Mythbusters: Australia edition

It was the last common time for MCU this year because next week is our study break and then exams. It was a time for people to share their stories from this semester and such. I then came back and watched some tv on my computer. At 6:30, MCU had a Faith and Film night. The movie was No Country for Old Men. It isn't generally my type of movie, but I went anyway. My mind kept drifting and I really have no idea what the movie was actually about. Afterwards, Steve led a discussion about morals and post-modernism and how they fit in with the movie. Since I didn't have anything interesting yesterday, I'll post my answers to the Australian myths that people asked me.

I don't just tell the myths, I put them to the test :P

• Are drop bears and hoop snakes real?
• No. Although I was never told this myth was true, it is a joke that Aussies like to play on foreigners. Drop bears are supposedly koala-like animals that live in trees and drop down on peoples heads and attack. Hoop snakes, which I just found out are also in US myth, supposedly bite their tail and then roll after their prey.

• Do Australians really eat Vegemite?
• Yes. Vegemite is seen a lot of places just like peanut butter is in the states. In fact, my flatmate has a jar in the kitchen about the size of my peanut butter jar. They always had it on the Northwest trip. While most non-Australians think it is disgusting, I have heard of a few that actually like it. I guess the best way to eat it is with butter on toast. It is also said that the reason that most Americans don't like it is because they put too much on whatever they are eating. My review.

• Is Foster's really Australian for beer?
• No. Actually, they don't even drink it here. You can get it, but most Australians think it is disgusting. In fact, while looking up myths, I saw one saying that if you see someone drinking a Foster's they are probably a tourist. Aussies say that they export out the bad beer and keep the good stuff for themselves.

• Do the toilets flush the opposite way?
• No. I'm not sure if they used to, although I've heard that was just because it was designed to do that. The toilets here are very environmentally friendly and do not waste water. They flush straight down which reduces the amount of water needed. They also have separate buttons for a full flush or a half flush to not waste extra water.

• Are there really 10 girls to every guy?
• No. Not really sure where this myth came from. Biologically anywhere has to have a ratio about 1:1 without some kind of infanticide or something. That is also true of Australia.

• What are Australian views on Kiwis (people from New Zealand)?
• New Zealand is the Canada of Australia. In other words, they get a lot of crap from Australia. New Zealand has some good points of course, but it's like going across the world and going to Canada instead of the US. Australia views themselves as a better country. Australia also has an interesting view of their own state, Tasmania, that I didn't know before. Tasmania is kind of like the south of America were they are stereotyped as marrying their cousins. This might reinforce the Australian/Kiwi relationship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RenRILqwhJs&NR=1&feature=fvwp

• Are there kangaroos everywhere?
• No. Although they aren't uncommon to find in the bushland, they definitely aren't found in the middle of the city. I was told that they were as common as deer are in America, but that isn't true. At least it isn't true in comparison to the amount of deer in Michigan. In fact, some Australians have never seen some wildlife because they live in the cities (getting this from the internet somewhere). There are a lot of unique animals that are seen everyday, but the megafauna like kangaroos and wallabies are not.