Some humour from around the World

[Jim]

Our bird eating spider is endowed with some nice fangs as well.

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[Jim]

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[Jim]

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[Jim]

Whilst rabbit meat sold well at the markets, pelts – at first – attracted little commercial interest. Yet by the 1880s, Australian rabbit skins were being auctioned in their millions in London, a centre for felt- and hat-making.
In Australia, hat-makers established themselves where rabbits were most plentiful: in Tasmania, Victoria (where, according to Warwick Eather and Drew Cottle’s recent study, the number of hat manufactories doubled between 1870 and 1880) and in New South Wales.
Whatever the Australasian pastoralist may think to the contrary, the world cannot do without Australasia’s rabbits.
Percy O Lennon, The Queenslander, 1929.
From the start of the twentieth century to nearly 1950, Australian hatters and furriers bought around one billion rabbit skins, however most were still shipped overseas.
Over this time, the majority of export skins went to North America, where buyers sought rabbits as cheaper alternatives to, and even substitutes for, luxury furs such as sable. With creative preparation, rabbit pelts could be made to look like (and were successfully sold as) fashionably desirable furs.
Accordingly, rabbit skin prices rose dramatically. Australian papers duly reported on potential increases in the cost of hats, then a widely worn item of men’s fashion. Demand was such that anyone able to catch rabbits could make money by selling skins.
PHOTO - About 6,200 rabbits in crates at Woodstock, New South Wales, 1906.

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[Jim]

‘THE WITCHETTY GRUB’

The witchetty grub is one of the most famous and popular from the nation’s bush tucker menu.

For many generations the larval stage of the large cossid wood moth has been chosen as a key source of protein by the Aboriginal communities.

Growing up to 12cm in length, they bury themselves about 60cm below the ground feeding on the root sap of the Witchetty bush.

However, the name ‘witchetty’ is now used for any ‘fat, white, wood-boring grub’ including swift moths, longicorn beetles and other wood moths found in Australia; and are said to hold a similar taste.

Between November and January, Aboriginal women and children from many tribes would find these grubs by digging around the roots of the Witchetty bush.

Historically, witchetty grubs have been a staple for Aboriginal communities, and today is still an important food and nutritious snack when living in the bush. Acting as a rich source of protein, it has been found that ’10 witchetty grubs are sufficient to provide the daily needs of an adult’.

The liquid centre of a raw witchetty grub tastes like almonds. Witchetty grubs can also be cooked on hot ashes or barbecued. When cooked, their skin becomes crisp like a roast chicken, whilst the inside meat becomes white and chewy.

Depending on your taste buds, these cooked grubs will taste either like chicken or prawns with peanut sauce. Often eaten as an appetiser, they are a quick and easy meal, rich in protein.

Not only are witchetty grubs a staple food, but they also serve as one of the top Aboriginal bush medicines. By crushing the grub into a paste and spreading over injuries, burns and wounds are seen to heal more effectively.


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[Stoker]

Yummmmm!

I've always especially liked that scene in "Quigley Down Under":




"Ya gonna shoot it first?"

[Jim]

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[Jim]

Platypus babies are called "Puggles".
  Yes, you needed to see this today

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[Stoker]

Platypus babies are called "Puggles".
  Yes, you needed to see this today

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Yes, I did indeed!

[St Paul Steam]

Do they bite ? they look like they want to bite me...I know he wants to bite/re:KILL me. oh, it looks harmless enough, but he wants to kill me, I'm certain, right proper bastard that is!  

[Jim]

Do they bite ? they look like they want to bite me...I know he wants to bite/re:KILL me. oh, it looks harmless enough, but he wants to kill me, I'm certain, right proper bastard that is!  

Nope they don't bite....but as weird as they look they are even weirder.

The males have ankle spurs that are venomous, the venom can kill an animal the size of a dog and cause weeks of unbearable agony for a human.

[St Paul Steam]

Do they bite ? they look like they want to bite me...I know he wants to bite/re:KILL me. oh, it looks harmless enough, but he wants to kill me, I'm certain, right proper bastard that is!  

Nope they don't bite....but as weird as they look they are even weirder.

The males have ankle spurs that are venomous, the venom can kill an animal the size of a dog and cause weeks of unbearable agony for a human.

I KNEW IT ! there is almost nothing in Australia that won't hurt,maim,damage or kill you if given half a chance
🤣

[St Paul Steam]

Jim, I have told many of my pickleball friends about the "Gympie-Gympie" nearly everyone looks this plant up with disbelief, then is greatly astonished to discover its true.

[Jim]

Jim, I have told many of my pickleball friends about the "Gympie-Gympie" nearly everyone looks this plant up with disbelief, then is greatly astonished to discover its true.

Folks seem fascinated with touching them!!!! ,,,,,,, crazy!!!!!

[Jim]

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