Unusual facts about Australia
Laura Garland
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Abroad
What follows are 20 facts you've probably never heard about the "down under."
1.) Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts on the continent.
2.) Australia was the second country to give women the right to vote.
3.) It was reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind.
4.) The Australian Lyre Bird is the world's best imitator; able to mimic the calls of 15 different species of birds in their locality and string the calls into a melody. It has also been known to mimic the sound of a cell phone ring.
5.) The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan has the most toxic venom of any snake in the world. One bite would be enough to kill 100 humans or 250,000 mice.
6.) Australia is the smallest, flattest and driest continent in the world.
7.) A baby kangaroo at the time of its birth is only about 2 centimeters long.
8.) Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
9.) When a specimen of platypus was first sent to England, it was believed the Australians had played a joke on them by sewing the bill of a duck onto a rat.
10.) In 1983, the yacht "Australia II" ended the Americans 132 year dominance of the America's Cup (a sailing competition).
11.) Sydney is Australia's first and largest city and is also known as Sin City. They wanted to become the capital of Australia but its convict stigma counted against it. Melbourne also wanted to become the capital of Australia on the grounds that is was not founded by convicts. (Founded by John Batman; son of a convict.) Because Sydney and Melbourne could not stop bickering, it was decided that neither city was to become capital; instead the city of Canberra was to be built in-between the two and made the capital of Australia.
12.) The name Australia comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognito which means Unknown Southern Land.
1.) Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts on the continent.
2.) Australia was the second country to give women the right to vote.
3.) It was reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind.
4.) The Australian Lyre Bird is the world's best imitator; able to mimic the calls of 15 different species of birds in their locality and string the calls into a melody. It has also been known to mimic the sound of a cell phone ring.
5.) The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan has the most toxic venom of any snake in the world. One bite would be enough to kill 100 humans or 250,000 mice.
6.) Australia is the smallest, flattest and driest continent in the world.
7.) A baby kangaroo at the time of its birth is only about 2 centimeters long.
8.) Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
9.) When a specimen of platypus was first sent to England, it was believed the Australians had played a joke on them by sewing the bill of a duck onto a rat.
10.) In 1983, the yacht "Australia II" ended the Americans 132 year dominance of the America's Cup (a sailing competition).
11.) Sydney is Australia's first and largest city and is also known as Sin City. They wanted to become the capital of Australia but its convict stigma counted against it. Melbourne also wanted to become the capital of Australia on the grounds that is was not founded by convicts. (Founded by John Batman; son of a convict.) Because Sydney and Melbourne could not stop bickering, it was decided that neither city was to become capital; instead the city of Canberra was to be built in-between the two and made the capital of Australia.
12.) The name Australia comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognito which means Unknown Southern Land.
Article last update: 4/24/07 at 9:27 PM CST
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