In Europe at the turn of the century, children would wile away lazy European afternoons playing games like hopscotch, rope-a-dope and "guess who's Swiss." That last one was a big favorite in our house. Papa would rush home from the factory with a stack of books regarding Swiss people, and we'd sit quietly as he rattled off the questions.
"Reggie Jackson or Joe Piscopo?" he'd ask.
We'd look at each other quizzically, then reply "Uh, papa, aren't they both Americans?"
"Nonsense!" he'd reply, "Joe Piscopo is most definitely Swiss. Do they teach you nothing in that school?" After they took papa to the home, we were going through his papers, and there, right between a copy of Better Homes and Gardens and a listing of celebrites' hat sizes, was a note regarding Louis Chevrolet, the man for whom the car was named. Yes, he really was Swiss.
The Swiss who gave his name to a car [Swissinfo]
Related:
Bern, Baby, Bern: Blogging from Somewhere East of Geneva [internal]