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Sharks Seen Swimming Down Australian Streets
As if the flood waters weren't bad enough for the people of Queensland, it now appears that there are sharks swimming in the streets. Two bull sharks were spotted swimming past a McDonald’s in the city of Goodna, Butcher Steve Bateman saw another making its way past his shop on Williams street. Ipswich councillor for the Goodna region Paul Tully said: "It would have swam several kilometres in from the river, across Evan Marginson Park and the motorway. It’s definitely a first for Goodna, to have a shark in the main street."
Another reason to avoid McDonald's if ever there was one.
RIP Steve Irwin. These are the kinds of things he *lived* for.
That being said...
"Land shark!"
Nobodies Prefect
Tidbits for Techs Technology Blog
Hardly surprising is it? Rivers breaking their banks mean things that would normally be in the river are now in places other than the river. Considering the large amount of ~actual~ news coming out of the flooding situation, not sure why this random factoid above all others has made Slashdot. (Yes I know it's Idle...but still...)
Oh and /insert mandatory fricken laser beams joke here.
Come on people. That damn movie was released in 1997. You'd think that after over thirteen years, we'd be able to come up with something that's (a) original, and (b) actually funny.
So one person reports (unconfirmed) two bull sharks in flood waters. Local media the next day generally has the opinion the story is a load of bollocks and now almost a week later it appears on Slashdot (a news for nerds site) as fact.... OK.
If you want some (slightly) more nerdy stuff to report about the floods go research the Wivenhoe dam.
I've really got to stop reading idle stories.
-Brad
They were just hitting the Mickey Ds for a bite to eat. Maybe they were hoping Ronald himself would be there so they could get a happy meal. :)
I wonder who would win in a fight, a crocodile or a shark? Australia has the most dangerous animals, those poor aussies...
They must be a new type of shark given that the land has been relatively dry for the last five days or so. Either that, or Slashdot is posting things days after they occur... Nah - new type of shark is bound to be the explanation!
:(){
Seriously, I've lived in Australia all my life, and I can tell ya', there's always been sharks swimming in the streets!
Blimey, if I had a 2 dollar coin for every time I've seen a shark swimming in the streets, I'd be a billionaire! (1 billion AUD ~ 23,540 USD)
We got it all down here, land sharks, flying snakes, drop bears, bunyips, flys that bite, the worlds most poisonous spiders. Basically, if it's an animal that can kill you, we've got it. Crikey, we even import dangerous animals from other countries, just to make sure we've got 'em!
Land sharks? Phft! Nobodies ever died from a land shark!
Now drop bears, that's a lethal animal. I lost my father to a drop bear, came out of no where. R.I.P. Dad.
This is my footer. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
1 more time and I'm done with this site. If a lot of these things aren't actually factual, I'll migrate to a better source
My sister in law is from Queensland and she knows people in Goodna. She told me about the sharks a couple of days ago. I am pretty sure the story comes from the Goodna butcher and I have no reason to disbelieve him.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Did the sharks have frickin lasers on their heads?
If not, why didn't the Australian government put lasers on their heads? Everyone deserves a warm meal!
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Except that it's just his word with no evidence - that'd be one reason not to believe him.
It's hard to describe just how much junk was flowing through the flood waters last week. This really could have been anything.
-Brad
In other news Mcdonalds announced a brand new McBull Shark Burger. Limited time only while stock lasts.
Okay, I probably didn't get that right verbatim, but you get the gist.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
If you see a shark on the streets of Canberra and he's not a defence industry lobbyist then it will probably be Microsoft related.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
"1 more time and I'm done with this site. If a lot of these things aren't actually factual, I'll migrate to a better source"
Sharks are very common in Qld rivers and can be found up to 100km from the sea, Goodna is less tha 20km from the sea. As a 50yro Aussie who has heard stories like this in previous floods it does not strike me as fake news. - YMMV
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
http://www.qt.com.au/story/2011/01/19/butchers-scary-shark-encounter-bull-steve-bateman/
In the media, google news will find them, but no pic?
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
You can see them. Anyone seen the crocs lately? Hullo zeeba neighba...
Quote: "TWO bull sharks have been spotted swimming past the McDonald’s restaurant in Goodna."
Can I have 20... raw... to go please... *gurgle*
That will be 77.81. Please swim up to your first window.
Wouldn't have even conceived the notion of this had I not read the article... lol.
If the waters are as muddy as they appear in the picture, how would sharks not get their gills clogged? And what is the salinity of the water?
True story: my wife and I spent a night in a cheap hotel in Canberra some years ago because she had to get her passport renewed. The reception desk had a sign which said:
Due to problems with recent groups we do not accept bookings from residents of Canberra.
It must be the boredom.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
She'll be right, mate!!
That's not a shark! This is a shark!!
What are ya, some kind of sheila pomey bum burglar?
Unconfirmed, but reported multiple times by different people. It's not really that unbelievable though, they are often spotted (and have actually attacked animals and people) even further up the river. The butcher shop is roughly 600metres from the original river bank, but was underwater on the 13th.
Marked is approximately the location of the butcher (note the flood waters on the 13th): http://www.nearmap.com/?q=Shark@-27.608694,152.899003&ll=-27.6078,152.898831&z=16&t=k&nmd=20110113
The motorway to the north of the butcher is elevated with several underpasses. You say that the newspapers believe it was a hoax, but I can't say I've seen a retraction for the story anywhere. In fact it was covered again today: http://www.qt.com.au/story/2011/01/19/butchers-scary-shark-encounter-bull-steve-bateman/
* Note I'm not saying its true, I just don't think you can dismiss it without something other than your own opinion.
True plus Bull Sharks are the only Shark species that can move between salt and fresh water so this story is entirely feasible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_shark#Freshwater_tolerance
Nuff said
Aha! So THAT'S how Microsoft got Australia to mandate OOXML. Sharks (with possible lasers on their heads)!
Goodna is only "good" for a landmark as half-way between Toowoomba and the Gold Coast!
BTW, Toowoomba had a massive never-before-seen flood on the Monday before this story. If a shark swam past the main McDs in Toowoomba THAT would be news (since that was a flash flood, and the water would have ended up in the Murray-Darling system, and flowed into the ocean ~2000km away)
--
no sig for you. come back one year.
come on, get us some youtube.
urgh, i can see the "syfy" guys planning the movie already - what is it with them and shark films?
#include <sig.h>
Two bull sharks were spotted swimming past a McDonald’s in the city of Goodna...
Anyone else think we'll see a McDonald's commercial with an Aussie-accented shark?
And Steve Irwin was right: sharks WILL eat ANYTHING!
If "disco" means "I learn" in Latin, does "discothèque" mean "I learn technology"?
Kudos to you for having the balls to change your mind, slashdot needs more people like that. :)
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
On the 24 hour cycle we're awake when you guys are not so our stuff ends up doing the night backfill on Slashdot. You want 24 hour editors so you get Samzenpus and Timothy.
True or not the story is possible. That sort of small shark has been recorded biting people 25km upstream from salt water. Also that silty water that covered everything was definitely opaque at 2mm (couldn't see concrete through it in full sunlight) so who knows where a shark will go in that.
McDonalds sells fishburgers in Australia. Guaranteed fresh !
It would have swam several kilometres in from the river, across Evan Marginson Park and the motorway. It's definitely a first for Goodna
Not just sharks, but GPS-equipped sharks!
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
Sharks in the park?
Better get Samuel L. Jackson on the phone!
People, what a bunch of bastards
Goodna ....... Toowoomba
Ah now you're just making stuff up!
(cant help myself, those aussie names look ridiculous)
People, what a bunch of bastards
That's nothing. We've had Bull Sharks in Minnesota! (http://www.nokomiseast.org/yard/light/creeksharks.html)
there's going to be a rumble
Not only do they have the highest concentration in the world of different nasties like crocs, spiders and snakes (scorpions?), which now are forced in a higher degree to relocate to unflooded parts of houses and property etc, where people also must take refuge. Now they have sharks in addition so it's hazardous to wade trough the streets. Poor people!
Can I light a sig ?
It would have swam several kilometers in from the river, across Evan Marginson Park and the motorway
It's probably the perspective to reach a McDonald's that drives them.
Gecko frightens non-Aussie-native human. Human's out, hiding away from gecko-attracting lights and insects (that would be, ohhhh, somewhere in Antarctica?)
Gecko eats spider. Spider's out, much in the sense that the innocuous paper covers rock.
Gecko v shark. Hardly a decent entree, where's the rest of the plate?
Shark v croc. How big a croc did you say it was? Less than 2.5m? Shark. One of those medieval guys? Croc.
Are sharks on rampage?
Article Writing Secrets MyStore.
Damn, sounds like people had one too many awesome hotel parties.
9mm is definitely too wimpy. Probably .45 for a handgun. I wonder if .223 would put one down?
"Excuse me, where can I see a shark?"
"Just head down Queensland boulevard two blocks and take a left on Kukeberra drive."
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
Now a bald man will claim that for getting rid of those laser equiped sharks from the streets Australia will have to pay one hundred billon dollars,
when they hit the financial district.
His twitter feed is an automated news robot by the looks of it. Check it out at @PaulTully looks to me like it just trawls the net (probably just a google news rss feed for "Goodna") and spams it. The news story about the two bodies found in the house in Goodna was published online by the ABC, Fairfax and News Corp, probably all from the same AAP wire. The failure was more related to the rapid news cycle and the lack of fact checking (the story was retracted within a few hours, although some simply reported that police couldn't confirm the find initially - some even incremented the official death toll to include the 2 bodies).
This happens all the time in unfolding and tragic events like these, fact checking is a luxury in the pursuit of getting the story first. The current priority seems to be get the story first, then get the story right.
For the record (and back on topic), in 2005 a horse was attacked by a bull shark more than 20km upstream from Goodna, I hardly think its impossible for a shark to swim 600m through flood waters.
[Scene: A New York apartment. Someone knocks on the door.]
Woman: [not opening the door] Yes?
Voice: (mumbling) Mrs. Arlsburgerhhh?
Woman: What?
Voice: (mumbling) Mrs. Johannesburrrr?
Woman: Who is it?
Voice: [pause] Flowers.
Woman: Flowers for whom?
Voice: [long pause] Plumber, ma'am.
Woman: I don't need a plumber. You're that clever shark, aren't you?
Voice: [pause] Candygram.
Woman: Candygram, my foot. You get out of here before I call the police. You're the shark, and you know it.
Voice: Wait. I-I'm only a dolphin, ma'am.
Woman: A dolphin? Well...okay. [opens door]
Lucky Aussie bastards. Here on the Central Coast of California, during our recent flooding episodes, the best we got were ducks swimming past our front door.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
I'm sure those sharks were looking for the laser store.
"Candygram!"
---
ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
What's the big deal? Sharks have been swimming up and down DC's streets for decades!
Two all-grey sharkies
special sauce, lettuce, cheese
pickles, onions on a wet motorway
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no fricken lasers out at sea.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
Could flooded waters like this event cause sharks to become habitants of inland bodies of water? Isn't there some lakes in southeast portion of USA that has fish species not typically natural, they took residence as a result of a flood. Aftermath is these species are more aggressive than native fish, and local fishermen are not getting yields like they use to. But can sharks live in freshwater?
mfwright@batnet.com
You can see a man eating fish at McDonalds. Even when it's closed.
Did the sharks have freakin lasers on their heads??? :)