Australia: 5 things I didn’t know about the country where money is not paper and the sun is the enemy

From giant shrimp to money cut in half, everything goes in Australia – it’s just not worth falling to the road. For everything there is a fun solution in this country of bizarre customs.

Australia is the house of numerous living beings that constitute terrible dangers to human life: snakes, sharks and… the sun. Yes, in Australia the sun seems to have its own will – to punish humans.

But snow also loves to appear, and some say it snow more in Australia than in Switzerland. This distant country has many interesting peculiarities. Here are some.

“Plastic” money that is worth cut in half

Australia is the inventor and one of the 45 countries in the world that uses polymer notes, Made of polypropylene, a more resistant synthetic resin than the role that is traditionally used in Europe.

In addition, this method is safer with regard to the detection of falsificationcontaining materials such as transparent plastic, metal films that react to different angles of visible light and fluorescent compounds that make notes more distinct.

In addition, according to the polymer notes, used in Australia since 1998last about 2.5 times more than the notes made of paper.

A curiosity about the Australian notes is that if it tears a 10 Australian dollars in half, it is equivalent to two of 5 – and the money is still valid. Moreover, according to Australia, if you lose a tenth of a $ 10 note, you still have 9 dollars in your possession.

Thus explains the bank’s website: “If between 20% to 80% of the note: The amount is paid proportionally to the remaining percentagefor example, the value from $ 5 to half a $ 10 grade.

The largest about the world

There is a kind of “great Wall of Australia”. It is a giant fence-yes, a fence-made of wire, with more than 5600 km long, that is, almost 6 times larger than the entire coastal line of mainland Portugal.

According to Australian, the Dingo was created to protect the sheep and other Australian species from the dingo – a dog breed that threatened livestock.

Conclusion: There is a big difference between the two sides of the fence, with the “land of the wages” containing more diversity and small mammals. This fence even defines the limit of several states and crosses hundreds of cities.

Killer sun

In Australia, the UV ray index emitted by the sun is one of the highest in the world. According to the country, this is The main cause of skin cancer to Australia.

In summer, it is likely to get a scalding just for spending a short 11 minutes to the sun. And even in winter you should always use sunscreen: even with clouds and cold, radiation can be very high.

Tired? Solve Charades

Australia is also known for having long roads, without roundabouts or traffic lights. According to a report from, fatigue and distraction contributed to 10% of the 265 deaths on Queensland roads in 2023.

That is why local authorities decided to find a creative way to circumvent the problem: they created the so -called “Fadigue Zones”, or “Fatigue zones“.

It seems complex, but in fact it is just plates. These contain from jokes to charado or general culture questions to keep drivers entertained. An example: “What is the fastest animal in the world?”

Narelle Haworth, a road safety expert, told The Guardian that “doing the same boring thing without great stimulation leads to loss of attention”, which is why “the idea of Curiosities by the roadside It is making drivers more attentive… Maybe a passenger who starts a conversation knows the answer. ”

“Big Things” scattered around… no context

If you walk the Australian roads you will face giant sculptures of… everything and something. They are already brand image In the country, initially created to attract tourists to the regions next to the roads.

Are more than 150 spread across the countryand there are giant statues of “big things” (as they are nicknamed) as diverse as a bottle of wine, a banana, a koala, a potato, a garden bench, a shrimp, a penguin and various fruits. Why? Because Australians have a completely nonsense sense of humor – and tourists love it.