I feel kinda queasy now....

China has been conquered by Japan?

Haha I am glad to see this one has made the list! Bogans such as Trent from Punchy are an integral part of Australian culture.

A town that was very important in the relief effort and clean up of Cyclone Tracy. Both of my parents (doctor in training and nurse at the time) left Sydney to participate in that aid work, and I was miraculously conceived in Darwin :)

I was writing a post apocalyptic role-playing game after I finished school in 1995, and thoroughly researched anything and everything that I could about possible world war 3 scenarios. Scary stuff! It was a wonderful learning experience. If I could choose any place to be in the world if such an event occurred, it would be here in Australia. The Blue Mountains where I live still contain many tunnels and hidden 'safe' spots that were built during World War 2 as this area was part of the evacuation plan for Sydney if the Japanese invaded. Hmm maybe I should have used a spoiler tag for that comment :P

True map of Australia :P

A British penal colony with strange mumbling inmates (probably some kind of verbal language or code to confuse the guards), silly tax laws and marsupials everywhere. ;)

Aww, you never got to meet one of our mach-speed Huntsmans. :(

Maybe because you need a perception buff to be able to see those in movement.

Possibly, given that even as an Aussie I've never seen one enter or exit a house, you just turn around and bam, there it is. They're like Ninjas.

My favourite shrimp on the barbie (from all the Google images I looked at).

I did not read any of the posts yet as I feel if I did they might influence my answers. =)

When I need of Australia I think of bush lands. Which in my mind is more of a forest minus a lot of trees but not yet a desert area. Similar to a lot of sand with some trees. I know I paint a very vivid pic. =P

I also think of the accents. They are very unique to me and I find them very fascinating to listen to.

I think of the song by Men at Work - Down Under and vegemite. From what I heard and have seen from online tastings it is not very good to the American pallet and we do not eat it the way it should be eaten. (I could be wrong).

Yes I am now listening to Men at Work..

I also think of Steve Irwin and the Crocodile hunter show.

I think there are a ton of Lizards there. I could be wrong.

I have also heard that a ton of things get banned there. I have no idea why.

I have heard the term shrimp on the barbie many times in moves and similar things but have no idea what the reference is actually to. Is shrimp a big catch there? and yes I know it is a shrimp on a grill or at least I think that is what it is... (The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear that phrase is Mattel Barbie with a stick up her rear end coming out her head and a shrimp at the top.) I know I may need help.

I know there is more and I may edit to add more as I think of them.

Top 4 things I know about Australia:

-bizarre/ horrifying wildlife
-Crocodile Dundee
-Ocean Girl
-some Australians have ejaculated into handbags

Farscape and spiders.

My Boomerang Won't Come Back - Charlie Drake
Ned Kelly's crazy gunslinger armor
Bangkok Hilton - that film with whatshisname and whosherface
Danny Deckchair - that film with nobody I recognize but I like it
A Town Like Alice - that film I remember my mum watching when I was a kid
Road Warrior - Wow. One little apocalypse and you Australians all become utter bastards.
The Castle - Dale's dug a hole!
Home and Away - Hey, let's export shite in televised form to Britain.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - that film with the ping pong balls
Rolf Harris
Koalas - evil-tempered and nasty-looking creatures that somehow pervade Oz tourist advertising
The Child Migrants Programme - which I can't even think about
Mind if we call you Bruce to avoid confusion? - obvious


That should cement my reputation amongst Australians as pig-ignorant.

Haha I love it! Just like I loved the term penal colony when i was a student. Penile colony more like it! :P

Thanks Sage for your reply :) You are well and truly right on the lizard front. I have fond memories of searching Rookwood Cemetery with my father for lizards. There were so many species there! It is the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere. "Everyone is dying to get there" my dad would often joke.

Australia well and truly is a 'nanny state' and it is getting worse. I don't know how things go in other countries, but I was shocked to find out that one cannot even photograph or video one's own children at a school performance! The level of fear and protective responses in this country is ridiculous, to the extent where people are uncertain or unwilling to aid a child in distress for fear of being seen as a paedophile.

After growing up in Sydney and encountering much violence, often with many people seeing the crime occurring, people generally avoid looking and keep on walking. I don't, especially after undertaking some self defense training and engaging in full contact sparring. I realise that every time I intervene, I am putting myself at risk, and I accept my fate. If everyone spoke up or did something, so much crime would vanish. Then again that is only treating the symptom not the cause, and that topic opens a can of worms.

OMFG that last one is hilarious! I assumed it might be a reference to Kangaroo scrotum souvenirs but that comment took me by surprise and was priceless :)