Check—Mate!

Australia’s Contributions to the World

It’s time to celebrate the country down unda‘ (this month is Queens Birthday, an Australian holiday) by checking out its contributions to society and pop culture. So drop the lame Aussie accent (we’ve all taken a stab at it one time or another) and take a peek at the following things that should make you forget they ever made Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.

Mel Gibson

From Lethal Weapon and Braveheart superstar to crazed anti-Semite, Mel’s gone from contributing laughs to the fans to providing plenty of shtick to late-night comedians (and TMZ).

Kangaroos

An animal with a built-in fanny pack? Who needs pockets when you can toss out lil’ Joey out and drop in your HTC for safekeeping. Oh yeah, there’s Kangaroo Jack and Pokemon’s Kangasskhan, so that’s something, too.

Steve Irwin

When he wasn’t an alligator snack, this “mate” would say the most Australian things possible in the heaviest accent possible—like he was doing it intentionally. A rich man’s Paul Hogan? Maybe.

Boomerang

You call it recreational and sporty, I call it a waste of a dollar because it landed on some rooftop.

AC/DC

The only good music to come out of the island nation, this band’s hard rock chops were enough to make anyone put on a school boy uniform—except a school boy. Let there be rock, indeed.

Koalas

Sorry, pandas are sooo yesterday.

(Andy Cheng)