Monday 26 January 2009

Australia Day

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"Spirit of the Drought" - Arthur Streeton

A holiday here in Australia, Australia Day.
Some things we have bequeathed to the world:

The secret ballot
The Australian crawl
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry
Tall poppies
Sausage sizzle
The wiggles
Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan & Elle McPherson.
Kangaroo
Penicillin via Florey
Boomerang
Combine harvester
Box kite
Black box flight recorder
Rack and pinion steering
Lithium for bipolar
Bionic ear
Kerosene fridge
Dual flush toilet
Hills hoist
The electric drill
2-stoke lawnmower
Garage roller door
Plastic bank notes
Refrigeration
Vegemite
Wine cask
Heart pacemaker
Spray on skin
Winged keel
Eucalypts
...

19 comments:

  1. What is vegemite and do you like it?

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  2. Okay, the sausage sizzle and the pacemaker I'm cool with (they have a certain symmetry, don't you think?), but, good lord man, THE WIGGLES? Please, please take them back.

    Oh, wait, the US gave the world W. as Prez, so never mind...

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  3. Vegemite is a salty, yeast extract product, originally made from brewery waste, but doesn't taste like beer.

    Generally Australians love it and the rest of the world...um...doesn't. I remember the travel agents ini the UK used to stock it for Aussie backpackers who pined for it.

    Read more about it here

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  4. Wow! I never knew. I am impressed....

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  5. The stump jump plough.

    And the P76, which was a combination of the plough and the winged keel. But a fine motor car.

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  6. Whats Australian Crawl...?And winged Keel...??

    U r one proud Austrailian...aint it?;)

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  7. And Twisties, the intermittent windshield wiper, permaculture (seriously) and musk-flavoured lollies (eg musk sticks, musk Life Savers).

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  8. Indi, the Australian crawl is either a swimming stroke (on your tummy, overhand, breathing to the side) or a 1980s band.

    And the winged keel was secretly built on an Australian boat during some ocean race. That boat won the race, the first time the US didn't win the cup in quite a while. Someone else will have to give you the details.

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  9. Vegemite? Really? Now that surprised mum;) The wiggles...Wha???

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  10. And my first grand-daughter.

    And R M Williams boots, the best boots known to man.

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  11. Happy Australia Day dear Lee...a great list of achievements...we sure have much to be proud of. ♥

    The yacht with the winged keel was Australia II, it won the Americas Cup on September 26, 1983.

    Yes Australian Crawl is a swimming stroke and also a band.

    Yes R M Williams boots are great.

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  12. What about the koala and the kukaburra...

    Oooh - how we love The Wiggles in our household!

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  13. Things I love about Australia: Ellie Macpherson, Hugh Jackman (sexiest man on earth!), kangaroo, koala and never forgotten; Lee and Margaret Kennedy!

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  14. Someone tell me what are The Wiggles?

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  15. Ok lee.. waiting for the answers!! reveal the mysterious australian stufff...
    ;)

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  16. Tall poppies, really? and garage roller doors, that's amazing!

    I quite like Vegemite, you can get it in one suppermarket here, but it's frightfully expensive. Odd really as I've haven't met many Aussies here at all...

    Hope you had a good Fete Nationale anyway!

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  17. The image has caught my eye. But she really should, 'slip, slop, slap'!!!!!

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