Taiwan Is Where?

My high school students love puns. Daily I put one on the board for them to solve. Yes, they probably cause minds to stray from the topic at hand, but I find they are also educational in surprising ways--as well as responsible for getting a dictionary or thesaurus into a student's hands spontaneously. Thanks to many "punny" websites, I have a ready supply.

Today's pun (paraphrased):

When you get a blood transfusion in Taiwan, you expect to get ____ blood.

Some students got it immediately. Others needed a hint, so I suggested they go up to the map and look at Taiwan for hints.

The response (from at least two students)? "But I don't know where Taiwan is!"

What a lack of modern history is revealed by that comment, apart from lack of geography! Some did know the slogan "Made in Taiwan" but didn't connect it with all the stories about Chinese goods.

P.S. The answer is "Taipei" [Type A]--groan. So today they learned that Taiwan is off the coast of China and what its capital is. Not bad for English class.

My father would be proud. He used to drive me crazy with puns at the dinner table.