In 1963, Volkswagen donated a beetle which became the first production car in the Antarctic. It was so well loved by its users that it earned the nickname “Red Terror.” After a year of service, it returned to Australia and won the1964 BP Rally. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Polar Bug: When the Volkswagen Beetle Conquered Antarctica • Petrolicious
“Number 16” was the oldest known spider at an estimated 43-years-old. She was a wild trapdoor spider who lived in an Australian burrow and was studied by researchers from birth in 1973 until 2016. She likely died from a parasitic wasp attack. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Number 16 (spider) – Wikipedia
In 2016, the Australian city of Wangaratta dealt with a hairy tumbleweed invasion. Nicknamed “hairy panic”, the weed Panicum effusum flourished under the dry conditions and a local farmer’s field that was left unmanaged. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: What is the ‘hairy panic’ tumbleweed that has buried a small Australian city? (theconversation.com)
Australian Coral-Leah Kemp’s first attempt at growing a pineapple resulted in a record setting pineapple at nearly 14″ in length. It took two years to grow. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-02/monster-pineapple-garners-fame-for-vital-cause/9390166
The Death Adder’s name originates from early European settlers of Australia thinking the snake couldn’t “hear” well, thus the name “deaf adder,” which eventually morphed into “death adder”. The reality is they rely on their camouflage instead of moving out of the way as most snakes do when larger predators approach. – WTF Fun Facts
A beekeeper in Australia taught his black Labrador to sniff out an infectious disease called American foulbrood that wipes out bee colonies. He then invented a dog beekeeper suit for the dog nicknamed Bazz the Beekeeper. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-07-03/beekeeper-dog/4795960
A hoon is an Australian or New Zealander who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers. – WTF Fun Facts
The feral cat population in Australia was so large that they killed an estimated 75 million native animals every night across Australia, including birds, frogs, mammals, and reptiles. Australian authorities planned to kill 2 million feral cats by 2020. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.peta.org.au/issues/feral-cats/
Charges were dropped against Australian activist Danny Lim for displaying the word “cunt” on a public sandwich board after the appeals judge ruled the word is “prevalent in everyday language” in Australia. – WTF Fun Facts