Australia, most people's southernmost neighbor, was inhabited by Indigenous Australians for about 50,000 years before the first British Settlement in the late 18th Century. It's the world's sixth largest country by total area, and one of the most fascinating landscapes globally. Below are some of the most interesting facts about Australia.
1/25. Australian Koalas are in danger of extinction because over half of them have chlamydia.
2/25. The Gympie Gympie is a plant, native to Australia, that will make you vomit in pure agony just by touching it. The sting is potent enough to kill humans and horses.
3/25. A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that "kangaroo" was a Guugu Yimithirr phrase for "I don't understand you."[13] According to this legend, Cook and Banks were exploring the area when they happened upon the animal. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature. This myth was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B. Haviland in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr people.
4/25. In 2013, a pig in Australia stole 18 beers from a campsite, got drunk, then tried to fight a cow. We're still not sure who won.
5/25. You are required by law to show up to vote in Australia. If you don't, you'll face a fine.
6/25. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the vote, just behind New Zealand.
7/25. Australia exports camels and sand to Saudi Arabia.
8/25. In 2007, it was estimated that 22 per cent of living Australians had a convict ancestor.
9/25. In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day. This law was enforced until 1902.
10/25. Under ideal viewing conditions, like in the Australian Outback, the naked eye can detect about 5,780 stars.
11/25. Australia is home to the world's most venomous marine creature. The Box Jelly fish has killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.
12/25. Per capita, Australians spend more money on gambling than any other nation.
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13/25. Cotton candy is called fairy floss in Australia and all candies are referred to as lollies.
14/25. Australia once declared a war against the Emu, and lost.
For those who don't get it, emu is a large and flightless bird, similar to the ostrich. After World War I, significant number of ex-soldiers took up farming within Western Australia. But back in 1932, their farms faced difficulties by the arrival of about 20,000 emus. The newly migrated emus found that the farmlands were an amazing habitat for them and they began to settle.
Farmers became concerned over this and called on the then Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce. The soldiers requested their deployment. The Minister readily agreed and declared war. The weapons and troop deployments were financed by the West Australian government. Their objective was to drive away the emus. Military involvement began in November 1932 led by Major G.P.W Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery.
Things did not go so well. Emus can run fast and are difficult to target, they are also skilled in hiding behind trees. In one battle, the military ambushed 1,000 emus and managed only a dozen kills. At one stage, they even went so far as to mount one of the guns on a truck, but failed miserably.
Later in November, the army used 2,500 rounds of ammunition and only managed to kill less than 200 emus (means there are still at least 19,800 emus left standing). This led to an embarrassed Prime Minister to announce defeat and stop the campaign. One politician facetiously suggested that the troops be awarded medals, another retorted that the medals should go to the emus, since they had won every round so far.
15/25. There are about 750,000 wild camels in the Australian desert.
16/25. In 1967, Australia's Prime Minister went to the beach for a swim and was never seen again.
17/25. The SEX Party in Australia is looking to legalize marijuana, euthanasia, censorship, abortion, and tax the church.
18/25. An Iraqi man moved to Australia and used the Welfare System as income. Years later, he became successful and wrote a check to the government for every cent they gave him.
19/25. In Victoria, Australia, only a licensed electrician is allowed to change a light bulb.
20/25. The Church of Scientology runs a child labor camp in Australia.
21/25. 75% of Australia's living species are unknown to (hu)man.
22/25. Australia has over 10,000 beaches. You could visit a new beach every day for over 27 years.
23/25. There is a mountain in Australia called Mt. Disappointment because its explorers found the view from it sub-par and wanted to reflect that.
24/25. In Australia, Burger King is called "Hungry Jack's".
25/25. There's a book store in Australia where books are wrapped in paper with short descriptions so no one can "judge a book by its cover."
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Hilarious Insults That Actually Sound Like Compliments At First
Who doesn't enjoy a compliment every now and then?
But have you ever thought you were complimented only to realize you've just been insulted?
For some people those backhanded compliments are unintentional, for some they're very much deliberate and for some people it's actually their love language.
Whatever the purpose, some of these veiled insults are downright clever.
Redditor Ad3quat3 asked:
"What’s an insult that sounds like a compliment?"
Ah, family...
"My uncle once said to me 'Nice tattoo, did you do it yourself?'."
"It's on my back."
- mikkelfromthegalaxy
What do I usually look like?
"You clean up well."
"Wasn't sure if compliment or insult or even how to respond."
Lord, it's hard to be humble.
"You are very modest and have much to be modest about."
- Gitaarfreak
Who else?
"Did you REALLY do that?"
- justthatrandomartist
Stay home next time.
"Thanks for coming!"
"You know, you really didn’t have to.”
- Little_LexiYT1
How highly?
"No one could possibly think more highly of you than I do."
- sandyposs
Who cares?
"I love how you just don't care how you look."
"I could never do that I'd feel too awkward."
- meme_squeeze
Depends on the person, right?
"I hope your day is as good as you look!"
- tantoB
"I hope you get what you deserve."
- majesthiccbb
"May your day be as sweet as you are."
- twitterpated202
While some may consider it passive-aggressive, others just find these insults funny and clever.
So what's your favorite complimentary insult?
A good story—whether it's a book, movie, manga or TV show—can really draw us in.
We can get invested in the story to the point we begin to have real feelings about the characters.
That's why having a favorite character die can cause real grief.
Redditor Iridescent126 asked:
"What was the saddest fictional character death for you?"
Spock
"Spock, in Wrath of Khan."
- Lisa_Anns_Ass
"'I have been, and always shall be, your friend'.”
- MadMacs77
"'Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human'."
- bozoconnors
Stoick the Vast
"Stoick the Vast How to train your dragon"
"Dude literally just reunited with his wife after over 15 years of being gone and spends a total of about 15 minutes with her. Cause of death: basically took a bullet in the chest to protect his son."
- 24Nitro-gamer
"I saw it in theatres and a bunch of kids started to cry. Not like sniffing but out loud wailing. It added to the atmosphere."
- ThePurpleMister
"I cried, 20-something y.o. dude just ugly crying"
- leotushex
The Iron Giant
"The Iron Giant will ALWAYS have me ugly crying when he goes up to stop the missle"
- muhfckinuhhh
Where The Red Fern Grows
"The dogs in 'Where the Red Fern Grows'."
- johnny*mseed
"Came here to say this. This book destroyed me in grade five but also really demonstrated grief in such a profound way."
- such_sweet_nothing
Bubba
"Bubba in Forrest Gump. That whole scene had me wrecked."
"From Bubba's weak, 'I wanna go home,' to Forrest's narration saying he died by that river in Vietnam while showing him holding Bubba....."
"God damn, I'm crying just thinking about it."
- ChuckZombie
Saving Private Ryan
"Saving Private Ryan has two of the saddest, most brutally gut wrenching deaths I’ve ever seen on screen in Wade and Mellish."
"Wade trying to talk the guys through his injury that goes from panic and terror to acceptance of his own death as he cries out for his mother and says 'I want to go home'? Jesus Christ."
"Mellish is brutal for all the more uncomfortable and raw reasons you’d imagine. War is horrific. Young men are sent off to die, and their lives are cut short for no reason."
"It’s tragic and heartbreaking, and this is one of the only movies to really nail that feeling"
- Tuna-No-Crust
Ellie From Up
"Ellie from 'UP' gets me everytime"
- MaterialScientist420
"Sometimes I wonder how movies ever took off when the first ones were short with no sound."
"Then I remember the time a 10 minute animation with no dialogue absolutely wrecked me. It's a god-damned masterpiece and I hate it."
- cycloptian_tit
M*A*S*H Had A Few
"Henry Blake. MAS*H. The scene in the operating room. The actors weren’t told about it, just called back for one last scene shoot and Radar walks in and tells them. The silence is amplified by the sounds of instruments still working. Haunting"
- Salami_sub
"Piggy backing off this, the guy they tried to keep alive so his kids wouldn't remember Christmas as the day their dad died. That one gets me just thinking about it."
- GaussfaceKilla
"I just saw that one like a month ago! That was totally heartbreaking. Hawkeye spins the clock forward to twelve o five December twenty sixth and they all conspire to forge his death certificate"
- The_Dynasty_Group
My Girl
"'He can’t see without his glasses'"
- peesherman42
"What made this especially shocking/sad is that the entire movie was a huge bait-and-switch, but in a really effective way."
"At the time, 11-year old me thought -- based on the trailers and the marketing -- that I was about to watch a lighthearted coming-of-age movie."
"And while it does have some of that, boy did it have a macabre edge to it."
- Geekboxing
Littlefoot's Mom
"Littlefoot’s mother’s death"
- 2-DMan
"My son fell in love with this movie when he was 3 or 4, and every time that part would come on I would have to leave the room because no matter what age I am, I will always get emotional. Something about the music and the overall vibe that really just punches me in the gut."
- isurfnude4foods
"The music plus the quote 'Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely'. It's so beautiful and tragic."
- fiofo
The sign of a great story is how it can touch our hearts and sometimes break it.
So what was the saddest character death for you?
There is always a way to make money.
We can start to collect coin as early Pre-K.
We just have to be creative.
And who is more creative than a person who thinks they have nothing to lose?
Every school has a black market system.
Things are being sold and traded for that would shock us all.
Redditor AWESOMEKITTY7364 wanted to discuss the school system's biggest entrepeneurs, so they asked:
"What 'black market' did kids at your school run?"
I know a friend who sold pickles laced with vodka in high school.
She made a killing.
Mixtures
"Used to crush up warheads and mix them with sugar. Sold them by the straw with the ends melted. .50 a piece."
timelydemise13
'you got the goods?'
"I used to deal in whiteboard markers for teachers in high school. One teacher had a tendency to hoard them, leaving none for other teachers. I would take markers from him and provide them to other teachers in need."
"While there was no formal payment, I was given a little bit more leniency at times (e. g. Requests to leave the classroom for a moment etc)."
"Once the marker would start squealing on the whiteboard because it was almost empty, I'd get teachers giving me a nod as if to say 'you got the goods?' I'd then supply them with the marker color of their choosing (usually black)."
"It was actually a lot of fun, and I never heard teachers talk about my systems or chastise me for taking markers."
stoic4somethings
An Unfair Edge
"I was in elementary school when pogs were big. Everyone had cool slammers and stuff but I didn't have money for good ones. My dad made one out of 1/2' mild steel for me and used an engraving pen to make a simple pattern. Everyone was asking me where I got them from."
"I didn't wanna lose my unfair edge but i also knew i could make money. My dad had a big sheet of this 1/2' steel. I told them I was the only one who could get them. I sold them for 15 bucks a pop. My dad kept 10 I got 5. And thats when I learned what overhead was."
FNC1A1
Dress Code
"I went to a private high school with a strict dress code, ties, belt, etc. So I bought a bunch of ties and belts from a thrift store and ran a lucrative rental business out of my locker."
ccrawsh
"If you forgot your gym uniform more than once, you would get fined $5 to rent a uniform from the teacher or serve a detention. I would buy an extra set in the beginning of the school year of each size, and then rent them out/wash them myself undercutting the teachers 'fine' at a cost of $3. Very lucrative over my middle and high school years."
exorthderp
Got Pepsi?
"I used to sell coke (the drink) because they didn't allow fizzy drinks to be brought in."
Seventy0
Everyone loves a good fizz...
Copy-Sell
"The only guy in the school who's family had proper TV channels used to tape wrestling events and rent them out."
221
Knock-Offs
"I have family in NY and would go visit a couple times a year back in high school. Every once in a while we'd visit Chinatown in NYC and I'd end up buying $100s worth of fake watches (Rolex, Tag, Gucci, etc) return to school and sell them for double than what I paid for them."
firkin_slang_whanger
"A lot of people still do this. They fly off to China, buy cheap knock-offs and sell them for a huge mark-up wherever they’re from. It’s big business here in the Philippines."
Mist3rTryHard
Currency
"My school used the metallic ends of pencils as a currency. Bronze was rarest, so it was the most expensive. Green was most common, so it was the least. We traded for erasers or pencil cases or a spot up in the four square line. Eventually got banned but we still operated with people acting as banks to keep the currency hidden and to keep transactions hidden."
Flavory_Boat50
Deals
"Pokemon cards we would hide under playground equipment and trade them because the teachers would take them if they saw them. So we always set up 'deals' in class and created a whole Pokemon card trading network."
immapengoon
"We did something similar in my school. We also bet cards on matches. That got shut down pretty quick. We didn't see anything wrong with it at the time. Ahhh, those were the days."
an_elaborate_prank
Bag Full
"At my school they too all sweets out of the vending machines and replaced them with healthy snacks."
"In the local town there was a sweet shop where you could buy a kilo of mixed sweets for £5, so every week I would go there and buy £1 of small paper bags and spend the Sunday night before school repackaging them all ready for the week ahead."
"Come Monday I would go into school and load my bag up every day selling the bags for 50p."
HeisenbergCooks
Kids are shady, yet diligent.
What kind of sneaky operations did your school have? Let us know in the comment below.
Love itself and the search for it can be a total mess.
But no matter how much we thirst for it, we have to be diligent and look out for warning signs that a potential partner isn't a good fit.
Red flags and warning signs are always jumping out in front of us.
Follow your instincts and trust your guy.
If you think there's something off, they probably could be!
Redditor Artistic_Pop_3323 asked:
"On the first date, what were some immediate red flags that made you not go on a second date?"
On a first date years ago the man I met was easily twenty years older.
Found out he used his son's photo. Whacko.
Sales Pitch
"Dude spent the whole date talking about how he used to sell drugs."
bluecrowned
"I had a first date like this, too! Guy admitted when we first met years before, he was selling drugs and was also still in a relationship with a girl while trying to go out with me."
ultravioletblueberry
That Guy
"On our first date, he told me he was in med school, at the University in the town we lived in. I knew immediately there was no med school, but thought perhaps he was taken his pre-med classes or something, so went on a second date. He had spent an hour telling me how when he got done with his military service he had worked as a military contractor doing 'spy' work in Iraq and 'if I only knew the things he’d done!'"
"We stopped by his apartment to pick something up and while there I noticed all his mail was in a different name than he had given me. I 'magically' got a text from my work, told him I had an emergency and had to go immediately into work and handle it."
"After I told him there wouldn’t be a 3rd date, he got spooky angry and I caught him in the bushes outside my apartment, late at night, several times. I eventually had to get a restraining order - in the name he gave me. After that, I never saw him again! Thank God!"
PracticeLeading2814
worst date ever...
"She was still married and said she just wanted to know if she’d 'be able to still get dates if they split up'… worst date ever."
ohmybaddudeI
"Was hit on by a married woman, not my wife though. We talked for about an hour because I wanted to see what her game was. After telling her that I was married, she got really angry at me. I thought, WTF? Is there some kind of weird double standard going on here? She got really pissed off when I asked her why it was OK that she was married but not OK if I am married."
SpecialpOps
Need to make an order...
"Few years ago met up with a guy at a bar and like the entire time he would not stop talking about how he couldn’t wait to go to Russia and get a mail-order-bride."
rainbowcanoe
"Maybe he was trying to make you jealous. Like, 'Oh no, I might lose out on this prime life partner opportunity, better make my move posthaste!'"
maygpie
Twitcher
"He was about 10 years older than his pictures, he didn't stop twitching the entire time, and he kept pressuring me to go back to his place. I noped the f**k outta there."
SandMost7515
Umm... maybe get through the first course before offering your place?
By the Knife
"She pulled out a switchblade mid conversation to slice up a passing ant."
OffWhiteDevil
For My Own Good
"I was planning a first date with this guy years ago and he suggested bowling. I said it was fine, but I've done it once a few years prior and I was legitimately terrible at it. The group I was with at the time made it fun regardless of me being totally uncoordinated."
"He offered to teach me, but I said another time- I just wanted to get to know him in a relaxed environment. He suggested we still bowl, minus the lessons and he could also share in the hilarity of my lack of skill. I was down. The night came and the lessons started almost immediately."
"How to stand, where to stand, everything I'm doing wrong, I'm not taking it seriously, he's trying to teach me 'For my own good.' He became mean. Not one smile except when he saw me at the start. I told him this was not the fun/chill night I said I was looking for and he told me it would be if I took the game more seriously. He was actually angry about the whole night."
Kihana82
Order Again
"He tried to change my order with the waitress because I didn’t order what he’d recommended."
MaggieLuisa
"Oh my God, I came here to say this exact same thing! He suggested something, but I wasn't feeling it. I ordered, and he grabbed the waitress as she tried to walk away, and said 'No, she'll have [xyz] instead, thanks.' And let her go, and that was that. It didn't even occur to him that she wouldn't listen or that I'd be pissed. Walked right out of the restaurant."
starlightsmiles31
Comparisons
"I once went on a first date with a guy who was clearly not over his ex. He spent the entire time talking about her, comparing me to her, and even showing me pictures of them together. It was a huge red flag for me and made it clear that he wasn't ready for a new relationship. Needless to say, I didn't go on a second date with him."
selective_girlfriend
Slug
"He told me he had worms. Not in a casting, fishing, or terrarium kind of way. Full on internal parasites."
verite_404
"Hahaha, I once had a date graphically describe the time he had to remove a tapeworm from his own butt.. while I was trying to eat spaghetti at an expensive Italian restaurant."
Enceladus89
Oof... this is why I'll never date again. #Singleforlife
Do you have any other singles stories? Let us know in the comments below.