Lithuania got a lot of laughs on "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" on Saturday.

Quite a few things get made fun of on the NPR comedy quiz show, but usually they have done something to warrant the abuse (Congress, for example). Lithuania's only sin, as far as I could tell, was its failure to become prominent enough on the world stage that American journalists would know something about it.

Making fun of what you don't understand has a long history, though you expect more from a National Public Radio show. Host Peter Sagal gave as examples of famous Lithuanians Charles Bronson and Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky was an entirely American concoction that the proud Baltic nation had absolutely nothing to do with. But it was evidence that Americans look at the world almost exclusively through the prism of America. A much more inspiring example of a famous Lithuanian living in the States would have been the poet and Yale professor Tomas Venclova.

After a while, just the word "Lithuania" evoked laughter - not only from the audience, but from members of the cast. For someone who had visited the country - and found Vilnius to be one of the loveliest cities in Europe, its citizens gracious and intelligent - it was hard to listen to.

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