I managed to get 47, though there are many of those countries I consider European.
And it wouldn't accept Russia, what's up with that?

I put in a half-dozen names, attempted to enter Russia, was rejected, then quit.

Ambiguous quiz is ambiguous.

http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/taiwancountry.htm and http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/palestinenot.htm.

I guess it just comes down to what counts as "internationally recognised".

Anyway, on the Sporcle quiz (with the map) I got 38 (+1 - Kyrgyzstan, which it wouldn't accept for some reason) which is actually pretty shoddy because I should be able to name them all. A few months back me and my housemates trained ourselves up on http://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/how-many-countries-can-you-name.php to the point of being able to name all 196...

I only got 28, but some of my frustrations were caused by not considering Oceana part of Asia. I would have gotten a few more had I done that.

The Middle East. But if you want to be specific, then Africa. I heard they were recently trying to pass it off as part of Europe too. Make up your minds.

The Middle East is in Asia.

If you think Israel is in Africa, then there's something seriously wrong with your understanding of geography.

I don't think anyone actually thinks Israel is in Europe, although politically it's closer to Europe than any of its neighbours, for reasons too obvious (and out of bounds) to go into...

I'm staring at a world map right now and it's sure as hell closer to Africa (it's practically right above it). Also, from a cultural standpoint the Middle East is more African. As for the deal with Europe, I just checked the EU website and it's no longer recognized as European so the debate seems to be over, interestingly though, Cyprus is a member and the quiz said it was part of Asia. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by the underlined part, if you'd care to PM me I'd be much obliged.

I thought the Caucasus Republics were Europe (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan). Those were the ones I remembered at the last minute and tried them. My biggest miss was The Philippines. How I missed that one I'll never know.

I mean politically and culturally Israel has closer ties to European countries than it does to its neighbours, with whom it's constantly on the brink of war.

It may be close to Africa, but it's clearly not in Africa.

And if you think the Middle East is culturally African you need to go and read a history book.

Neither is it in Asia. Unless you consider the Middle East part of Asia which makes you wonder why countries such as Russia (which is INSIDE Asian) weren't included. Though by now I've guessed that the whole quiz had a deep underlying of PC bull.

Far as I know Egypt is still counted as African. Now it is apparent that the Middle Eastern Countries have stronger cultural ties with a country such as Egypt than saaay...Thailand or Nepal.

The Middle East is part of Asia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia

Then why isn't Russia on the quiz? Seems a bit fishy.

Becuase Russia is commonly considered to be culturally and politically European? Both of it's two largest cities (including the capital) are in Europe, most Russians live in the European part, it's historically Christian and Westernized? It doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to see why, if you have to choose one or the other, you'd say Russia is in Europe.

Same with Egypt, which is mostly in Africa and therefore considered an African country.

And are you trying to tell me that Israelis are Asian culturally and politically? Also if you think Russia is in Europe the Wikipedia article you provided is null and void because you yourself disagree with it. You can't just pick out the parts that suit your argument.

What? Russia is in Europe and Asia, but considered European. Egypt is in Africa and Asia, but considered African.

Israel is in Asia. Nowhere else. You don't get to pick and choose in that case.

EDIT: By your argument you may as well count France as a South American country because of their territory in Guyana.

No. Your Wikipedia article specifically shows both Russia AND Israel as part of Asia (no mixes, both are in Asia). Right? Of course, all you have to do is take a look at it. Yet you're saying that Russia is considered European and Israel is in Asia. Either they're both in Asia (this is what the article says), or neither one is in which case the Wikipedia article is wrong (it isn't I hope, thus they're both Asian). Of course this is geographically speaking. Culturally, Russia could be considered part of Asia (only due to large populations of Asiatic peoples, the Russians themselves are Slavs) but Israel could hardly be. Also let's not forget that most of Russia's territory is in Asian, therefore this part; "By your argument you may as well count France as a South American country because of their territory in Guyana." applies to your argument. Then again, that would depend on just where Russia steps over the borders of Asian and extends into Europe.

And to avoid confusion, let's leave Egypt out of it, I brought it up as an example to show that Middle Eastern cultures are more similar to African ones than Asian ones.

Given that Israel is in Asia, I'd say that yes, inasmuch as a continent can even have a particular culture and political structure. As for Russia, as pointed out it straddles two continents with its capital in Europe. So at least that chunk of it is European, though I think I'd struggle to see Siberia as anything other than Asian.

Are you saying it's impossible for a certain country on a continent to have a cultural and political structure typical of another continent? For example; country X is located on continent A but has culture and politics typical of continent B. Thus even though it's a continent-A-country, could it's culture and politics not be considered B-continentan?

I'm not saying that it's impossible, but it's not very meaningful. You might as well say that Australia and north and south America are kind of European, but they're their own thing. In Israel's case, one could argue that there are perhaps some European elements but it doesn't change the fact that it's an Asian country in Asia. There are a couple of Israeli regulars kicking about here, perhaps I should wait to see what they have to say about the subject, though I think in their place I would be a little bemused at the suggestion that it's anything but Asian.

Oh it's a misunderstanding then Vometia. You see, by the time you quoted my comment, our discussion had turned to culture, instead of geography. He stated that Russia could be considered European because of it's culture and politics, and I replied that the same could easily apply for Israel.

I'd say Russia is a special case in that a large chunk of it is actually in Europe, which my personal feeling is a prerequisite for that sort of comparison to really be meaningful. I see Wikipedia sidesteps the "is it in Europe or Asia?" question by describing it as being in Eurasia. Ho hum.

The way I see it, most of the people there live in the European bit. Russia just happens to have colonised half of the Asian continent without crossing a sea, so it's all part of one European country, despite most of it being in Asia.

Some of those countries are not in Asia

some countries I know are in Asia did not count.

I think I'd rather just think of Russia as an anomaly! Except there's also Turkey not wanting to commit itself to a particular continent either.

Kyrgyzstan is impossible to spell by memory.