George Clooney admits ‘my wife’s the smart one’

George Clooney doesn’t know how many countries there are, but that’s OK, because his “smart” wife Amal Alamuddin probably does.

“The Monuments Men” actor-director, who wed the highly educated human-rights lawyer in September, flubbed a line during a speech at the SeriousFun Children’s Network gala in New York on Monday. The actor was in attendance alongside Meryl Streep, Danny DeVito, Tom Hanks, David Letterman and others to honor the late Paul Newman’s philanthropic work.

When Clooney took the stage for his speech at the Lincoln Center, he noted -- or attempted to anyway -- how many countries have been reached by Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camps, according to People.

“Today, there isn’t just one camp, but there’s a thriving community in the U.S., in Europe, in Israel. Since 1988, these camps have brought over a half-million sick kids and their families from over five hun… -- over 50 countries -- 500 countries would be too many. There aren’t actually that many,” he started, then reportedly looked pensive as the audience laughed.

“My wife’s the smart one,” he added.

And with that admission, wives everywhere fell in love all over again with the former perennial bachelor ...

It’s not the first time he’s invoked the British barrister, who’s represented Julian Assange and the nation of Armenia in court. He notably brought up his wife during a heartfelt speech at the Golden Globe Awards in January when he accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Now back to geography. Clooney wasn’t totally off -- because 500 is a high estimate. There are at least 195 internationally recognized independent countries, not including those governed by other countries, according to U.S. State Department.

In short, it’s a complicated question that smarty-pants Mrs. Clooney would likely think twice about before answering.

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