With so much coastline, it’s no surprise that Brazil enjoys some beautiful beach days. Why wouldn’t you with the ocean so close by?

Of course, you still need snacks while you’re on the beach. Plus, what’s a better solution to a hot day than ice cream? At this cart in Maragogi, beachgoers can enjoy some freshly bought ice cream without having to leave the water. What could compare to tasty ice cream by the coral reefs?

If you have money, you probably don’t want anything unexpected happening to it. After all, that’s more than just a loose scrap of paper!

This person made a slight mistake when they had forgotten to take their money and ID out of their pocket before they jumped in the pool. When the two pieces of paper got wet, the ink transferred to revamp the money with a self-portrait. It’s an interesting change of pace, at least!

No matter what type of pet you’re faced with, it’s a good idea to see if they want attention before you pet or play with them. It can be hard to tell sometimes but that isn’t something you have to worry about.

The box he’s in is covered with signs warning any onlookers that this is Marcelo’s house and that he isn’t a fan of visitors. If that wasn’t clear enough, “go away” and “danger” should sum it up.

If you aren’t familiar, capybara’s are adorable, large rodents native to South America. In other words, you’d probably see a few in Brazil if you found yourself there for a visit!

In this television program, they got crafty with some bread shaped like a capybara. It’s not only a great way to use a local animal as a theme but it’s a cute idea that we’re sure would steal the show at any dinner party. It turned out really well here!

Driving often means watching out for more than cars. For instance, animals like deer are fairly well-known for making their way into the road. Luckily, many places mark areas on the road where animals are known to hang out.

This way, they can offer an extra warning for people to watch out for animals. In this sign, they warn drivers to watch out for capybara who might be spending time near or on the road.

When it comes to pranks, it seems like the options are nearly limitless. So, what do you do when you want to pull a funny prank?

According to whoever did this, it was to throw a little soap into a fountain in Tatuí and see what happened. The results were plenty of bubbles not only flowing out of the fountain but also flooding into the road around it. We have to wonder how long it took to undo this prank.

There are times that you probably shouldn’t cut corners. When you’re constructing a building, it’s probably better to stick to following full processes carefully. On the other hand, an easy solution is sometimes just too tempting.

In this case, they could have installed three different lights, especially given that they’re separated by a wall. We just have to wonder what exactly are you supposed to do when the bulb dies — it doesn’t look easy to change!

It’s not uncommon to see certain animals wandering around. What animals you see can depend on where you are, though. It just so happened that one morning in Brazil, a cow decided to park itself in front of the Federal Police Station.

This probably wouldn’t have been a problem if it didn’t refuse to let anybody in and wasn’t quite so large. We mean, it’s pretty difficult to move it unless it feels like moving out of its own accord.

As time goes on, things change. As for these poles in Brazil, it meant a shift to concrete poles instead of less durable wood ones. This news could have been frustrating for some of the local wildlife, especially this toucan who had nested in the pole.

That’s why the professionals who constructed the new pole made sure to keep the nest intact and in place for this flying friend. It looks like he likes it!

Sometimes, you see something odd that you can’t explain that makes you wonder why someone would do that. Other times, it seems like they’ve stumbled on something clever. Apparently, this person’s pockets were full or unavailable.

Still, they didn’t feel like just holding their phone the whole time. So, what other solution could there be but to repurpose the back of their baseball cap? While unexpected, it’s a pretty clever solution to the problem at hand.

Ice cream shops are amazing places to be. At the end of the day, who doesn’t want to try a flavor of ice cream they’ll love?

Another cool thing about ice cream shops is that you can try flavors you’ve never heard of before. In this case, you can even try a flavor that no one’s quite sure about! If you aren’t up-to-date on your Portuguese, the Redditor clarified that the flavor is named “I don’t know.”

This post tells quite the story. As a matter of fact, it’s so unbelievable that we can see why they included a picture to prove their point. It all started when this dude’s dog went missing.

Luckily, the OP found and brought his pup home after a month-long search. About a week after his return, the pup was playing outside and when he returned home, he had an identical friend with him — who he must have met during his little runaway adventure.

It’s interesting to see what people come up with to try. In most people’s off time, they might read a book or catch up on a show. That’s not the case for this Brazilian YouTuber.

In a feat that few could hope to accomplish, he built his very own submarine. In fact, he even took to the water with it in a daring experiment. We’re impressed not only at the attempt but that it works perfectly!

A lot of people walk their pets on a leash. It’s a great way to ensure sure they get some exercise whilst keeping them safe from wandering off.

Usually, if you see someone holding a leash, you might expect to see a dog on the other end. That wasn’t quite the case here. This pet owner was just trying to make sure that his pet duck got some exercise while he grabbed a bite to eat.

You can’t blame someone for wanting to cook up something good for themselves or their family. How do you do that with little space, though?

This person just wanted to enjoy a little barbecue and they had a great idea as to how to pull that off. Since they didn’t quite have anywhere else to do it, why not just slip it out the window? A satellite dish can make for a great table in a pinch, apparently.

There’s a litany of ways that stores work to stop shoplifting. Many stores install a detector at the door.

This shop in Brazil had another, much easier idea, on the other hand. They simply only put the left shoes on display. This way, you can still try on the flip-flops but you aren’t going to have the chance to steal a pair. You get the second shoe when you make your purchase at the register.

Anyone who has taken their phone outside in the summer knows how fast they can overheat. So, how can a driver in Brazil keep their phone from baking in the sun?

The best way is to keep the phone out of direct sunlight but this is hard when you’re using it as a GPS. This Uber driver managed to come up with a cute and clever solution — they gave their phone a little hat to block out the sun.

Any highly-populated place can see some chaos when traffic becomes bad. That doesn’t just exist for independent drivers either. Anyone who has taken public transport before knows that a seat isn’t always guaranteed.

However, standing isn’t always quite as comfortable. To avoid either situation, these two took their seats through the emergency exit in the roof. We hope the bus didn’t face any low clearances like a bridge or low road sign!

There are times that the place you’re staying in might be missing out on some popular features. For example, access to working Wi-Fi. They can offset it, though, by offering other benefits of the place.

In all honesty, few people would probably turn down spending their time with a cute little cat in this green oasis. A cute cat is definitely more than enough to distract us from the lack of access to binge-watching streaming services all weekend!

Usually, when man-made elements are added to an area, some of the natural elements are cleared away to make room for them. For instance, you have to clear an area before building a road.

The same is true for a sidewalk. However, that doesn’t mean that those natural elements stay away forever. On this sidewalk in Brazil, the trees are starting to take back the sidewalk space with sprawling roots reaching almost clear across from one side to another.

When you’re outside, you have to respect the animals around you. After all, you’re in their home this time, so you can’t be mad that they’re there.

On top of that, not every animal you see is as friendly as you might hope. In this locale, you’ll want to watch out for black rats. We can’t think of a worse way to top off a peaceful walk than a rat attack, so it’s probably best to just listen to the sign.

When the weather starts getting colder, you have to take measures to stay warm. That goes for more than just you, too. Of course, you’ll also want to keep the animals you’re in charge of warm and safe.

That’s why they sell so many sweaters for dogs! In this case, this person had to make sure their horse was warm in a coat that even keeps their face both warm and safe from the biting wind.

If there are a lot of dogs around that don’t seem to have homes, you might want to do something to help. Many people opt to set out food or even adopt one.

On the other hand, someone here obviously went the extra mile. They didn’t even stop at a single dog house but built an entire con-dog-minium to keep them safe and dry while they rest! There are even stepping stones and a porch leading up to it.

If there’s one popular concept about Brazil, it’s a passion for soccer. However, living near a soccer field can have some drawbacks. Even if this person loves the sport, they didn’t love how many balls hit their window.

This spiked window cover seems like their last resort but it looks effective, to say the least. Plus, those specific balls will never hit the window again since their rendered effectively useless by their sharp landing.

If you’re going to make a rule, you should probably make sure there isn’t an easy workaround. After all, people can get rather creative. This Redditor explained that this picture was taken shortly after the mayor put a ban on tables on the sidewalk.

The good news is that they found a way to still enjoy a little outdoor social time while technically staying within the rules. This truck bed definitely isn’t the sidewalk.

Going grocery shopping is a regular occurrence. So, it might surprise you if you see something different or out of the ordinary. That’s why this person was so surprised to see a change at their local grocery store.

The store had taken extra security measures today, including adding security devices to the meat. We wonder how many pieces of meat were stolen before they decided to invest in these devices and whether they stuck around or not.

If there’s one thing that you can rely on your grandmother for, it’s to come through with good food and cute crafts. This grandmother is no different.

When her son came home with this motorbike, this OP’s grandmother knew exactly what accessory he was missing. After all, it wouldn’t do to have the kickstand scuffing the floors anyway. What better way to get around this than a small, crocheted mat to support it?

Certain jobs come with a lot more safety restrictions. In the end, if you work with a lot of dangerous equipment, you have to be careful while you do your job.

There’s a lot to consider in this picture but we’re really stuck on where this person is working. Those sparks are getting dangerously close to the highly flammable and large propane tanks right next to them. If it works, points for bravery, at least.

We’ve already briefly touched on the fact that Brazil enjoys a lot of natural water features, from beaches to rivers. In turn, that means there are a lot of boats.

If you have a boat with an engine, you’ll need to fuel up from time to time. However, if you aren’t near the shore, you don’t necessarily have to panic. There are some useful solutions including this floating gas station that people can stop at right on the water.

There’s nothing quite as striking as some of the unique perspectives that local new sources tackle. They’re ready to get the perspective of community members you might not consider interviewing.

In this case, this anchor knew that the dog they ran into had something valuable to say. Well, it doesn’t look like they said much actually but we wonder if the microphone was quite as tasty as this pup hoped. This is one interview we wouldn’t want to miss a second of.

There are some animals and insects that you don’t want to cross. Most people shy away when a single wasp gets into their home or car. We’re not sure we could handle stumbling across a wasp nest like this one found in Brazil.

The rare find was luckily abandoned and weighed in at a total of just over 33 pounds. It would have been a nightmare to stumble across while it was fully active!

There are some jobs that you need a ladder for. There’s just no way that you can hope to reach some things otherwise.

This group wasn’t about to get deterred by a missing ladder. Instead, they just compiled one themselves out of a few nearby items. The result looks rather terrifying to put to use but they all seem fairly confident in their creation and casual about someone using it. They managed to make it work!

There’s wildlife that people can see even in their own backyard. In Brazil, like many other places, one animal that you might see is an opossum. This person looked out their window to see a particularly striking sight one day, though.

Not only was there an opossum walking on the line outside the window but it was a mother with all of her children hanging on for the ride! They managed to capture quite the cute family outing.

There are certain businesses or public places that you might walk into that seem to take their security very seriously. There’s a variety of measures that a business could take.

As for this business, they made sure to secure everything… even the cameras that were already there to monitor everything. It makes sense — if someone stole the security camera, it wouldn’t do the business much good. At least this way, it can’t be stolen intact.

It’s up to owners to monitor their pet’s diet. They have to make sure that their pup is getting all the nutrients they need to stay healthy.

Sometimes, a vet might put a pet on a diet. In that case, little habits — like sneaking the dog treats — can cause a problem. This dog owner cut past this problem with a straightforward accessory reading, “I’m on a diet, don’t feed me bread.”

Any pet owner can tell you that your pets will surprise you pretty frequently. You’ll learn they can do a lot of things that you thought they couldn’t.

Still, this dog might take the cake on impressive feats. At this point, we have to wonder how his teeth are so strong just as much as how strong his jaw is. We also have to wonder what prompted this dog to carry a cinderblock around at all.

No one said that selling cotton candy on the beach has to be a boring job. These cotton candy sellers had an idea on how to spice things up. They probably didn’t expect to run into two other people who had the same idea, on the other hand.

Still, they saw the opportunity that was in front of them and took it, recreating the Spider-Man meme because what other pose would really fit the situation better?

Even if you haven’t played with one of these chicken toys in real life, they aren’t silent. They’re meant to make a loud noise as dog toys tend to do.

This has also meant that there are plenty of jokes and memes around these chickens. This shop owner in Brazil had enough when they posted this sign with the toys, begging customers to please not squeeze the chickens anymore. It would definitely get old after a while!

Don’t we all want something free from time to time? Even if we have to pay it off later, it could be a helpful option in the moment. This business saw the merit in a “buy now, pay later” type of plan.

So, they made their customers a deal that you can see here. If you want to buy now and pay later, that isn’t a problem, but you can only do so once this eye blinks. You might have to wait a while.

We’ve discussed a few animals so far and we’ve even heard about a few more threatening ones. So, it’s nice to have a change of pace. When this person took a picture with this monkey, they probably didn’t expect such a perfect result.

Yet, when they snapped the picture, the monkey was ready with a thumbs-up pose for the camera. All in all, it’s a photo that couldn’t have turned out any better.

Paths and bridges are often used to help people get from point A to point B and direct the flow of traffic. If people use them, that is.

As for this trio, we can’t technically say that they aren’t on the path. They just happen to be on top of it entirely. We do wonder if it was easy to climb on top of the path or if it took an extra effort to use this route.

Plenty of people work or study from the comfort of their own home. So, why not take advantage of the comforts of home, then? This person may have come up with the ideal setup here.

In the perfect blend of work and comfort, they set their laptop up on a table that allowed them to lounge in a hammock while they worked. With a shady spot and some fresh air, this could make for a pretty good workday.

There are some headlines that you see about crimes that give you pause. Some might even make you laugh in disbelief.

If you can’t read this headline, it’s about a man who was arrested for counterfeiting money. Apparently, they were good enough at it to use their counterfeit money to pay their bail as well — not quite convincing enough to fully get away with it, however.

According to a brand survey, over 55% of Australians refer to fast-food chain McDonald’s as “Maccas.” Maccas is simply the Australian slang word for the company, following the Australian preference of abbreviating every word they can. Australia itself is “Aussie,” mosquitos are “mozzies,” and McDonald’s is Maccas. Simple.

The American chain actually temporarily changed its name to Maccas in Australia as part of a marketing campaign. This was the first time the company had renamed any of its locations.

The idea of walking around barefoot might seem strange for some people. It might seem even stranger to go barefoot in a public place, like a grocery story. However, this isn’t strange at all in Australia. Basically, Australians are pretty laid back and carefree, and are pretty tolerant when it comes to wearing shoes or not.

Many Australians go barefoot to the grocery store, or to run other errands. However, shoes are required for restaurants, doctors’ offices, and inside factories.

When it comes to Australian slang, it’s difficult to know exactly where certain words and phrases have come from. Australian English is its own dialect, and it shares a lot of vocabulary with British English.

However, British English has its own variants, and Australia was also influenced by Gaelic languages, Indigenous Australian languages, and Polynesian languages. This is all to say that we don’t know exactly why Australians refer to a large meal as a “big feed.” We think it makes sense!

Because Australian English derives largely from British English, both dialects are similar when it comes to this type of grammatical quirk. Basically, in Australia and the UK, it sounds completely normal to say that someone is “in hospital” rather than “in the hospital.” A person would say “take me to hospital” rather than to “the hospital.”

Grammatically, this is called dropping the article. It refers to the hospital as a general place of medical care, rather than a specific location.

Well folks, is it time to get into the wonderful Australian accent? First things first, in response to this tweet, the English language is so complex and unpredictable in its spelling that such arguments simply don’t fly. Just because words look similar doesn’t mean they sound the same.

Secondly, as with questions about the UK and the US, it’s important to remember that Australia is a diverse country. Plenty of Aussies say “brocco-lee” rather than “brocco-lie,” so it may just be a regional adaptation.

When it comes to abbreviations, Australia easily leads other English speaking countries. In fact, there are over 5,000 diminutives in Australian English. These are words that have been shortened and that usually sound smaller and more informal than their full versions.

When it comes to “arvo,” the word refers to “afternoon” rather than “avocado.” Understandably, many Australian diminutives are used so much that they eventually replace the original word. Abbreviations in Australian English usually end in a, o, ie, or y.

The most common question people have for Australians is about the way their accent rises at the end of a sentence. This is a highly studied phenomenon and is called uptalk, rising inflection, or high rising intonation. Other English speakers may do this, but it’s usually when asking a question, rather than when making a statement.

Apparently, it’s thought that the Australian version of this started in New Zealand. The American version — also called Valleyspeak — came from the West Coast of the USA.

Admittedly, Vegemite looks pretty gross. However, for those of us that enjoy mysterious savory spreads, it’s simply delicious. Similar to British Marmite, Vegemite is made from yeast extract and eaten on sandwiches, toast, or crackers. The dark brown spread is salty and slightly bitter, with a strong umami taste.

Vegemite was rationed in Australia during World War II and included in Australian Army rations. By the time the war was over, the spread was used in nine out of ten homes.

Here’s another tasty Australian foodstuff that’s a little less polarizing than Vegemite. Chicken salt was invented by Peter Brinkworth in South Australia in the 1970s, and it has been a roaring success. The first recipe contained onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, paprika, chicken bouillon, monosodium glutamate, and some curry powder.

Chicken salt is so popular that it’s the default seasoning when you order a portion of fries. There are more upmarket versions that actually use chicken skin and blend it into the final product.

When it comes to why Australians call large inflatable play structures “jumping castles,” it’s simply a case of regional variation. In the US, these items are called bounce houses. In the UK, they’re called bouncy castles. In Australia, they’re called jumping castles. Of course, they’re also referred to as moon bounces, moonwalks, and closed inflatable trampolines.

We’d hazard a guess that any name other than the name you call it sounds pretty “lame.” Let’s just be honest and agree that they’re all weird.

We’re back to Australian diminutives, this time with “tracky dacks,” which takes the place of tracksuit pants. You’ll notice that both phrases have three syllables each, meaning it takes just as long to say “tracky dacks” as it does to say tracksuit pants. Not exactly an abbreviation.

“Trackies” is an Australian abbreviation of a tracksuit, and “dacks” is a slang word for trousers. Combine the two and you’ve got a perfectly Australian way of referring to your new Adidas outfit.

In the land down under, an ice cream soda — or a float — is referred to as a “spider.” There are several theories for why this might be. The most obvious one is that when cold ice cream and carbonated soda meet, there is a reaction that looks like a spider’s web.

However, in the 19th century, a drink with two ingredients mixed together was referred to as a “spider.” It’s possible that the ice cream float simply ended up taking this name.

Interestingly, musical artist Pink is absolutely huge in Australia and has broken various records with her huge Aussie following. The entertainer has toured extensively in Australia — her Funhouse tour had 58 shows, and brought in gross earnings of over $80 million.

On top of huge touring and sales figures, Australians really vibe with Pink’s personality. She’s laid back and unfiltered, which are traits that the country generally responds well to. On top of that, she’s a trained gymnast, which makes for a great show.

You would think that this tweet was a joke of some kind, but upon further research, we can confirm that there are various cases of Australians punching sharks. As recently as August 2020, an Australian surfer leapt from his surfboard to repeatedly punch a juvenile great white shark.

The shark was mauling the surfer’s wife, so he jumped from his board and punched the creature until it released her. We assume that punching isn’t the best way to defeat a shark, but in this case, it clearly worked.

Various people that have visited Australia have returned and pointed out the immense amount of beets eaten in the country. In fact, Australian McDonald’s (also known as Maccas) serves the McOz burger, which comes with a slice of beetroot, as well as a griddled egg.

Beets — called beetroot — in Australia are often pickled and sold in cans, but also come in other forms. Aussies enjoy beet dip, beet in soups, salads and sandwiches with beets, and beets in risotto or pasta sauce.

Australian slang is powerful. For example, did you know that the word “selfie” originated in Oz? Of course, other Australian vocabulary isn’t quite as popular, including their word for slide — “slippery dip.” For the people that use this term, “slides” are used in business presentations, rather than in kid’s parks.

As with lots of slang, the term is only used in some parts of the country. It seems to be used in New South Wales, Brisbane, and Sydney, whereas other areas say “slide.”

We can’t say exactly why Australians “lose their minds” over fairy bread, but who doesn’t lose their mind over nostalgic childhood foods? Fairy bread is served at kid’s parties in Australia and New Zealand, and consists of white bread spread with butter, and topped with sprinkles.

The party snack dates back to the 1920s, and is still happily munched today. To outsiders, we can see how fairy bread might seem a little strange. But hey, it’s all about capturing that childhood magic.

Time for a little lesson in linguistics? Well, the reason that some Australians may pronounce “banana” as “bah-nah-ner” is down to something called a linking and intrusive R. This is when people make the “r” sound between two pieces of language when it wouldn’t usually be pronounced.

Think of the phrase “law and order” in a bunch of different accents and you’ll see that it often sounds like “lore and order” because of the extra “r” sound. This occurs in lots of different English dialects, not just Australian.

Australia is impressive for its huge range of wildlife, many of which are unique to the country. With all these roaming creatures, you might wonder why Australians would bother to have zoos considering they have crocodiles, koalas, and wallabies roaming around outside. Well, Australia doesn’t have elephants, so there’s still some reason to go to the zoo.

In fact, during the global health crisis, many Australians were tuning in to watch livestreams of zoo animals. Apparently, the koalas were missing their cuddles.

Here’s another tweet poking fun at the Australian accent, this time when it comes to pronouncing the country’s actual name. This is actually a longstanding issue that dates all the way back to the creation of the country. The UK’s BBC had several ways of pronouncing Australia, as did Australians themselves. Was it “Osstralia?” “Orestralia?” “Orstralia?”

But, then there’s the option to just cut off the first syllable entirely, and just say “Straya” or “Stralia.” So many options!

Australia is pretty amazing when it comes to wildlife, partly because of the country’s relative isolation. A huge amount of Australian wildlife is native to the country, including 83% of mammals and 93% of amphibians. While other continents have several types of snakes, almost all of Australia’s snakes belong to one group that inject their prey with hollow fangs.

In fact, Australia has more venomous than non-venomous snakes. However, despite the high amount of deadly species down under, most only harm humans in self-defense.

Of course, in order to answer this question, we return to Australian diminutives. Essentially, the Aussies just like to abbreviate, and doing so is often a sign of affection. This is definitely true when it comes to babies, who are even cuter when they’re called “bub” or “bubs.”

This Australian abbreviation comes from at least the early 1950s, from many parts of the country. We have absolutely no issue with this adorable slang term, and we’d actually like to use it ourselves.

We know that Australians love fairy bread, so why wouldn’t they also love fairy floss? You’ll be surprised to know that fairy floss was the original name given to this spun sugar on a stick, so Australians (and New Zealanders) are actually using the genuine title for this confection.

The cotton candy machine was invented in 1897 and appeared at the 1904 World’s Fair in Missouri. Americans and Indians call it cotton candy whereas Brits, South Africans, and Pakistanis call it candy floss.

When visiting Australia, you’re likely to come across a huntsman spider. These beasts have a one-inch body and a leg span of up to five inches, though they can have leg spans up to 12 inches. How completely horrifying.

Spiders are particularly big in Australia because of the warm climate. Multi-legged creatures are more likely to get bigger in warm locations, and the Australian bush provides lots of food to aid growth. For this reason, we imagine Australians are territorial when it comes to bugs.

When it comes to questions about language, often the language is just “because they do.” Australians do regularly refer to people as “legends,” “total legends,” “complete legends,” or even just a “ledge.” Of course, this is a huge compliment and communicates that you think somebody is simply great. It’s often used as a way of saying thank you.

We don’t know the reason Aussies love to call people legends, but we do know that this phrase is also used in New Zealand and the UK.

A sausage and a piece of white bread mightn’t look very interesting, but it’s still a griddled piece of meat inside a soft vehicle. Aren’t those always good? In Australia, a sausage sizzle is a grilled or barbecued sausage, served on sliced bread with sauces, and grilled onions.

You’d be most likely to encounter a sausage sizzle at a community event, such as a fundraiser. Sometimes, the event itself or the use of a BBQ is also called a “sausage sizzle.”

Many households around the world don’t own a car per family (never mind two), and many cultures don’t park their car inside the house. For these people, cars are for the driveway or the street, and the garage is a room inside the house.

Many garages are filled with clutter and used as storage spaces. Meanwhile, others are converted into bedrooms, gyms, or offices. Australia has pretty great weather, so cars don’t need to be protected from snowstorms or blizzards.

Hilariously, in Australia, lunch meat baloney is known as “Devon,” though there are different names for the product across the country. It’s referred to as “Polony” in Western Australia, “Fritz” in South Australia, “Luncheon” in Queensland, and “Devon” in Victoria. It’s a product with many names!

To American ears, sliced bologna named “Devon” must sound completely bizarre. It would be like finding out that the US has a type of canned beetroot that’s known as Charlotte. It just sounds wrong.

Here we have another linguistic difference, and again Australia shares this phrase with the UK. Whereas Americans might plan to hang out with each other — meaning to spend time together — Aussies and Brits will plan to catch up. To Americans, catching up might sound like running after a vehicle until you’ve “caught up.”

In reality, catching up is just filling each other in on your lives since you’ve last been together. You will “catch up” with each other’s situation.

We’re back with language again, with yet another example of Aussie slang that’s also commonly used in the UK. It’s almost like the two countries share a sitting monarch. In this case, we have texting to blame, because “soz” is simply text speak for “sorry.”

Much like people who started ironically saying “lol” and now actually say it, many people have incorporated “soz” into their spoken language. Generally, saying “soz” is less sincere or less serious than saying “sorry.”

Americans refer to sugary, chocolatey confections as candy. People from the UK refer to these same things as “sweets.” And Australians call them “lollies.” This makes things more confusing because British people call popsicles “ice lollies,” and candies on sticks “lollies.” Meanwhile, Americans call candies on sticks “suckers” or “lollipops.”

Australians also call candies with sticks a “lollipop,” but refer to dessert as “sweets” (as do British people). This is like the chips vs. crisps vs. fries debate all over again. We give up.

As language adapts and changes, its spelling also changes in line with pronunciation. The words “mom,” “mum,” and “mam,” are all abbreviations of “mother,” but are spelled differently because of the accents of the people who speak them.

Americans would have changed “mum” to “mom” because they would have pronounced the word more like “maw-me.” Likewise, people with an Irish accent would have said “mam” to sound more like “mammy.” It’s the beauty of language!

We know that English speakers from different regions use different words for the same thing. In the UK and Australia, the word “holiday” is used to mean the same thing as “vacation” does in the USA. This is down to the history and development of each term.

The word “vacation” comes from the French “vacances,” but “holiday” derives from a word that means “Holy Day.” In the USA, holidays are significant days (like Thanksgiving), but in Australia, holidays are spending some time away from home.

Australians have a reputation for being friendly, which is clearly what this person experienced when they landed in the country. Of course, Australia has a population of almost 25 million, so not every single person is going to launch straight into some small talk.

Australians are thought of as easygoing and non-judgmental people, with a good sense of humor and a laid-back attitude. With this kind of cultural reputation, it makes sense that visitors would be met at the airport with friendliness and conversation.

Here’s yet another British-Aussie idiom that might be new for Americans. When Australians comment that someone has a “good eye,” they aren’t simply complimenting their facial features. Having a good eye means that you’re good at noticing or making judgments about something. It acknowledges that you’ve been able to spot something.

You might hear, “You have a great eye for interior decorating,” or “She has a good eye for talent.” No matter what, it’s a compliment, so just take it.

The famous Australian phrase “shrimp on the barbie” was invented for a series of TV advertisements advertising Australia to American tourists between 1984 and 1990. In Australia, a shrimp is known as a “prawn,” so the language is very oriented towards American audiences.

In 2019, one Australian food truck owner came up with a meat rub that was named BarbieCue, but Barbie manufacturers Mattel opposed the name. We imagine that “barbie sauce” probably doesn’t exist because of a combination of these reasons.

Australians have a strong accent that can sound strange to English speakers from other regions. While many English speakers would pronounce “tattoo” as “tah-too,” Australians say “ta-doo” instead. What can we say? That’s just how they say it.

Some Australian words derive from American English — like referring to fruit and vegetables in a grocery store as “produce.” However, Americans would pronounce this “pro-deuce,” whilst Aussies would say “prod-juice.” This Australian pronunciation follows from the British, but the Brits would use “produce” as a verb rather than a noun.

Obviously, we can’t answer this question, because we can’t reasonably decide if Australians do sound like they’re doing bad impressions of Australians. Our suspicion is that this person is encountering a range of Australian accents, and is becoming unmoored from what sounds “normal” to them.

Accents vary greatly in regions all over the world, even across relatively short distances. Some Australian accents are so strong that they might sound like caricatures. But, eventually, all ears adapt.

Though not everybody knows it, there is more than one way to pronounce the letter “H.” Many English speakers say “aitch,” but others add the “h” sound to the beginning of the sound and say “haych.” This has political connotations in some countries, with members of some communities using one pronunciation, and others using the other.

Irish-English speakers tend to say “haych,” as well as some people in England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, and Canada. It’s likely that migration patterns led to this pronunciation down under.

As we’ve mentioned already, the famous “shrimp on the barbie” phrase came about from a series of TV advertisements designed to bring American tourists to Australia. The full line was “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you,” while the ad’s slogan was “Come and say G’Day.”

The campaign was hugely successful, bringing Australia from number 78 on American tourist’s most desired list to number seven. The phrase is now used to refer to Australia, despite the fact that Australians don’t say “shrimp.”

This question made us chuckle, as it implies that Australians can either control the weather or the dates of major cultural celebrations. In the northern parts of Australia, there aren’t four separate seasons, but wet and dry seasons. In other parts, the seasons are opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere. For this reason, winter starts in June.

So, Australians celebrate Christmas when the rest of the world does. It just happens to be while they have warmer, or “summer” weather.

Westernized sushi is pretty common now, and that includes creations filled with all sorts of meats and flavors. Sushi was introduced to Australia in the 1970s, but chefs worried that consumers would be put off by raw fish. Sushi chef Ichiro Manashita invented the California roll — which includes avocado, crab, and cucumber.

Now, sushi can be filled with fried chicken, sticky beef, or hot curry. Many countries combine the flavors of their national dishes with sushi to create some fishy fusion.

Kebabs vary all over the world, depending on their culture of origin and the culture they’re being sold in. They could be Middle Eastern, Turkish, or Greek. They might use lamb or beef, they’re served with bread or chips, and there is a range of toppings on offer.

In Australia, the most common type of kebab is the beef doner, where meat is sliced straight from a rotating stick. Personally, we like ours with bread and chips, salad, and a handful of feta cheese.

It would be wrong if we ended this list without taking another opportunity to lightly mock Australian accents. The fact that Australians tend to speak while gradually making their pitch higher is called uptalk. It makes it sound like they’re always about to ask a question, even if they’re simply saying “I think I’ll have a sandwich.”

Uptalk can sound very positive and affirmative, but it can also sound insecure. There’s always ongoing research ab0ut this interesting accent.

As it turns out, Australians really love a toasted sandwich. After all, Americans go wild for their grilled cheese sandwiches, and the French are pretty proud of the croque monsieur. In Australia, toasted sandwiches — or toasties — are usually fairly simple and comforting. They’re what your mom made you when you were a kid, and they pair well with a bowl of soup.

The most common filling is cheese and tomato, though some Aussies like to enjoy baked beans in theirs (we do not endorse this).