Australians have had some fantastic ideas in the past. Among my favourites are dual flush toilets, the wine cask which gives us wine in a box (right) and the splayd, a combination of knife, fork and spoon all in one. Great for barbeques.
Australia can be proud of its long list of inventions. In 2000 Australians developed the first wireless transfer of data in a local area network, which we now know as Wi-Fi.
And to this day, Australians continue to come up with new and fresh ideas. Here’s the latest.
Planking.
Planking? Yes…
Planking is thought to have been started by rugby league players. I have actually seen video proof of that, it came from The Footy Show, a show we have here in Australia about, you guessed it, Rugby League.
Now, everybody is doing it!
The police are not impressed though, they arrested some guy the other night for planking on one of their police cars. A spokesman said that whilst they don’t mind a laugh, any planking that involved trespassing or the invasion of other people’s property or belongings was just not on.
Police also warned that extreme planking in dangerous situations could also lead to arrest. Like the guy about 1 minute and 3 seconds into this video, which also offers an intriguing explanation about that arrest from the champion planker himself, David ‘Wolfman’ Williams……
Planking; coming to a country near you soon, or has it already arrived?
Will you be planking this weekend?
The New Justin Bieber?
At his same time as the excitement of planking sweeps across Australia, fears were growing (mainly mine) that this country could be responsible for releasing the next Justin Bieber on the world. Surely the world does not need another one?
How did this discovery come about? Yes, Australia’s Got Talent is back and this is Jack Vidgen….
Nope, I’ll stick with Bobby Andonov.
And Finally, The Weather.
It’s cold!
Australia is having a cold snap! It’s only May, but already I have had to start wearing a jumper during the evenings. As I remember it, that didn’t happen until around July last year.
I was wondering whether, after 3 1/2 years here, my idea of cold was getting warmer as I acclimatise to Australia. But no.
Yesterday, Sydney had its coldest day for this time of the year in 14 years. The highest the temperature got there during daytime was 16°C. In Melbourne, they had their coldest day for early May since 2000, temperatures peaked at just 12° C.
In and around Bathurst, Orange and Lithgow, three towns about 120 to 200 km west of Sydney, they had snow.
Image source BrangayneWine
Here in Brisbane though, whilst it does get chilly at night, during the day it’s still not too bad. This afternoon it was 23.7° C and look like this….
Which is probably why I love Brisbane.
Planking Update: Monday 16th May 2011
As I was researching and writing this post, it seemed to me that it would only be a matter of time before somebody did themselves a serious injury whilst planking. Or even worse, maybe lose their life. I almost mentioned it in the post, but didn’t want to tempt fate.
It made no difference.
Sadly, at around 4:30 AM on Sunday morning, after a night out drinking, a 20 year old man fell seven stories to his death whilst planking on his high-rise balcony in Brisbane.
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said “If you want to take a photograph of yourself planking on a park bench two foot off the ground, there are no risks to your health with that, but when you start doing it seven storeys up or lying across a railway line or in a range of other places that invite death or serious injury, that’s what we have a concern about.”
So please be warned: planking in dangerous situations can be fatal. Please don’t do it, life is too precious.
I thought he was going to get down and ‘plank’ at the end of the song… that would have been funny.
Well, he’s back next week, maybe he’ll do a plank then. The judge’s desk would make a good shot. If he does, I’ll be sure to print it here.
What a fabulous singer at the end there. Do you think Oz law would allow me to adopt him and bring him back to the UK until we have work/visa sorted to move down under? He’s adorable!
I would love to have helped you organise the adoption papers and have him shipped out to you as soon as possible. But what’s the point if you’re going to bring him straight back as soon as you get your visas sorted out?