Impress your American friends by informing them that a part of the USA was once called Albania. After the Dutch had lost their New Netherlands colony to the British in 1664, their town was renamed to New York; locals at the time called the neighbouring land Albania. In 1702, that province formed the royal colony of New Jersey, later becoming the US state of New Jersey. The city of Albany, capital of New York state, has nothing to do with it, and was named after... Scotland.