Australia Day is the official national day of Australia, commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and our separation from England (oh, wait…).

Of course if I were in Australia right now I’d be celebrating with beer and a BBQ, but since we are yet to have the President proclaim the day as a national US holiday (I’m working on it), I will take this moment to share a few educational facts about the country of my birth.

• We pronounce it AL-U-MIN-I-UM because we spell it that way. Same goes for AEROPLANE.
• The toilets DO flush in the opposite direction, the moon appears upside-down and summer is in winter.
• THONG is not a dirty word. (Please check in with me if you would like to be schooled on words which are, in fact, considered dirty in Australia but perfectly acceptable in the United States).
• There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia and only around 20 million people.
• In 1954 a man named Bob Hawke made it into the Guinness Record Book for downing 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob Hawke then went on to become the Prime Minister of Australia. (true story)

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!