# Could you be Australian? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600 "2009-09-18T15:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/21 "2009-09-18T18:12:16Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > 2 wrong out of 20 and I am sure that my knowledge the Canadian political system helped me with a lot of these questions. 19/20; I only missed the one about the executive versus judicial arm of the government. Being Canadian helped. (My great-grandfather’s kids all emigrated to Australia… except my grandfather, who went to Saskatchewan just in time for the Great Depression. He got privation and cold winters instead of beaches and warm weather. My mom told tales of walking along the wooden sidewalks of Regina as a little girl, going to school in the -40C chill. _We could have been Australian, dammit, and taken our holidays on the warm sunny beach!_) ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/22 "2009-09-18T18:18:37Z")
20/20 - Australia here I come! I’m British, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![spoike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@spoike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spoike)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/23 "2009-09-18T18:29:51Z")
19/20 (missed the Aboriginal Flag colours) Being Canadian helped, I think, as a number of the questions were related to the constitutional monarchy and parliamentary systems with which I’m already familiar. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/24 "2009-09-18T18:55:07Z")
19/20, missing the one about the Governor-General’s power. I made educated guesses about Anzac Day ( **A** ustralia, **N** ew **Z** ealand **A** rmy **C** orps… must be something about a war) and the Aboriginal Flag (They live in the desert, right? Probably not blue or green then.), as well as the January 1st, 1901 question (Jan. 1st is good day for laws, etc., to come into effect). As others have said, most of it is indeed standard liberal democracy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/25 "2009-09-18T19:02:00Z")
20/20. I’m a flag and military history buff, so the Aboriginal flag and ANZAC didn’t throw me. I’m a bit disappointed, though, by the glaring lack of questions about the University of Woolamaloo Philosophy Department, kookaburras, Waltzing Matilda or Breaker Morant. And no, my name is not Bruce. G’day, mates! ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/26 "2009-09-18T19:07:52Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m a bit disappointed, though, by the glaring lack of questions about the University of Woolamaloo Philosophy Department, kookaburras, Waltzing Matilda or Breaker Morant. > > And no, my name is not Bruce. G’day, mates! It’s spelled [Woolloomooloo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolloomooloo,_New_South_Wales). (The place is real, the university is not). And we’ll have to call you “New Bruce”, to avoid confusion. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/27 "2009-09-18T19:39:14Z")
20/20. But I’m not emigrating until they foreswear Foster’s. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/28 "2009-09-18T19:46:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 20/20. But I’m not emigrating until they foreswear Foster’s. As the Wiki article on [Foster’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster%27s_Lager) notes, “Foster’s does not enjoy widespread popularity in Australia” and “These days (2007), it is relatively difficult to find in smaller bottle shops, and is seldom found on tap.” In fact, you don’t even have to drink beer: Australia makes some of best wine in the world. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/29 "2009-09-18T19:49:57Z")
I love me Aussie wine, especially _Cuivre Reserve Château Bottled Nuit San Wogga Wogga_. Lovely bouquet on that one. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/30 "2009-09-18T19:57:57Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > As the Wiki article on [Foster’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster%27s_Lager) notes, “Foster’s does not enjoy widespread popularity in Australia” and “These days (2007), it is relatively difficult to find in smaller bottle shops, and is seldom found on tap.” In fact, you don’t even have to drink beer: Australia makes some of best wine in the world. In all my years living in Australia, i don’t think i knew a single person who drank Foster’s. For those who drank regular, mass-market beer, Victoria Bitter tended to be the brew of choice. I remember the first time i saw the American Foster’s commercial, where the slogan was “Foster’s: It’s Australian for beer,” i said to my wife, “No, Foster’s is Australian for urine.” ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/31 "2009-09-18T20:03:31Z")
19 out of 20. Not sure which one I missed, but it was in the fourth group of questions. I guessed on the Aboriginal flag, as I know I’ve seen it, but forgot the color scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/32 "2009-09-18T20:18:54Z")
I got a perfect score, of course I have seen every episode of “Prisoner: Cell Block H.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/33 "2009-09-19T18:23:52Z")
I had an Australian ask me one time what Anzac Day was. I was kinda shocked he didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/34 "2009-09-19T18:39:14Z")
19/20. I blame rusty didgeridoo skills. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/35 "2009-09-19T18:46:15Z")
Was 4/5 on each section for 16/20 total, but several of my correct answers were complete guesses (how the hell would I know what “Anzac day” is?). And a lot of the other answers are the same as they are for the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/36 "2009-09-19T18:59:18Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > (how the hell would I know what “Anzac day” is?). Well. it was possible to guess. One of the available options was: The landing of the **A** ustralian and **N** ew **Z** ealand **A** rmy **C** orps at Gallipoli. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/37 "2009-09-19T19:11:44Z")
19 out of 20, but only because I was reading too fast, and missed the word “second” in “what is the second largest political coalition called.” The only question I had to flat-out guess on was the aboriginal flag colors. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/38 "2009-09-19T19:12:15Z")
It took me two guesses to get the Aboriginal flag, and I got lucky and guessed right the first time on the 1901 question, but other than that, I knew (or had a strong educated guess for) the other 18. For instance, I knew that “ANZAC” was something military-related, and the date of a troop landing is the sort of thing that gets commemorated with a named day, so that was an easy guess. And some of them were just obviously wrong: “Everyone in Australia has the same religion”? That’s not even true of Saudi Arabia. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/39 "2009-09-19T19:14:17Z")
Oh, I should add that I used knowledge of Australia specifically for two of them. I’ve read about mandatory voting here on the Dope, so I knew that one, and I know that the Queen is the Head of State of Australia, so the governor-general obviously doesn’t appoint her. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600/40 "2009-09-19T19:27:03Z")
20/20. But that’s hardly surprising for an Australian who has studied Australian law. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-australian/510600.md?page=3)