understand where we are.

Kyrzbekistan -- born of a mountain climber's kidnapping by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which was fighting off the army of neighboring Kyrgyzstan -- continues a line of high-profile "stan" gaffes. In 2011, U.S. presidential candidate Herman Cain said in an interview he had no idea who the president of "Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan" was. In 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised diplomats working to support democratic institutions in "Kyrzhakhstan" (or maybe he said "Kyrzygstan," which is not much better).