| Some of Australia's biggest exports to the US are
(unfortunately) Crocodile Dundee, Steve Earl the Crocodile Hunter and the
Iron Men (in Baywatch). Since the US has such a rich and diverse culture,
other cultures have little airplay. So as a result, even those Americans
who can differentiate Australia from Austria have trouble getting over the
Crocodile Hunter stereotype. This article hopes to blast these myths (but
excuse my patriotism and sarcasm). Myths
- Australians don't have an accent. It's everyone else. Really.
- Australians don't (usually) have neighbours one hundred kilometres
away. We have quite adapted to the concept of "cities" over the last two
hundred odd years.
- Koala bears don't hang from every tree. They only eat leaves off
specific trees. Also, they aren't all that light, cuddly or gentle.
Eucalyptus leaves contain alcohol, and in essentiality, koalas end up
drunken farts mostly.
- Kangaroos also aren't all that great. Not bad for a pat, but they
can fight. They can kick and slash, but not box. And no, we don't ride
them around like horses. Nor do they have gooey pouches. It's just a
flap of skin. Oh, and kangaroos are sometimes seen as a pest to farmers.
- Crocodile hunting is not a regular pastime, strangely enough.
- Due to amazing genetic breakthroughs, thanks to our biotech
industry, we have a vast majority of Australians that aren't blonde,
tanned and male.
- Australians usually don't spend all that much time at the beach.
Although lovely and so forth, we have an economy to try to keep
together.
- The Australian Aborigines don't walk around half- or fully naked any
more. A few insane ones maybe, but race doesn't matter in that case.
They don't wield spears or eat people. They have been (sadly) integrated
into the European way of life.
- Boomerangs are not just sticks. Well, they are in an extreme view,
like baseball bats or wooden legs would be too. They are well-made
(aerodynamically), but still are a bastard to throw properly.
- The Australian capital isn't Melbourne or Sydney (you know, the
Olympic place). It's Canberra.
- Australia has a Prime Minister. It's a head of state, just in a
different democratic structure. The Prime Minister's name is John
Howard. Ironically, we also have a famous actor here of the same name.
- Having a convict history does not imply being a country of criminals
now, unless you want America to be that "civil war place".
- Although you wouldn't know it from American movies, Australia isn't
a tiny, insignificant country tucked away somewhere. It has land mass
approximately equal to the US (excluding Alaska).
- New Zealand isn't a state or territory of Australia. It's a country
in its own right.
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