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Tech News
25,000 Residents Told to Evacuate as Massive Cyclone Threatens Australian Coast
Around 25,000 people living in north Queensland are being asked to flee as a powerful cyclone is set to make landfall. Tropical storm Debbie is expected to hit the coastline tomorrow with 170 mile-per-hour gusts and storm surges as high as eight feet. Debbie was upgraded to a Category 4 storm earlier today, and it’s … Continued
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Tech News
North Korea Preparing For New Nuclear Tests in April According to Experts
With each passing week, the rhetoric about nuclear war between the United States and North Korea becomes more bold from each side. And this weekend was no different. There has been increased activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea, leading most experts on the region to believe that we’ll see the country’s … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Deadly Spider Venom Might Protect Us From Deadly Strokes
Funnel web spiders are a perplexing bunch. The eight-legged Australian creatures can kill with their venom, but are simultaneously required for creating the antidote. Now, it turns out their venom might have another purpose—protecting the brain from the damaging effects of a stroke. Most strokes are ischemic, meaning they result in a lack of blood … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Should Unvaccinated Kids Be Banned From Daycare?
To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia is pushing its states and territories to adopt measures that would prevent unvaccinated children from attending childcare centers. Sounds harsh, but experts say it’s a good idea—one that’ll hopefully prevent the spread of infectious diseases. In a letter issued late last week, … Continued
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Tech News
Australian Farmers Bullied Into Buying $60,000 Worth of Ink Cartridges by Unrelenting Cold Callers
Nobody likes cold-calling salespeople—while they have a job to do like everyone else, that job is highly irritating to pretty much everyone involved. Case in point: an Australian office supplies company that bullied a farming couple into purchasing enough ink to last them 1,700 years. The company, Corporate Office Supplies, was ordered this week by Australia’s … Continued
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io9
Somehow Australia’s Favorite Song to Bump Uglies to Is Star Wars’ ‘Cantina Band’
Star Wars is sexy, sure. But I’d still question the logic of anyone who decides to have sex while listening to a band that specializes in what was once called “jizz music.” Our friends over at Gizmodo Australia recently shared the seemingly unbelievable news that “Cantina Band,” the bar tune from Star Wars Episode IV: … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Gigantic Bats Are Dying Upside Down, Making Australia’s Heatwave Look Like a Horror Movie
If you’ve ever seen Australia’s grey-headed flying fox, you know that they’re absolutely terrifying. With an average wingspan of over 3 feet, these threatened animals are sometimes called megabats. But you haven’t really seen terrifying until you’ve seen the flying fox dying by the hundreds, which is precisely what’s happening Down Under right now. Most … Continued
By Matt Novak -
EartherClimate Change
Australia Is Hot as Balls Right Now
Parts of eastern and central Australia are in the midst of a horrific heatwave, with temperatures reaching as high as 116 degrees F (46 degrees C). Alarmingly, the record-setting conditions are expected to worsen over the coming weekend. While it’s always hard to tie individual meteorological events to climate change, one can’t help but consider … Continued
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Tech News
Enormous Pleistocene Landslide Discovered Off the Coast of Australia
Around 300,000 years ago, a ridge near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef collapsed, unleashing a massive undersea avalanche. The ensuing landslide scattered debris for miles and triggered a sizeable tsunami, according to new research. The remains of the ancient slip, known as the Gloria Knolls Slide, were discovered 46 miles (75 km) off the north Queensland … Continued
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Tech News
36 Australian Beaches Unsafe for Swimming Due to Human Shit
Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority issued a warning to steer clear of all 36 beaches in Melbourne, Australia’s second biggest city, due to a “poor” water quality rating, which turns out, is code for poop. This is not the first time this has happened. Earlier this month, 21 beaches in Port Phillip Bay were deemed unsafe … Continued
By Eve Peyser -
Tech News
Alibaba CEO Warns That ‘If Trade Stops, War Starts’
Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba and the second-richest man in China, visited Australia on Saturday. He had a dire warning for Trump and his hardline, anti-globalization ideas about trade: this could be war. Ma was in Melbourne to celebrate the opening of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s Australia/New Zealand headquarters. Speaking to attendees at the … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech News
This WWII Booklet Helped Soldiers Translate From American to Australian
Americans and Australians share so much when it comes to a common language, values of liberal democracy, and certain similarities of history. But the Yanks and the Aussies are just different enough that they often look at each other sideways—whether it’s disagreements over snacks or confusion with slang. Which is precisely why the US military … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Some Dipshit Thought it Was a Good Idea to Put a Shirt on a Dolphin
Boaters off the coast of Western Australia have spotted a bottlenose dolphin that appears to be wearing some kind of shirt. Wildlife officials suspect it was a deliberate act—one that could have caused the aquatic mammal to suffocate. Alarmingly, the dolphin hasn’t been since since. The T-shirt clad dolphin was spotted in Koombana Bay, Bunbury, … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
Try Not to Lose Your Lunch on This Bonkers Never-Ending Slip ‘N Slide
In an effort to celebrate Australia Day—a holiday in which the nation apparently likes to risk life and limb for a little fun—a bunch of Aussies realized that the ride on a Slip ‘N Slide is always way too short. So they built an infinite version where you can keep hurtling around for as long as … Continued
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Tech News
New Zealand Could Have Been Part of the United States
Most Americans think of New Zealand as the place The Lord of the Rings was filmed, or the land with more sheep than people. This week, however, the country captured the American imagination, as an article in the New Yorker revealed that it was the hottest spot on the planet for rich Americans to buy … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Australian Zoo Wants You to Catch Deadly Venomous Spiders
Today has been a stressful day in American science news. So, it seems like the perfect time to site back and relax with a nice, comforting story about an Australian Zoo asking people to catching deadly fucking venomous spiders for it. You probably already knew that Australia has some really terrifying spiders (though apparently they aren’t … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Australia to Replace Passports With Biometric Tech
In a move that sounds convenient and a little terrifying, international travelers to Australia may not need a passport by 2020. Officials say that the country is implementing a system to replace the standard paper ID with biometric technology that recognizes faces, irises and/or fingerprints. If all goes to plan, passengers from other countries will … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech News
Look at These Weird Clouds
These clouds are weird. Usually, clouds look like fluffy puffs or big, mean anvils. But these clouds… these clouds look like stripes. These clouds are weird. Virgin Australia shared a picture of these weird clouds yesterday on their Facebook page after Instagrammer Ilya Katsman noticed that the clouds were weird. “These clouds are weird,” he … Continued
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Tech News
This Story About Feral Cats Eating KFC Only Gets Weirder
Australia has a kitty problem, and it’s not “the cat scratched up the couch.” It’s that feral cats roam 99.8 percent of the country—cats cover more Australian land than internet access does. To alleviate the problem, officials from Parks Victoria are, uh, feeding the cats KFC. But some don’t think the spending was justified. The … Continued
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Tech News
Oh Jesus, Look at This Snake Eating a Wallaby
In many ways, Australia is great: Twisties, beautiful beaches, hot sports men. In other ways, however, it’s a nightmare hellscape dreamt up by a drunk Salvador Dali after a visit to Jurassic Park. Our latest example of this comes courtesy of Bernie Worlsfold, a resident of the northeastern coastal town of Kuranda. Worlsfold shared some … Continued