The truth about bellbottoms...
A nswers to my first poll.
Who banned bellbottoms?
Well, for all I know they all did, but the fellow I think of when I think of illicit bellbottoms is The Life President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi. Also known for the large number of car accidents that happened during his reign and somehow involved his enemies. Can’t think why.
Capital of Uzbekistan?
Most people got this ‘right’...cheaters. Tashkent is the capital. Samarkand is also in Uzbekistan-just to throw you off. Dushanbe, Bishkek and Ashgabat are capitals of the surrounding countries-Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
Of course, the answer I was looking for was Royston Vesey. Hmph!
Capital of Australia?
Much as it feels like Washington D.C., that’s only because the Prime Minister spends so much time with his tongue down the back of George Bush’s trousers. In fact, it’s Canberra, despite what a couple of deeply misguided souls think.
What should be the capital?
Interesting to see how many people favour civil war in this country. The correct answer is anything apart from Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Washington. If you chose one of those you obviously haven’t watched Order in the House or Question Time recently.
Melbourne’s first name?
This is a little murky. It’s first official name was Melbourne, named after the British Prime Minister of the day, Lord Melbourne. The contemporaneous settlement at the mouth of the Yarra, preferred by Captain William Lonsdale (head of the official surveying party & first magistrate), but lacking a useful water supply, was named Williams Town for (soon to be dead) King William IV.
I’ve never seen a definite answer to what the people in the settlement called it (though I probably haven’t looked hard enough either), but Bearbrass is most often mentioned as a mishearing of the Aboriginal name Berren or Bararing (or Birrarung?). Newspapers in Tasmania did call it Batmania after it’s alleged founder John Batman (was Batman better at publicity than Fawkner or just better connected?), but it was also called any number of things including Doutta Galla, Dutti-Galla, Glenelg, Phillip and the settlement.
Strangely enough, Mt. Gambier (where I grew up) is also claimed to have been called Berrin by the local Aboriginals. Perhaps it’s just a common southern Aboriginal expression for ‘fuck off gubba’?
More or less foxes than the country?
More.
How many per km2?
6-12 per square km.
What do they steal?
Whatever they can get their paws on apparently, but shoes, gloves and golf balls have all been noted. The person who gets most marks for this section though has to be yorkieboy for his image of 48+ foxes per km2 all prancing about on their hind legs (at least in my mind) comparing their kid gloves.
According to my dubious source for this information large numbers of foxes live in the Docklands and along the Yarra and the Merri Creek, but the only place I’ve seen them is around the Melbourne General Cemetary.
