I still wonder how many things I am ignorant about that are right under my nose.

The hotel where I usually stay in Mexico City is on a street called Campos Eliseos, and yesterday in the car, when I asked the one of my partners what "campos" means, he told me "fields," and suddenly, things came together for me.

"Like the Elysian Fields?" I asked. I got blank stares from everyone in the vehicle. They had never heard of what I was talking about. But one of them helpfuly chimed in, "This street that we are on has the same name as the Champs-Élysées in Paris."

Bing-Bang-Boom, as fast as you can say Jack Robinson, I had realized the meaning behind the name of the most important street in Paris (or as it is known in France, "La plus belle avenue du monde" --"The most beautiful avenue in the world." Shocked at this French declaration? Yes, me too.) And simultaneously, I had learned the same thing about a street I have been on countless times in Mexico City. I mentally broke my arm patting myself on the back, then wondered why it only took me umpteen years to figure out these connections. And then I filled in my partners on the Elysian Fields.

I got it basically right from memory, but Wikipedia is better and more concise: Originally from Greek Mythology--"The Elysian Fields, Elysian Plains or Fields of Asphodel, were the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous." And because I was a nutcase basball trivia guy when I was kid, I happen to still remember that the first organized baseball games in the US were played in the 1840's on the Elysian Fields in New Jersey. And of course, there's Elysian Park in Los Angeles, where Dodger Stadium is located.

A few hours later, during a dinner with some different partners, both of whom are 100% fluent in Spanish, English, and French, and have both spent a great deal of time in France (one of them was actually traveling to France the next day) I asked if they knew about the connection between the streets and the mythical fields. They both knew that the two streets in Mexico City and Paris have essentially the same name, but had no idea that either street name had any special meaning other than just a name (which was sort of perpendicular, if you will, to my lack of knowledge a few hours before).

All of this made me wonder what percentage of Parisians don't know the meaning behind the name of their most famous street, and if it's more than the percentage of folks in Cincinnati, Ohio who have never heard of Cincinnatus.

So here is my quick quiz for those who want to play along. Please pick the one that applies to you and post your answer as a comment to this entry.

1. "I didn't know about the Elysian Fields or their connection to the street in Paris...but I don't care and I can't believe I just wasted five minutes of my life on this."

2. "I knew about the Elysian Fields, but not their connection to the Paris Street...but I don't give a fig and I can't believe I just wasted five minutes of my life on this."

3. "I knew about all of this already...but I don't give a rodent's rear-end and I can't believe I just wasted five minutes of my life on this."

Separately and finally (bringing this entry to a merciful conclusion) one of my partners booked us in the Holiday Inn Express in Playa del Carmen (near Cancun) where we stayed for two nights before we came to Mexico City (ah, the glamorous life of your intrepid international investor). The morning after our first night, at a breakfast meeting, I said, "I may not be a very sophisticated real instate investor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." No one laughed. When I explained it, they chuckled politely. Despite my small audience of two, I perhaps felt as silly as my friend Charlie when he said in a speech to hundreds of Chinese businessmen in Shanghai, "A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'Hey, why the long face?' "

And that, my friends, is all.