Just one of these has caused panic on the East Coast, but they’re common in Australia. (Screen capture from Fairfax Media video)
Australia is home to more deadly creatures than any other continent, and the typical Aussie response is to pooh-pooh their dangers. But that doesn’t mean folks in Oz should hit us below the belt when something comes along that we’re not used to.
This amusing report pokes fun at New Jersey’s response to the unusual appearance of a single bluebottle, also know as the Portuguese man of war. Complete with ominous music, the accompanying video makes light of a situation that’s rare in Jersey but in Australia occurs frequently and with far greater numbers of bluebottles.
Granted: the Jersey folks overreacted. But not all North Americans are wimps. Wisconsinites have dealt with strange creatures that would send shivers down the spines of even the toughest Australians.
“It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else.” — Bill Bryson on Australia
Yes, Oz is well known for the extraordinary presence of venomous bugs, snakes and even mammals, not to mention other dangerous creatures like great white sharks and the cassowary. Bill Bryson’s book In a Sunburned Country devotes a great deal of discussion to this charming aspect of the Land Down Under.
Words Are Roads 