# Fuck Australians **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853 "2009-01-31T12:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/41 "2009-02-01T07:35:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Something I’m not comprehending . . . if the heat wave is in the southeast of Australia, wouldn’t it be even hotter in the north, nearer to the equator? Australia’s a huge country. The landmass is nearly the size of the mainland United States. We’ve got multiple weather systems running through our country. It’s also Sub-tropical in the North. At the moment, it’s the “Wet Season”. Thunderstorm and rainy season, basically. It’s still warm up there, but there’s also a lot of storm weather moving through and keeping areas like Darwin and Far North Queensland slightly cooler than the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/42 "2009-02-01T07:38:26Z")
But in general, you’re right. Melbourne is normally the second-coldest capital in Australia. It’s just that the specific freak heatwave we’re getting at the moment is concentrated over Victoria and South Australia ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/43 "2009-02-01T07:43:08Z")
> [@DellieM](#): > > Aspidistra - how did you cope with the blackouts? The media is reporting that it threw our capital into chaos. We were extremely fortunate here. Our house didn’t get affected, nor did either of our workplaces. And I take the tram to work (zero cancellations) and my husband car-pools. So the only affect that I saw was that the trams were fuller than usual, with presumed train-refugees. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/44 "2009-02-01T07:43:21Z")
In Queensland it is warm but very humid. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/45 "2009-02-01T12:19:01Z")
Sorry for the heat. Not too far from me is a disaster area caused by snow followed by thick ice that has coated the trees and brought them down on top of power lines. People have been without heat, electricity and in some cases food and running water for several days. Hope you can get a bit of a breeze and a break sometime soon. Nashville had pleasant temperatures with highs around 50 degrees Farenheit today. Last week the lows were around zero. I like it. I used to have an Aussie friend who was doing some post-doctoral work at Vanderbilt. He was from Canberra. I’ll never get over his saying that he washed his hands in a bison. Oh well, if it helped to keep him cool… ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/46 "2009-02-01T12:35:01Z")
If he’s washing his hands in a bison he deserves all that’s coming to him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/47 "2009-02-01T13:05:43Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the fact that A) the official recorded temperature is always recorded in a very specific location, which does not rule out other microclimes nearby having different temperatures which can be recorded quite accurately by instruments that aren’t official weather service stations, and B) I didn’t spend every minute of those 35 years within Sacramento city limits. The 125F temp I handled wasn’t in Sacramento–in fact, that was outside of Redding back in the mid '70s and that’s what the radio reported the high temp as being. I’ve also been to Death Valley in midsummer–take a gander at what kind of temps are common around there. Sacramento averages something like 75 days per year over 90 F and I’ve experienced one to two week periods with daily temperatures in excess of 100 F quite often. All nitpicking aside, I can tell you that I have way more than the average person’s experience with extremely hot weather and I know what the hell I’m talking about–you’re cordially invited to take your snippy little wiki link and place it where it will do you the most good. What a hero. Your micro-climate point is just as valid elsewhere in the world, Adelaide for example. I’m sure there are places in the area that are hotter than the recorded maximum, so what? Also hot days are not unusual in this part of the country and I reckon they probably had hot weather here before airconditioning was common so your amazing feats of coping with heat have likely been matched by many down here before. All this has very little to do with elderly people who, for whatever reason, make poor choices in the heat and die as a result. On the topic of it being hotter further north, near the equator. The tropical areas tend to have their temperatures moderated by the monsoon winds that come off the (cooler) ocean. Some places on the north west coast have their 40 degree days in “spring” as the hot desert winds are still driving in from the land and the cooler sea breezes and monsoon haven’t got into gear yet. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/48 "2009-02-01T13:45:01Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > The OP is a certified moron. > [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](#): > > Well, I certainly can’t disagree with you there. I would nevertheless be interested to find out what said moron thought he or she was communicating in the OP. I would not be interested to find out what said moron thought he or she was communicating in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/49 "2009-02-01T14:38:08Z")
[Photos](http://news.ninemsn.com.au/slideshow_ajax.aspx?sectionid=9016§ionname=slideshowajax&subsectionid=150533&subsectionname=vicblaze) of the [fire](http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/gallery/0,22010,5037218-5006020,00.html#) that has threatened Boolarra and Mirboo North during the last week. As always I am awed and grateful to the men and women who suit up and go out in 45 (110F) degree heat to risk their own safety and fight the fires. Last I heard, the count was up to 30 homes destroyed ☹ I’m still waiting to hear from a former co-worker who lives in Boolarra and whose parents live in Mirboo North - her last Facebook update was posted on Friday and says she hopes she has a home to go back to. Our family couldn’t co-ordinate Christmas lunch in a timely manner and the first date we were all available was today (Sunday Feb 1st… no rush). We were supposed to be having lunch at the [Mirboo North Brewery Restaurant](http://www.grand-ridge.com.au/) - they claim to be famous for their steak, but I fear they may be a little _too_ well done at the moment. Two years ago our Christmas lunch plans had to be altered because of the fires at Rawson cutting off access to the place we had booked. I’m going to send out a family-wide email suggesting that the aunt, uncle or cousin who doesn’t want to come to “Christmas” lunch just send their regrets instead of burning down the town. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/50 "2009-02-01T14:50:58Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I think the OP seriously does not know that when it is winter in North America, it is summer in Australia. That crossed my mind, and then I thought, “No. No way. _Nobody_ could be _that_ stupid.” ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/51 "2009-02-01T17:07:16Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > That crossed my mind, and then I thought, “No. No way. _Nobody_ could be _that_ stupid.” It’s the only explanation I could think of. I don’t suppose s/he will be back to enlighten us. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/52 "2009-02-01T17:10:05Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > That is the greatest load of shit I have ever read on this board. It must be very nice to live in a place where everyone knows how to deal with the heat/cold/extreme weather as a genetic memory, and need no training. Where I live, people die every damn summer from the heat, and every damn winter from the cold. Sometimes, yes, it’s because they are homeless, poor or old. But sometime it’s because ordinary people don’t know how to deal with the weather they’re in. I guess I’m just Queen in the Land of Hte Dum. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/53 "2009-02-01T21:38:50Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > It must be very nice to live in a place where everyone knows how to deal with the heat/cold/extreme weather as a genetic memory, and need no training. > Where I live, people die every damn summer from the heat, and every damn winter from the cold. Sometimes, yes, it’s because they are homeless, poor or old. But sometime it’s because ordinary people don’t know how to deal with the weather they’re in. I guess I’m just Queen in the Land of Hte Dum. I believe he was responding to this: > [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > The Australians are not ready for heat, it’s seriously abnormal for them, and that’s why they’re dying. Which is simply ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/54 "2009-02-01T21:56:01Z")
Yeah, it’s kinda like saying “Residents of Buffalo, NY simply can’t handle snow.” ---
**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:** [February 2, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/55 "2009-02-02T03:13:36Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > That crossed my mind, and then I thought, “No. No way. _Nobody_ could be _that_ stupid.” Yeah, but it _is_ **Wildfire**. If there’s anyone out there who could be that stupid, it’s got to be him, right? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/56 "2009-02-02T03:27:10Z")
As an example of how this kind of thing (the deaths) can happen, my father in law recently had to tell his mentally vague mother to take off all the extra layers of clothes she was wearing. She was obviously hot but didn’t have the mental faculties to come up with a solution. ---
**Author:** ![stucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@stucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucky)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/57 "2009-02-02T03:29:14Z")
Guess you folks have never been to Nevada in the summertime, or Death Valley anytime. P.S. Wanna see burned homes? Come to California. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/58 "2009-02-02T04:32:53Z")
What the hell is this thread? A pissing-match to see who can lay claim to the greatest suffering? Good _lord_, pass me a Bex will you? Fer’ fuck’s sake, yes, it’s been hot in Australia; not quite abnormally hot (we do get plenty of temps over 40 each summer in the south and west), but for some regions the ‘longest’ such heatwave (hot days without reprieve) since meteorological records began. We’ve had electricity blackouts, public transport has shat itself, and lots of people have suffered health effects and some have died as a result. Yes, it gets very damned hot in Death Valley, and there are lots of bushfires in California. Nobody is denying either fact. There are also lots of bushfires in Australia, because we have lots of bush. Sometimes even, people are burned to death in such fires. Can we just call it quits on the one-upmanship and get back to hanging-shit on Mister Wildfire for his iggerant OP? Thanks. PS, my aircon has cacked itself. I’m fucking grumpy. Deal with it, OK? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/59 "2009-02-02T05:36:33Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > I’m fucking grumpy. Snow White, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853/60 "2009-02-02T05:44:08Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:59, topic:483853”] Snow White, is that you? [/QUOTE] 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-australians/483853.md?page=4)