Transcript of AE 1373 - 25 Things That Only Happen in Australia | Australian Culture Shock

G'day, you mob! Pete here. Welcome to this episode of Aussie English, the number one place for anyone and everyone wanting to learn Australian English. You guessed it.

So today we are reacting to 25 Things That Only Happen in Australia. From The Bright Side YouTube channel. Let's see how many of these things surprise me. Mmm.

Before we get into it, don't forget you can listen to this episode as a podcast. Wherever you get good podcasts, just do a search for Aussie English and you will find me. Anyway, let's get into it!

G'day, mate. As you probably guessed, I'm greeting you from the land Down Under. Where people pay with plastic money, some fish are over 300 million years old, and cockroach racing is a big deal. You better listen up or else, my friend, the drop bear, will find you. If only it were real.

Why do I feel like this was made for Americans?

Number one. To get an idea of how huge Australia is, just imagine this. There's a cattle ranch called Anna Creek Station that's bigger than Israel, with an area of 5,851,000 acres. It's the largest working cattle ranch in the world, and it's seven times larger than America's biggest, located in Texas.

And it's just desert. There's nothing there. Just desert, cows, 1 or 2 trees, and that's about it. And that's why it's so big. We've got a lot of dry interior in Australia where nothing much happens, and you need that much space to grow a few cows.

Number two. You might have seen a lot of weird eBay listings, but one guy from Australia out weirded them all. In 2006, he tried to sell New Zealand at a starting price of less than a cent. It escalated quickly, but when the price reached $2,100 with 22 bidders, eBay closed the auction. They explained that a nation of 5 million was definitely not for sale. Number three.

But- how is that? How is that a thing? Like, that only happens in Australia when we were auctioned off other people's countries. That's weird. That was a weird one to include.

If you're over 18 years old, then you're legally old enough to vote in Australia.

Well, yeah, if you're 18 years old and above, you can vote in Australia. Yes. And who knows? I mean, the UK just brought it down to 16, I believe. So that may change in the future as well.

But missing a vote, without a good reason, will cost you anywhere from $20 to $50. $20 is for first timers, and if you do it again, it rises to $50.

I've heard this. I've never heard of anyone actually getting fined though. Maybe that's because most Australians just turn up. Really? You don't have to vote. At the end of the day, you don't get fined for not voting. You get fined for not showing up on voting day. So you can go. You can have your name ticked off and you don't have to vote. You don't have to do anything else, and you can walk off, but you still have to go there. It's just, it's the law. It's the law.

If you refuse to pay the fine. Be prepared to say goodbye to your driver's license.

Again, I've never heard of anyone losing their driver's license over this, but maybe everyone just pays the fine if they get it? But I've never heard of anyone getting the fine.

Number four. What does the Sydney Opera House look like to you? A bunch of sails? In fact, the architect who designed it was inspired when eating an orange. If you put together the segments, it would be a perfect sphere.

There you go. I'm surprised. I assumed it was shells. I had never looked into that. So yeah, I think he was a Dutch. A Dutch artist as well. Or architect?

Danish architect. Your..

Danish!

.. son never got to see his masterpiece completed since he moved back to his country when financing was suspended after nine years of working on the project. Number five. There are 150 random giant sculptures across the country. Giant statues of mushrooms, acorns, ants, boxing crocodile and whatnot.

This is 100% true. The only one I've seen here is this, the big banana in Coffs Harbour. There's a whole bunch and there are crossroads. And they just, I don't know. You drive around the country and you'll see them. You'll see the big prawn. You'll see the big pineapple. There'll be the big banana. I think it's just an ongoing joke in Australia. We're just like making random big things and it becomes a tourist attraction.

Close to attract tourists. It's hard to resist the temptation of a giant cheese statue that was made for selfies, you know. Some people even deliberately go on road trips to take pictures of all 'the Big Things of Australia', as they're called.

What, like that's weird. That's not weird. That's not weird.

Number six. Normally road signs give you precautions or inform you about something. In Australia, some roads are so long and boring that they put signs there to entertain drivers. They can contain images of rich local fauna, or trivia questions to keep you alert, and possibly even save your life in the fatigue zone. Number-

It's true. We definitely have some seriously long, straight roads in the outback. I haven't heard too much before about like, random signs to keep you alert. I don't know if it's so much that again, I would have to look into it, but it's probably more that people just felt like, ah, we could do something fun here. It'll be a council thing, you know? That'll be like- ah, skirt. We'll just make some funny posts or, you know, signs to put up here and lol, maybe people will use that as a tourist attraction as well.

Seven. What could be even better than trivia at saving your life? A seat belt, of course. In 1970, the Australian state of Victoria became the first on the planet to introduce the compulsory seatbelt law for drivers and front seat passengers.

Number eight.

Why is that a surprising thing to only happen in Australia? I feel like the seatbelt law came in everywhere else as well, right? Like, are there any countries in the world where it's legal to drive without a seatbelt? Is that a thing?

Because we're the first to patent the UGG brand, but the legendary boots actually come from Australia. Farmers-

We got done, we got done. I think they tried to sue. I can't remember which way around it was. The Australian UGG boot brand tried to sue. I think the American one, or it may have been the other way round. Where the Americans were like the Australian brand has to stop using that name. But yeah, it's been a weird one because I think it originated here, and then later became something over in America. And those, those guys, they got, you know, a bit pissed off.

Some peasants have been wearing sheepskin turned inside out as boots since the beginning of the 20th century.

They're comfy as!

The locals call them very ugly boots and wear them both outside and inside. Why inside? Because when it's cold outside, the houses are really cold, too. So UGGs can help you keep warm.

Aussie has a suck at insulation. We don't have double glazed windows. Typically the heat goes in, it comes out and you know, you just end up with what have we got? Tile floors in my house, so your feet get cold. You want to wear UGG boots? They're comfy as, you just got a pair for inside.

Number nine. Since 1988, Australian money has been made out of polymer, a special kind of plastic. Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plastic money.

I knew other guys around the world had copied this. Canada, looking at you. I'm pretty sure Great Britain as well. The Americans are holding out there. They're just like, I need to be able to light a cigarette with $100 note. You know, they're just really not wanting to go away from paper.

It's more practical since it stays in good condition for a longer time than paper banknotes. One cool fact about plastic bills here is that if you tear a $10 bill in two parts, you can use each half as a $5 bill.

Uh. Good luck.

Number ten. Australia is such a great place to be, that at least 70 tourists overstay their visas every week. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, there are at least 62,000 people who came to the country for a vacation and-

When was this video made? Six years ago. Yeah, it's going to be a hell of a lot more than that now.

And stayed forever. It might be the really good salaries and social support. The striking beauty of the country, or something in the water that makes them choose Australia over their home countries.

I would say it's economic. I would say the majority of people overstaying their visas in Australia. It's an economic thing. They don't want to go home because they're not going to earn as much income. They're not going to have the same kind of safety net, healthcare system, all that sort of stuff. It's not going to be so much, oh, the water's great.

Number 11. In Australia, Rent a Grandma services are pretty popular. What's the difference between a regular nanny and a professional grandma? The first will take-

Oh my God. What? What? What are our guesses, guys? A regular nanny versus a grandma, if you rent them. What do you reckon their services are? How do they differ?

Care of your kids. And the second will take care of everything in your household. Just like a real grandma would. They babysit, pet-sit, cook like chefs, help arranging events, and can even be your personal assistants.

This is not a thing! There's no way! Rent a grandma Australia. Bullshit this is a thing! Grandma's for hire? We specialise in placing mature, caring women with lots of life experience who are both dedicated and trustworthy, with families as nannies, babies. Okay, I guess it's a thing. Nanny Granny. Well, there you go. Rent a grandma. Good grief! This is actually a thing? I have- granny open? I've never heard of this. Never. Never heard of this. I don't know anyone's grandma who rents themselves out. At least, not to be a nanny.

And they come with a 60-day guarantee period. So if something goes wrong, you can get another grandma. Number 12. The super famous Australian name Kylie comes from the name of an Aboriginal Noongar hunting stick.

Noongar. Noongar. Noongar hunter. Hunting stick. Noongar. Noongar. Noongar.

Something like a boomerang. It became popular in the 1970s thanks to local writer Kylie Tennant, who was actually called Kathleen, but used her childhood nickname Kylie as her pen name. By the way, the most popular girl's name in Australia for the last three years is-

What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be? Hmm. Put your comments below.

Charlotte.

Charlotte. That is pretty popular at the moment. Charlotte's pretty popular.

Inspired by the daughter of Prince William.

I assumed it was Charlotte's Web, to be honest. But okay. Daughter of Prince William.

Number 13. Australia is home to the longest golf course on the planet. Nullarbor Links is an 18-

What did he just say? What did he just say?

Home to the longest golf course on the planet. Nullarbor Link-

Nullarbor. God damn it, Americans, look up the pronunciation. Nullarbor, Nullarbor, Nullarbor Links. Nullarbor. Oh my God.

Is an 18 hole-

Let's hear that again.

Nullarbor Links is an 18 hole, par 72 golf course, that's 850 miles long. It stretches across the two southern coast states and was opened in 2009. Number 14. The first police force Down Under was made up entirely of convicts. In 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip decided the country needed someone to help fight the growing crime. So he created The Night Watch. 12 of the best behaved convicts were selected to patrol the settlement. A few other convicts became members of the Sydney Foot Police, and in 30 years, there were over 60 constables in Sydney.

I have a feeling that's the UK, not Sydney. You could look at the hats, look at the hats, guys.

Most of them previous convicts. 15-

That was because of the majority of people in Australia at the time were convicts. You know, you had probably I don't know the exact numbers. But it would have been in the- the First Fleet would have had like a thousand convicts coming across, and the rest of the people would have either been the Marines, the Army, you know, the soldiers coming over, or the bureaucrats at the top, right. Everyone else would have been convicts. So who else are you going to use, for the police?

There was a fun incident at the official opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. Francis de Groot, who was a retired cavalry officer, decided to steal the show and slice through the ceremonial ribbon with his sword before the New South Wales Premier, Jack Lang. As a result, de Groot was charged for the damaged ribbon, which had to be re-tied, and the poor guy was taken to a mental hospital.

Right.

Number 16-

Well, I have a feeling that he probably cut it for other reasons. He wasn't just jealous. It seems like he was probably a bit loopy.

The Australian national soccer team set a world record in 2001, when it beat American Samoa, 31 to nothing.

Good God. I did not know that.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying game and brought the Aussies the largest-

Aussies, Aussies, Aussies. Americans, god, Aussies. No! It's not an S sound, it's a Z sound. Aussies.

Number 17. Even though it's really easy to find kangaroo meat in supermarkets and restaurants across the country.

This is true. It's everywhere. It is everywhere. In fact, one of my favourite restaurant meals is the Napier Hotel in Fitzroy. I don't know if they still do it, but I assume they do. And there is what is called a parmigiana. It is like, uh, what would you say? Fried chicken? Is it fried chicken with like, uh, crumbs around the outside of it? And then it has smoked kangaroo over the top with cheese and then Napoletana sauce, I believe, on top of that with a side of fries or chips, as we call them here, and some salad. And it is to die for. It is so good. Kangaroo meat. It's just very, very lean, gamey meat. And it's a great beef substitute.

It's not what Australians eat all the time, despite the common stereotype.

It depends on the person. It's pretty available. So if you wanted to, you could.

In fact, around 3300 tonnes of it, or 70% of the product, is exported to 60 countries around the world. And you can stick that fact in your pouch.

I wonder what people think in other countries when that shows up in the supermarket. Here's some kangaroo. It'd be like me going to the supermarket and being like, did you guys want some giraffe? You're getting some giraffe. We're going to take some giraffe home. Put it on the barbie. Just be like what? I'm not eating an African animal. Like, that's weird. You know, it's another nations animal. I'm not taking that home to eat.

Number 18. The wombat is the only animal in the world that has cube shaped poop. Some experts believe it's used to mark territory since it doesn't roll away.

Yep!

Others believe it's because of the dry environment they live in.

I think it's probably more because their buttholes are square!

I think it's because it might have a square-shaped colon.

The.re you go. There's also that if you have a look at its intestines, it actually has, you know, sort of interesting. Well, you would have to, right, to be pooping cubes.

19. In Australia, you can find the only living specimen from the Triassic period over 350 million years ago. It's the lungfish, the only fish that can breathe air with a single lung and dry periods when there isn't enough water in the streams. It hasn't changed much in the last 110 million years.

Yep.

Kind of like root beer. Number 20, the famous Australian drop bear, is actually just a tale for tourists.

What are you doing, dude? Don't let the cat out of the bag! What are you doing?

The predatory, huge version of the koala won't attack you during your journey. So, you don't have to put a fork in your hair, spread Vegemite behind your ears, or speak with an Australian accent. All of these tips are believed to help scare the monster away.

It's just a joke we play on tourists, come on. There is a video out there. I think of someone who's put like a. I don't know if it's like police armour or Kevlar vest or an helmet on this reporter. And then they hand her the koala and she's like, uhh-huh!

21. In 1979, the town of Esperance in Western Australia fined NASA $400 for littering in a public park. Debris from the orbital space station Skylab happened to land there. NASA refused to pay the fine for over 30 years. 22. There's a fire in New South Wales that's been burning for over 5500 years.

Wow!

It's a coal fire hidden 100ft beneath Mount Wingen.

Oh, that might be why I'm not aware of it.

Wingen is what the Aborigines call 'fire'. And they used it for cooking, warmth and so on. 23. Every year, the Cockroach Racing World Championship takes place in Brisbane.

This is a thing that some of us have heard about, but it is not a big. This is not getting televised in prime time, you know TV. It's not something we talk about. I mean, come on.

The first one took place in 1982, and ever since, it's become a big hit. If you ever decide to take part in it, you can either bring your own roach, or buy one directly at the event venue. 24. Australians tend to invent nicknames for everything.

Mm-hmm.

'Aussie', which is short for-

Aussie!

Or Australian. 'Brissy' is Brisbane.

Bri-zee! Z(ed) sound. Bri-zee!

'Footy' is football. G'day is 'good day'. 'Arvo' is afternoon and 'barbie' is barbecue. Keep it in mind when you visit Australia.

Yeah, Australia.

That's what they call their own country. 25. Australia could have been Dutch. Dutchman Abel.

Or French.

Tasman discovered Australia in 1642.

Oohh. That's gonna set off a few people. Did he? Did he discover it? Did no one else know that it existed?

Over a hundred years before James Cook in 1770. However, the British took over the land, and decades later, New Holland became Terra Australis and then-

Australis. Australis. Australis.

Australia. Abel Tasman got the island nation Tasmania named after him. So-

Before that it was Van Diemen's Land. So again, a Dutch name. Anyway. Looks like that's it, guys. But yeah, you'll have to let me know, were any of those facts surprising to you? Do you have any others that you think are rippers? Put them in the comment below.

Don't forget to check this episode out as a podcast episode wherever you get your good podcasts, and check out this episode next. See ya!