Australian Tidbits of Info

Although Australia is the smallest of the seven continents it’s also the largest island in the world. Australia has the distinction of being the only country that occupies an entire continent. Most of the population live in the large coastal cities of Australia. A third of the continent is desert.

You may not be respected, in some countries, if you don’t vote but in Australia you are fined for not doing your duty as a citizen. Perhaps the reason some don’t vote is because 21% of the world’s gambling machines are located in Australia.

Some of the oldest plants in the world are the Australian Zamia palms which have survived over 200 million years. Half of the continent is eaten away by the 126,000,000 sheep that graze there. Australia is responsible for the production of 70% of the world’s wool supply. They are also the biggest exporter of veal as well as beef.

Australia is not overly populated. As a matter of fact there are only approximately 2 people per square kilometer. Many of these people can be found hanging out on the beaches since Australia has more beaches than any other place in the world.

Australia’s $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes are plastic. This makes them difficult to counterfeit and more durable than paper money. Almost all the world’s opals are found in Australia. One notable opal found there weighed 6.8 kg.

The largest structure in the entire world that was built by living creatures, although not man, is the Great Barrier Reef which is over 2,000 kilometers long.

In the entire world there are only two mammals which lay eggs. Both of these mammals originate in Australia. The longest fence in the world, designed to keep the dingo away from sheep, runs for over 5500 kilometers.

Australia has the record number of in-vitro babies born in the world. They were also responsible for the first test tube twins, triplets and quadruplets. Even the ultra sound machine was invited in Australia. Other inventions coming from Australia are the surf lifesaving reel, the anthrax vaccine, the rotary hoe, heart pacemaker, and permanent-crease trousers.

It’s fun to find out interesting facts about our continents and countries. Australia is very unique because most everything is backwards there. Water, in toilets or drains, swirls in the opposite direction from the Northern Continents. Their summer months are America’s winter months. There are lots of other interesting things that you can learn about Australia if you take the time to read.