# Dingos Ate My Baby! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2000, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717 "2000-09-11T00:46:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/1 "2000-09-11T00:46:42Z")
On two separate comedy shows (Seinfeld and The Simpsons), I’ve heard the line, “Dingos ate your baby!” Well, I’ve searched the net and all I could find was a rock band with that name. It’s obviously a line from some movie or something like that … but what? And what was the context? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/2 "2000-09-11T01:00:32Z")
Refers to a murder case in Australia where the mother, accused of murdering her child, claimed it was taken by a wild dingo at Ayres Rock: [http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/world/121395/world424\_8.html](http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/world/121395/world424_8.html) ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/3 "2000-09-11T01:02:14Z")
“A dingo ate my baby!” uttered by Meryl Streep in “A Cry in the Dark.” [Here’s the imdb link.](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0094924) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/4 "2000-09-11T01:02:39Z")
I should add that the DIRECT reference is to the movie based on the case. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/5 "2000-09-11T01:03:15Z")
I found out on the Internet Movie Database that the quote seems to come from a 1988 movie called “A Cry in the Dark,” with Meryl Streep. The exact quote, I believe, was “The dingo’s got my baby!” ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/6 "2000-09-11T01:04:34Z")
Wow, in the 30 seconds it took to find out the answer, three people beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/7 "2000-09-11T01:10:52Z")
In 1982, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, who claimed that a dingo killed their baby, went on trial for murder. I think it was made into a TV movie in Australia and 3 books have been written about the case. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/8 "2000-09-11T03:35:32Z")
The Chmaberlains have been pretty comprehensively cleared of the murder charges - all the evidence does now seem to show that the dingo did take Azaria Chamberlain. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/9 "2000-09-11T03:49:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Primaflora \* > \*\*The Chmaberlains have been pretty comprehensively cleared of the murder charges - all the evidence does now seem to show that the dingo did take Azaria Chamberlain. \*\* Just a nitpick. Actually, the evidence shows that it is _possible_ that a dingo took Azaria. After a few (three) inquests into the Chamberlains, they were cleared of killing their child. However, it was stated very clearly after the final inquest that since it could not be determined that a dingo did, without a doubt, kill Azaria, that the Chamberlain case could not be used as a precendent in any further dingo/baby cases. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/10 "2000-09-11T04:17:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evilbeth \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > . \*\* > > Just a nitpick. > > Actually, the evidence shows that it is _possible_ that a dingo took Azaria. After a few (three) inquests into the Chamberlains, they were cleared of killing their child. However, it was stated very clearly after the final inquest that since it could not be determined that a dingo did, without a doubt, kill Azaria, that the Chamberlain case could not be used as a precendent in any further dingo/baby cases. \*\* Nooooooo, the court ‘says’ the evidence shows it is possible but I for one don’t believe the court ;). How else did the clothing get to where it was found? Why did it have tooth marks instead of knife marks? The evidence of the Aboriginal trackers that there was a dingo in the area who was known to try to steal babies is pretty telling IMO. And that’s without the bizarre forensic evidence of Joy Fielding about the ‘blood’ in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dingos-ate-my-baby/32717/11 "2000-09-11T04:18:42Z")
Thanks, folks, for those quick answers!