# Gaaa! just stop it!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 14, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568 "2005-12-14T11:57:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![simian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@simian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simian)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568/1 "2005-12-14T11:57:15Z")

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Ok, I need to point out Tasmania is a state OF Australia, not an independent country (as it is referred to)! And not like Hawaii was once independent! Well it kinda was once, when it was Van Demons land… but we’re getting off the point. Research boys and girls! Research! … ahhh that’s better, just needed to get that off my chest…

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**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568/2 "2005-12-14T12:02:13Z")

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[nitpick] **Van Diemen’s Land** or even more correct: **Anthoonij van Diemenslandt** [/nitpick]. Shoulda done some research yourself, maybe? 😃

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568/3 "2005-12-14T16:35:10Z")

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Hello, **simian.** I hope you’re feeling better now. Some of us do know that Tasmania is a state of Australia. Actually, that’s one of two or three things I know about Tasmania, the home of the bizarre Tasmanian devil and 😉 of course Tasmanic Depression.

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**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568/4 "2005-12-14T18:35:22Z")

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And birthplace of Errol Flynn.

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568/5 "2005-12-14T19:55:20Z")

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**simian** : Sorry, but I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.

I presume that you think someone, somewhere, made reference to Tasmania as an independent country? Please tell us where such a reference was made? How can we correct it if we don’t know what/where you’re pointing at.

Searching on “Tasmania” in our Archives gets two different hits:  
[How likely is the ending of _War of the Worlds_?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050722.html) which doesn’t seem relevant to your complaint.

I presume you had in mind :[Where did Australian aborigines come from?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/maborigi.html), where the migration is described as "the first humans made the move across Indonesia, and thence to Australia and Tasmania, sometime around 40000 BC. " I don’t think that’s intending to set up Tasmania as a separate country, but as a separate island.

But I dunno, I’m just guessing. Our archives have many hundreds of questions, and it’s helpful to other readers if you specify what you’re commenting on. So, you’ll know for future.