What bothers me is when people use the word "Africa" as though it´s a single country, as though all 55 nations have come together to form the United States of Africa. (That would be quite a miracle, especially since you can´t even get parts of Rwanda to come together.)

It doesn´t help that President Bush once made a reference to the "nation of Africa." That was a slip of the tongue, of course. He meant to say "Republic of Africa."

Unfortunately, many Americans know even less about Africa than the president -- and some of them call themselves African-Americans. Ask them to name some African countries and they´ll come up with perhaps five or six, then give you a look of astonishment when you tell them that Timbuktu doesn´t count.

They know Egypt: it´s the home of pyramids and mummies. They know South Africa: it´s the home of Nelson Mandela and Charlize Theron. And they know Libya: it´s the home of those three longtime dictators: Gadhafi, Kadhafi and Qadhafi.

Africa is such a diverse continent, but few of its nations make the news in America, even if they´ve done something commendable, such as elected a new leader, made progress in the fight against AIDS, or sent an athlete to the Winter Olympics. Africa gets barely a mention on ABC´s "World News Tonight," which may soon be renamed "American and Israeli News Tonight."

That explains why I keep having conversations like this:

Politician: "You want to talk about Africa? Great! I love Africa. My wife grew up there."

Me: "Really? Which country?"

Politician: "Uh ... I´m not sure. I think it´s one of those ´Z´ countries. Zimbabia? Zambibwe?"

Me: "Do you mean Zambia? Or Zimbabwe?"

Politician: "I´m not sure. Zambia sounds familiar. It definitely has a ´zam´ in it."

Me: "Could it be Mozambique?"

Politician: "Yes, that´s it! Mozambique! Boy, I´d better write that down -- it might impress the voters."

Me: "It certainly impresses me, Senator Kerry! Remember: You want to beat Bush, not beat around it."

To help everyone learn a little more about Africa, I´ve developed a short quiz:

---Which of these is NOT an African country? (a) Guinea; (b) Guinea-Bissau; (c) Equatorial Guinea; or (d) Guinea-Pig

---What is the chief product of Nigeria? (a) Oil; (b) Gold; (c) Coal; or (d) Spam.

---If you can find Ken in Kenya, Wanda in Rwanda, and Dan in Sudan, where can you find Chad? (a) Chadzania; (b) Equatorial Chad; (c) Northern Africa; or (d) Florida.

---Who is the leader of Zimbabwe? (a) Kofi Annan; (b) Robert Mugabe; (c) Shaka Zulu; or (d) Al Sharpton.

---How did Ivory Coast get its name? (a) It produces the popular "Ivory" and "Coast" brands of soap; (b) Elephant tusks were exported from there; (c) Most of the world´s piano keys are made there; or (d) It was named after renowned actor Keenan Ivory Wayans.

---What happened to the $15 billion President Bush pledged to fight AIDS in Africa? (a) The White House dog ate it; (b) David Blaine made it disappear; (c) U.S. troops are searching for it in Iraq; or (d) The Bushmen have it.