Episode #903

News Items

Who's That Noisy

  • Answer to last week: Steamroller

Science or Fiction

  • Item #1 Fiction

    Australia and the USA have had a long and close relationship with economic and military ties. An attack on the USA is considered to be an attack on Australia and viscera. We have adopted many parts of American culture including over the last couple of decades a very American version of Halloween. With such a strong relationship going back to soon after the declaration of independence, it is interesting to note that the first time a sitting US President visited Australia wasn’t until 1948 when Harry S. Trueman visited the northern cisty of Brisbane and then the Capital Canberra to thank Australian troops for their service, support and comradeship with US servicemen in the Pacific theatre fighting the Japanese during WWII.

  • Item #2 Science

    Although you can get just about any kind of food in Australia, especially in the major cities, we are also known for some more usual tastes. While many Autrailians love Vegemite on their toast or Musk Sticks as a candy, the one dish mentioned under “Traditional Cuisine” on the CIA World Factbook website’s page on Australia is… a Meat Pie — a fist-sized baked pie filled with ground meat, gravy, and cheese and topped with ketchup; the gravy often contains onions and/or mushrooms.

  • Item #3 Fiction

    The Melbourne Dogs was the name given to a short lived gang of criminal immigrants from Australia in Los Angeles, during the mid-19th century. Originally part of the 1849 gold rush, they moved to LA after not striking it rich in the gold fields. Because many of these criminals came from the well-known British penal colonies in Australia, and were known to commit arson, they were blamed for an 1853 fire as well as the rampant crime in the city at the time.

Skeptical Quote of the Week.

‘Collectively we make this future that we surprise ourselves with.’ Adam Buxton