YIKES! If you’re the speaker at a major international conference and happen to be prone to slips of the tongue, for goodness’ sake, employ the old rock technique of writing the city or country’s name on the back of something close to hand.
Don’t make the mistake of the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who wanted to thank Austria for Vienna’s hosting a major UN conference about developing landlocked countries, and instead thanked Australia, Associated Press reported.
He recovered well, however, apologising later by saying he knew there weren’t any kangaroos in Austria, the publication reported, which really goes to show if you’ve got a good recovery, you might even get away with calling any country Australia – even New Zealand.
