# Misconceptions about Australia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586 "2003-09-19T13:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/61 "2003-09-21T05:30:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*Why does anybody go to the “outback” (no, not the crappy steakhouse chain in the USA)? From what I see, it is barren, dry, and hot-sounds like a place to avoid! \*\* Visiting the Outback Steakhouse while I was in the US was fun, actually. I took a great deal of delight in taking a red pen to one of the menus… 😃 ‘Barren’ is selling the real outback a bit short, IMO. Dry and hot, yes, but certainly not barren - there is life there, and quite a bit of it. It also has a beauty all its own - stark and harsh, but still beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/62 "2003-09-21T07:52:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kambuckta \* > Except these bikers are probably not looking for the gas (petrol here by the way HPL) so much as the dunny. > > 😃 \*\* They could always check the [Online National Public Toilet Map](http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/) ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/63 "2003-09-21T07:59:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shalmanese \* > \*\*They could always check the [Online National Public Toilet Map](http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/) \*\* Oh, that is bewdiful!! The first line that jumps out at you on the website is: \*\*Please be patient. \*\* 😛 ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/64 "2003-09-21T13:19:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pingalondon \* > \*\*The one that has made me laugh (I was so thrown by it, I couldn’t respond any other way) was being told ‘you’re very sophisticated _for an Australian_’!!! \*\* Another one from The Simpsons - sign on the Australian Cultural Exhibition: Cart Yer Arse Right In. ---
**Author:** ![Tal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/54ee81/32.png) [@Tal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/65 "2003-09-21T15:16:02Z")
I remember having a conversation with someone once about my old car…it’s 32 years old (yup, still running!) and the guy made some comment about me having to drive on dirt roads all the time…i couldn’t get my head around the fact that this guy genuinely thought we don’t have paved roads and highways etc in australia! please! we’re a very modern coutry. I think another misconception is that australians aren’t that bright…aussies have invented some of the coolest things out there. Lawnmower Hills Hoist Washing Line CPAP machine (for treating sleep apnea) Black Box Flight Recorder rats…there are some other good ones i can’t think of right now. I would also like to add that quite a bit of the leading medical research is done right here in australia! now if you base your opinion on aussies by our movies, i don’t blame you for thinking we’re a bunch of twits… i HATE the way aussie movies make us all look like idiots ---
**Author:** ![Tal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/54ee81/32.png) [@Tal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/66 "2003-09-21T15:23:32Z")
oh…here’s some more - bionic ear - the Ute (you americans would call it a truck)- electric drill - latex gloves - Xerox Photocopying - refrigeration - wine casks - penicillin apparently we also invented [nanotechnology](http://www.questacon.edu.au/innovaus/c1s1_038.html) (i thought the Borg invented that :D) ---
**Author:** ![T.Slothrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@T.Slothrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Slothrop)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/67 "2003-09-22T06:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > all really chirpy and cheerful Nah, I’ve seen my Auntie Jean scold fish. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/68 "2003-09-22T09:34:43Z")
About the supposed Australian sense of inferiority - check out [www.satirewire.com](http://www.satirewire.com) for the article titled “Australia Gets Drunk, Wakes up in North Atlantic”. This made me howl. Also, I love Aussie actors. Unlike Brit actors who make it big in Hollywood, they manage to do so while still retaining some credibility. Obviously, I’m thinking about people like Rachael Griffiths (love, love LOVE her!) and Guy Pearce, rather than Mel Gibson and Paul Hogan! ---
**Author:** ![Ironikinit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ironikinit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ironikinit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/69 "2003-09-22T11:57:30Z")
Misconceptions Australians have about Australia: Queensland is backward and rabidly right wing. Well, Brisbane isn’t, anyway. There’s a determined-seeming socialist party that’s constantly wallpapering the Central Business District with posters alternately denouncing the US and celebrating whatever third world revolution that’s having an anniversary that week. I seem to be able to purchase or see about anything I want, and the library system is fair. The press has a lot of freedom. From an American perspective, the media is hamstrung by defamation laws. People seem to think that these laws prevent frivolous lawsuits. I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know. They do interfere with people saying what they really think in print, though. Religious fundamentalism isn’t common in Australia. Well, not like in the US, no, not at all. However, I’ve read a couple sceptic sites that mention fundamentalist movements in Australia. My wife’s aunt subscribes to _Creation_ magazine, which is published by Answers in Genesis. It’s not much compared to how things are in the states, but Australia, the US, and South Africa are said to be the three westernised nations that have the biggest creationist contingent. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/70 "2003-09-22T12:51:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tal \* > Lawnmower > Hills Hoist Washing Line > CPAP machine (for treating sleep apnea) > Black Box Flight Recorder > > oh…here’s some more > > - bionic ear > - the Ute (you americans would call it a truck)- electric drill > - latex gloves > - Xerox Photocopying > - refrigeration > - wine casks > - penicillin The lawnmower was invented by Edwin Beard Budding, from Stroud, Gloucestershire in 1830. The _Victa two-stroke petrol rotary lawnmower_ was invented by Mervyn Victor Richardson of Sydney in 1952, but that’s hardly the same thing is it? Various claims have been made for the invention of photocopying – they can’t even agree on a date. Some say the photocopier was invented in 1900 in France, or the USA in 1910 or in 1938, or 1947. Chester Carlson is usually credited with inventing xerography, and he was from Seattle. Nobody _invented_ penicillin, and although Adelaide-born Howard Florey played a key role in developing the practical application of it, the discovery itself was made in London by Alexander Fleming, who was Scottish. The relevant Nobel Prize was shared by Fleming, Florey and the Berlin-born Ernst Chain. I certainly agree that if people assume Australia is a backward country full of thick people they’re far off the mark, but could you provide some cites for your specific claims rather than just throw them out as facts? ---
**Author:** ![Tal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/54ee81/32.png) [@Tal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/71 "2003-09-22T13:22:21Z")
oh please! since when was this a SERIOUS thread?? ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/72 "2003-09-22T13:28:47Z")
Thank you Tal. May I suggest that those of you looking for a frank and serious discussion on national identity take yourselves off to Great Debates? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/73 "2003-09-22T13:34:48Z")
One major misconception many people have about Australia is that Skippy-like hyper-intelligent kangaroos go to fetch help when their human friends get injured, then lead rescuers to the prone human. [Hang on a minute…](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3127814.stm) ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/74 "2003-09-22T13:48:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tal \* > \*\*oh please! since when was this a SERIOUS thread?? \*\* I’ll rephrase my post then: you’re full of shit **Tal**. That better? 🙂 Top story **jjimm**. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/75 "2003-09-22T21:01:57Z")
Australians are all descendants of convicts. How come their accent isn’t like Scouse then? ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/76 "2003-09-22T21:51:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chefguy \* > \*\*Guyana tastes like shit. \*\* Hang on, was that _supposed_ to be a pun on guano? ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/77 "2003-09-22T22:15:04Z")
> [@](#): > > From _superstar_ > Firstly, most of these people are NOT actually Aussie’s. Mel was born in USA & Russell is from New Zealand! [Underlining for emphasis] The hell he is! That bugger is your problem and you can keep him! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/78 "2003-09-22T22:38:35Z")
They are sore losers 😃 [http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/10/1063191458949.htm](http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/10/1063191458949.htm) ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/79 "2003-09-23T00:49:21Z")
The one I come across most frequently at the moment is perpetrated by Oz’ralians themselves, namely that they still play Rugby down there . . . ---
**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 23, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586/80 "2003-09-23T01:21:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by calm kiwi \* > \*\*They are sore losers 😃 [http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/10/1063191458949.htm](http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/10/1063191458949.htm) \*\* Yeah, that was a pretty ridiculous comment. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > \*\*The one I come across most frequently at the moment is perpetrated by Oz’ralians themselves, namely that they still play Rugby down there . . . \*\* Very droll. I know the Wallabies haven’t been doing too well this year, and i wouldn’t bet on them to win the World Cup, but i’m afraid that it might be jumping the gun just a little bit to declare the death of Australian rugby. Particularly when the Doper’s name suggests that he lives in a country–nay, a hemisphere–that hasn’t yet managed to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-australia/202586.md?page=5)