Ms. Baudelaire Regrets the Error

In yesterday's post, I made a joke about the Sudetenland. Because really, what kind of modern satirist are you if you can't find humor in an area of ethnic Germans in the former Czechoslovakia whose annexation by Adolf Hitler in 1938 ultimately led to the start of World War Two? No kind, that's what kind.

Besides, it's hysterically funny. Sudetenland humor.

Well, Beloved Spouse informed me that I got it all wrong.

What? I asked. My analysis of the international components of a Reuben sandwich?


German, Irish, Swiss...if Matthew Perry had a little
Russian in him, he'd be a Reuben!
Could that be any cooler? /Chandler Bing voice

No, he said sternly. Your map of the Sudetenland.

Oh my God.

You see, I used this image of the border region of Czechoslovakia ceded to Germany by Neville Chamberlain:

When clearly, as BelSpouse pointed out, I should have used this image:

Needless to say, I am mortified. If Anderson Cooper wants to question me about my unfortunate error, I would welcome the opportunity to to apologize and explain myself. This is not representative of the kind of journalism I strive to present here. Usually I strive to present the kind that doesn't involve maps, because I sort of stink at history and geography. But I put it out there, and I have to take ownership of my mistake.

I mean, anyone can see the error of my ways. Even a cursory amount of research would have revealed that the red squiggly blobs on the map I used are completely different from the pinkish squiggly blobs on the map BelSpouse so kindly provided. Ignorance is no excuse; I should have double-checked the facts.

Thank goodness I live with an historian who can look past the humorous intent of his spouse's writing and zero in on an inconsequential detail of a throwaway sentence. I'm so grateful for his input and his support. I look forward to his next helpful suggestion. Since he actually reads my blog about three times a year, I figure I'll be waiting until sometime in late Summer.