From "Turin" to "Torino": Olympics Put New Name on the Map
As in this case, lots of differences stem from translation to English.
In other instances, it's political. For example, St. Petersburg (Russia) went to Petrograd (anti-German feeling in WWI), then to Leningrad (after the Russian Revolution), and now back to St. Petersburg.
For these -- 1 homework point for each that you can explain ("This is the old name, this is the new name"). Find one or two more that I didn't, for 1 or 2 more points.
Other examples of "old" and "new" names -- Volgograd, Persia, Myanmar, Zaire, Beijing, East Pakistan.
Defunct names -- countries that no longer exist -- Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia
For other examples, look at internet suffixes -- .ch, .de, .za, .es, .kh. And the really really strange internet domain -- .cat (which is not yet actually in use).
