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Quiz about An Americans Quiz on Australia
Quiz about An Americans Quiz on Australia

An American's Quiz on Australia


I've never been to Australia, and I've never seen a "Crocodile Dundee" movie. (Someday I hope to remedy one of the two.) See if you know the same odd facts about Australia that I do.

A multiple-choice quiz by uglybird. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
uglybird
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
178,093
Updated
Jul 28 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
3597
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 135 (8/10), Guest 184 (7/10), BarbaraMcI (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. I am an American. Worse yet, I am a Californian. In 1974, an Arab told me about the wonders of Beirut by comparing it to Perth, Australia. He succeeded in convincing me that I must someday visit Perth. What does the area around Perth have that the area around Beirut does not? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Just when I thought I might finally get to go to Australia, we discovered Terry Pratchett. So now, instead of going to Perth, Australia, I must take my family to England for the Terry Pratchett Discworld Convention. What Discworld continent bears an uncanny resemblance to Australia?

Answer: ( One word of four letters ... no vowels)
Question 3 of 10
3. Thirty years have passed since I decided that I would some day visit Australia, and the nearest I have come to Australia is Tahiti. In Tahiti, I encountered an Australian and a New Zealander who were aghast that I was unable to distinguish their origin based on their accents. "We say six, but they say six," the New Zealander insisted. He became still more offended when I could detect no difference between the two "sixes". Is New Zealand part of Australia?


Question 4 of 10
4. The music teacher came to my fourth grade class once a week. We would take out our songbooks and move our lips. Some of the girls would even sing. She taught me the first things I ever learned about Australia that didn't involve Kangaroos. I was mystified that the "merry king of the bush" was sitting in a tree, and I was an adult before I realized the song was about a bird rather than a marsupial. What song did she teach us? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. All the songs we sang in elementary school were either religious (shocking, I know) or patriotic - with two exceptions. Both exceptions were songs about Australia! The songs contained words whose meanings no American child could possibly know. I distinctly remember the music teacher explaining some of the words in "Waltzing Matilda" to us. I just as distinctly remember not listening. So, I looked one of the words up. Just what woolly, non-marsupial animal is a jumbuck, anyway? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Repeated surveys, dutifully reported by American newspapers, document the average American's woeful lack of geographic knowledge. (Many Americans remain ignorant of their ignorance because the survey results are placed, with intent to deceive, on the front page - far from the sports and comics sections that we average American's frequent.) Let me proudly state, however, that I have had to look up (almost) none of the geographic information featured on this quiz. In school, I was taught basic Australian geography. Which of the following was not taught to me? (Hint: It's wrong.) Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Word of mouth is an important source of geographical information for Americans. I have checked out some of the Australian geographical information I have heard and found some of it to be untrue. Which of the following geographic "facts" is untrue? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Many more Americans visit Hawaii than Australia. Which of the following is NOT a plausible reason for this? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Musicians/groups that I love have turned out, on close inspection, to be Australian. Which of the following performer(s) is/are Australian? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. I will prove that it is possible to be American and still know something truly trivial about Australia. Which of the following can be derived from eucalyptus leaves? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. I am an American. Worse yet, I am a Californian. In 1974, an Arab told me about the wonders of Beirut by comparing it to Perth, Australia. He succeeded in convincing me that I must someday visit Perth. What does the area around Perth have that the area around Beirut does not?

Answer: Kangaroos

One of the deep, dark secrets of California is that the ocean is really cold here. I have always yearned for a place where the ocean water is warm and the mountains are close. Perth and Beirut are such places.
2. Just when I thought I might finally get to go to Australia, we discovered Terry Pratchett. So now, instead of going to Perth, Australia, I must take my family to England for the Terry Pratchett Discworld Convention. What Discworld continent bears an uncanny resemblance to Australia?

Answer: XXXX

Terry Pratchett's continent of "XXXX" has many species of poisonous animals. In fact, the only animals not poisonous are some species of sheep. In his book on "XXXX", "The Last Continent", beer and animals with pouches play a prominent role.
3. Thirty years have passed since I decided that I would some day visit Australia, and the nearest I have come to Australia is Tahiti. In Tahiti, I encountered an Australian and a New Zealander who were aghast that I was unable to distinguish their origin based on their accents. "We say six, but they say six," the New Zealander insisted. He became still more offended when I could detect no difference between the two "sixes". Is New Zealand part of Australia?

Answer: No

The aforementioned encounter took place on a catamaran, and I was more than a little seasick at the time. This may have affected my concentration on the subtleties of speech that I was being asked to consider. According to "emigratenz.org" the first Europeans in New Zealand were Australian Seal Hunters.

The website maintains that the New Zealand accent has Australian origins. They suggest a "fish and chips" test to distinguish between denizens of the two countries. They claim that an Australian will say "feesh and cheeps", a New Zealander "fush and chups".
4. The music teacher came to my fourth grade class once a week. We would take out our songbooks and move our lips. Some of the girls would even sing. She taught me the first things I ever learned about Australia that didn't involve Kangaroos. I was mystified that the "merry king of the bush" was sitting in a tree, and I was an adult before I realized the song was about a bird rather than a marsupial. What song did she teach us?

Answer: Kookaburra

Another Kookaburra fact I have learned as an adult is that the Kookaburra does, indeed, have a call that sounds like a laugh. The call is reportedly used to mark the bird's territory, but I'm always skeptical as to the means by which ornithologists determine such things. I admit to being a bit shocked to learn that the bird is a predator. Terry Pratchett would, no doubt, call it "The Laughing Assassin Bird" and want it to join a guild.
5. All the songs we sang in elementary school were either religious (shocking, I know) or patriotic - with two exceptions. Both exceptions were songs about Australia! The songs contained words whose meanings no American child could possibly know. I distinctly remember the music teacher explaining some of the words in "Waltzing Matilda" to us. I just as distinctly remember not listening. So, I looked one of the words up. Just what woolly, non-marsupial animal is a jumbuck, anyway?

Answer: Sheep

Banjo Paterson (yep, just one "t") wrote Waltzing Matilda in 1895 at a bush station in Queensland. The song was once Australia's official national song. Apparently it garnered 30% of the vote to become the national anthem in 1974.
6. Repeated surveys, dutifully reported by American newspapers, document the average American's woeful lack of geographic knowledge. (Many Americans remain ignorant of their ignorance because the survey results are placed, with intent to deceive, on the front page - far from the sports and comics sections that we average American's frequent.) Let me proudly state, however, that I have had to look up (almost) none of the geographic information featured on this quiz. In school, I was taught basic Australian geography. Which of the following was not taught to me? (Hint: It's wrong.)

Answer: Australia is bigger than Antarctica.

Nothing is bigger than Antarctica except for Russia, the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans and possibly Texas. Well, OK, also Jupiter, Saturn and even Mars I suppose. But the only country bigger than Antarctica is Russia. Yes, I know. Antarctica isn't a country. Sigh...
7. Word of mouth is an important source of geographical information for Americans. I have checked out some of the Australian geographical information I have heard and found some of it to be untrue. Which of the following geographic "facts" is untrue?

Answer: The Great Barrier Reef is in the Southwest

I have been told that ocean going crocodiles do not inhabit the Great Barrier Reef. Should this turn out to be true, I will certainly have to go there.
8. Many more Americans visit Hawaii than Australia. Which of the following is NOT a plausible reason for this?

Answer: Hawaii has opera houses; Australia does not.

Sydney's opera house is, hopefully, famous enough to allow even Americans to answer the preceding question correctly. I am able to report, happily, that it is possible to see performances there that are not opera. In addition, a private tour (for up to 18 people) can be arranged for a mere $375.00.
9. Musicians/groups that I love have turned out, on close inspection, to be Australian. Which of the following performer(s) is/are Australian?

Answer: All of them

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the all-time best selling performers in Australia are Elton John, The Beatles and Billy Joel - in that order. John Farnham, at number eight, is the first Australian on the list.
10. I will prove that it is possible to be American and still know something truly trivial about Australia. Which of the following can be derived from eucalyptus leaves?

Answer: All of them

Lerp is a sticky substance on eucalyptus leaves secreted by a kind of aphid. (Lerp is one of my favorite words, and I reserve the right to put it in another quiz). Eucalyptus can be used to synthesize a precursor of the drug Mescaline. This is a fact little known, even to people who were chemistry majors in the 60s. I hope Koalas really do eat eucalyptus leaves. I've always been led to believe that they do.
Source: Author uglybird

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
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