NationStates Jolt Archive

A bit like name five famous Belgians. Can anybody actually name anything that has been invented by an Australian? Being entirely sceptical about the existence of Australia, I couldn't think of anything.

Would boomerangs count?

The only thing I can think off of the top of my head is the flight data recorder, but those things are pretty damn important.

EDIT: Wiki says that we got the artificial pacemaker too, and the wine cask, and the electric drill, and the esky, and disposable medical gloves, and an Australian developed Penicillin for use as medicine.

lawn mower

Fosters.

lawn mower

That was a British invention in the 1830's.

Baby-eating dingoes. *nod*

The only thing I can think off of the top of my head is the flight data recorder, but those things are pretty damn important.

EDIT: Wiki says that we got the artificial pacemaker too, and the wine cask, and the electric drill, and the esky, and disposable medical gloves, and an Australian developed Penicillin for use as medicine.

Wine casks were in use in Europe in the middle ages.
What the hell is an esky?

Apparently, we (the French) invented the electric iron, the pencil and the parachute, amongst other things (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/france.shtml). Who'd a-thunk it?

The Australians are responsible for the feature film and the totalisator. So sayeth the wiki. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Australian_inventions)

Wine casks were in use in Europe in the middle ages.
What the hell is an esky?

Wine casks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_wine)

esky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esky)

Apparently, we (the French) invented the electric iron, the pencil and the parachute, amongst other things (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/france.shtml). Who'd a-thunk it?

The Australians are responsible for the feature film and the totalisator. So sayeth the wiki. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Australian_inventions)
And the camera they put in F1 races.

Wine casks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_wine)

esky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esky)

A certain alcohol-relatedness to Australian inventions seems to be emerging...

some Australian Inventions are the bionic ear, Hills Hoist (clothes line), Vegemite, Penicillin, Didgeridoo, Inflatable Aircraft Escape Slide & Raft, The Electric Drill, The notepad, television , Refrigeration, Electronic Pacemaker , Spray-on-skin, Australian Rules Football and the Dual Flush Toilet

some Australian Inventions are the bionic ear, Hills Hoist (clothes line), Vegemite, Penicillin, Didgeridoo, Inflatable Aircraft Escape Slide & Raft, The Electric Drill, The notepad, television , Refrigeration, Electronic Pacemaker , Spray-on-skin, Australian Rules Football and the Dual Flush Toilet

Seems Australians are best at inventing enormous lies.

Refrigeration?
Television?
Penicillin?

Also, what is a dual flush toilet, is it the one where you can choose half-flush or full-flush - I often find I tend to press both :)

The television was invented by either a German, French, Scot or Hungarian. All depending on your definition of television.

The refrigerator is of Scottish, Swedish or U.S. origin.

The bionic ear's a good one. IVF, really?

Here's (http://www.questacon.edu.au/html/100_years_of_innovations.html) what the ankle-biters get told.

Oddly, the online lists don't seem to claim the eye operation that Fred Hollows worked on until he'd made it so simple it could be taught to non-medical folk. It's used to remove cataracts. Helping the blind see is pretty big.

I think we should get a guernsey for all those great pieces of invective. "I hope all your chooks turn into emus and they kick your dunny down" is surely world class.

Dunno why they haven't got prickly-pear jam on that list, though. My Auntie Lil made great prickly-pear jam.

Seems Australians are best at inventing enormous lies.
sorry the USA has that Title

Refrigeration?
Television?
no we had nothing to do with that
Penicillin?
development of penicillin for use as a medicine yes ,finding of it was a Scottish scientist

The bionic ear's a good one. IVF, really?

Here's (http://www.questacon.edu.au/html/100_years_of_innovations.html) what the ankle-biters get told.

Oddly, the online lists don't seem to claim the eye operation that Fred Hollows worked on until he'd made it so simple it could be taught to non-medical folk. It's used to remove cataracts. Helping the blind see is pretty big.

I think we should get a guernsey for all those great pieces of invective. "I hope all your chooks turn into emus and they kick your dunny down" is surely world class.

Dunno why they haven't got prickly-pear jam on that list, though. My Auntie Lil made great prickly-pear jam.


Not sure I would be that proud of showing the first pictures of another country landing on the moon. Aren't a lot of these just developments of existing inventions?

sorry the USA has that Title


no we had nothing to do with that

development of penicillin for use as a medicine yes ,find of it was a Scottish scientist

I think there's a fondness among Aussies for the tall tale told for their amusement. A staple of the humour seems to be 'the wind-up'.

One I remember was how the local croc farm had flooded 'just last week' due to rain/overfilling and a whole bunch of crocodiles had escaped.

I heard that one all over Australia.

Always told dead-pan.

Not sure I would be that proud of showing the first pictures of another country landing on the moon. Aren't a lot of these just developments of existing inventions?

They don't seem to be denying that, at least that's the impression I got from it.

I think there's a fondness among Aussies for the tall tale told for their amusement. A staple of the humour seems to be 'the wind-up'.

One I remember was how the local croc farm had flooded 'just last week' due to rain/overfilling and a whole bunch of crocodiles had escaped.

I heard that one all over Australia.

Always told dead-pan.

really never heard of it , must be one we use on outsiders

Oddly, the online lists don't seem to claim the eye operation that Fred Hollows worked on until he'd made it so simple it could be taught to non-medical folk. It's used to remove cataracts. Helping the blind see is pretty big.


For the purposes of this thread, it would help if Hollows was actually an Australian, but alas, like Phar Lap, Hollows is a backwater South Islander...

I think there's a fondness among Aussies for the tall tale told for their amusement. A staple of the humour seems to be 'the wind-up'.

One I remember was how the local croc farm had flooded 'just last week' due to rain/overfilling and a whole bunch of crocodiles had escaped.

I heard that one all over Australia.

Always told dead-pan.

Everyone knows that's nonsense.

It doesn't even rain in Oz.

It doesn't even rain in Oz.

that joke is so boring

Everyone knows that's nonsense.

It doesn't even rain in Oz.

Perhaps not, but we certainly get some impressive hailstorms (I kid not).

(and of COURSE we get rain. otherwise there wouldn't be 20+ million of us here. We just don't get much of it.

There is that thing about drop bears though... You want to watch out for them. :p

Wasn't Antrax vaccination done waaaaay earlier than 1918? Pastuer did it on a whole bunch of sheep didn't he?

For the purposes of this thread, it would help if Hollows was actually an Australian, but alas, like Phar Lap, Hollows is a backwater South Islander...

I know, but he became an Australian citizen in 1989. So it's a legit claim.

Don't forget the "Speedo".

Not sure I would be that proud of showing the first pictures of another country landing on the moon. Aren't a lot of these just developments of existing inventions?

Actually Australians landed on the Moon first. However the pictures didn't come out when they took the film to Foto-mat thus making their claim sound far-fetched.

Actually Australians landed on the Moon first. However the pictures didn't come out when they took the film to Foto-mat thus making their claim sound far-fetched.

Nah, it's just that the Americans didn't land on the right side. But we didn't tell them that because they never swim between the flags and they won't get out of the water when the shark alarm sounds, so we kept quiet about the fantastic beach on the bit you can't see.

The first words humankind said on the moon were actually, "Surf's up!"

The tri-fin surfboard was an australian invention.

But my favourite would be the rotary engine.

The tri-fin surfboard was an australian invention.

But my favourite would be the rotary engine.

Wankel's?

Hmph! Sarich's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_engine).

A bit like name five famous Belgians. Can anybody actually name anything that has been invented by an Australian? Being entirely sceptical about the existence of Australia, I couldn't think of anything.

Picking on us Aussies are you, for your information Australians have invented many things including but not limited to the lawnmower yes Rambhutan An Australian invented the modern lawn mower, the hills hoist, IVF was a break through done by Australians, rotary engine, Ugg boots (damn americans wwho took it from us), esky, Dapto briefcase's (wine casks), The Black box, pacemaker, thewinged keel (won us the Americas cup), cochlear implant, vegimite , the stobie pole and Australia was the first company to produce and show a feature length film its name The Story of the Kelly Gang. There are many other things I remember doing it at primary school where the list filled an entire page but I have forgotten a lot of them

Wine casks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_wine)[/URL]
It's hardly a cask. Most people think of the big barrels when you say "cask", not a plastic bag-deally.

A famous Belgian would be Poirot.

It's hardly a cask. Most people think of the big barrels when you say "cask", not a plastic bag-deally.

A famous Belgian would be Poirot.

But Poirot, like Australia, is fictional.

That damnable, disgusting yeast-protein spread. Vegemite, or whatever it's called.

Blech.

It's hardly a cask. Most people think of the big barrels when you say "cask", not a plastic bag-deally.

A famous Belgian would be Poirot.

Don't forget King Leopold!

That damnable, disgusting yeast-protein spread. Vegemite, or whatever it's called.

Blech.

Say what you like, it's sure protection against the drop-bears.

Actually Australians landed on the Moon first. However the pictures didn't come out when they took the film to Foto-mat thus making their claim sound far-fetched.

It's hardly a cask. Most people think of the big barrels when you say "cask", not a plastic bag-deally.

The Australian rocket ship was most likely powered by a 2-litre cask of Fruity Lexia, the tequila of wines - if you can call it a wine because I'm not sure grapes have anything to do with that stuff.

The genius of the cask invention was that, once you'd got through the 2-litre cask of ye olde Fruity Lexia, the inner bag was a handy blow up pillow for crashing wherever you might be.

But Poirot, like Australia, is fictional.

But we must be real, we were on The Simpsons!

Speaking of which, we invented the Order of the Boot. And Paul Keating.

And the story about the kangaroo in the Gucci suit. And the Australian ballot. And the habit of cutting everything down to size by putting an "ie" on it, though when we say "Ooh! A pressie!" we don't mean a president. Yet.

Furthermore, we invented the proper name for the form of footwear that benighted foreigners call "flip-flops", though we all know they're really "thongs". And they're always plural, even when there's only one of them on a beach at the tidemark, because the singular is another object entirely, unless you say "a dead thong", which brings you back to the one on the beach.

But we must be real, we were on The Simpsons!

Speaking of which, we invented the Order of the Boot. And Paul Keating.

And the story about the kangaroo in the Gucci suit. And the Australian ballot. And the habit of cutting everything down to size by putting an "ie" on it, though when we say "Ooh! A pressie!" we don't mean a president. Yet.

Furthermore, we invented the proper name for the form of footwear that benighted foreigners call "flip-flops", though we all know they're really "thongs". And they're always plural, even when there's only one of them on a beach at the tidemark, because the singular is another object entirely, unless you say "a dead thong", which brings you back to the one on the beach.

So if you call flip-flops thongs, what do you call thongs?

<snip> because the singular is another object entirely.

That's what a thong is. Anyone who's worn one will admit, in their heart of hearts, that it's not something any sane person buys more than one of.

Say what you like, it's sure protection against the drop-bears.

Which is why they mainly go after tourists.

Say what you like, it's sure protection against the drop-bears.

True.

No one who has ever eaten Vegemite has ever been attacked by a drop bear.

True.

No one who has ever eaten Vegemite has ever been attacked by a drop bear.


... provided that they smear the stuff on their neck. See, that's how the little buggers attack. They make a noise, you look up, and they drop straight on the lighter skin under the chin and rip your throat out.

But if you smear the Vegemite on, they can't see you. It's foolproof.

Ah, if only those tourists would listen to us.

True.

No one who has ever eaten Vegemite has ever been attacked by a drop bear.

Eating the British equivalent of this, 'Marmite', was recently proven scientifically to deter attacks by mosquitoes: Might be worth running the same test with Vegemite, no?

Nah, it's just that the Americans didn't land on the right side. But we didn't tell them that because they never swim between the flags and they won't get out of the water when the shark alarm sounds, so we kept quiet about the fantastic beach on the bit you can't see.

The first words humankind said on the moon were actually, "Surf's up!"
lol
It's hardly a cask. Most people think of the big barrels when you say "cask", not a plastic bag-deally..

well good for them, just because others call it a wine box don't mean we going to start calling it that too

Eating the British equivalent of this, 'Marmite', was recently proven scientifically to deter attacks by mosquitoes: Might be worth running the same test with Vegemite, no?

Ssshh - Ardchoille is trying to claim Vegemite as an Australian invention - of course it was only created as a Marmite substitute when supplies of marmite from Britain ran low.

Bah! Another set of head-in-the-sand Vegemite-deniers.

You'll see, that's all, you'll see. When climate change forces them down from the gumtrees and they head over your way, Marmite will fail you. Its viscosity is not adequate to the task.

Bah! Another set of head-in-the-sand Vegemite-deniers.

You'll see, that's all, you'll see. When climate change forces them down from the gumtrees and they head over your way, Marmite will fail you. Its viscosity is not adequate to the task.

they be begging us for it when they see this
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t69/zxc_047/dropbear.jpg
heading for them

But Poirot, like Australia, is fictional.
Lies! All lies!

He's as real as Sherlock Holmes!