Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

It always comes up so quickly but it’s time once more to ring in the New Year. I almost prefer New Year’s to Christmas, sure there’s no presents, but there’s also less preparation and it’s a great opportunity to really let you hair down.

New Year’s is fun whether you’re up for a big night out, partying with a few close friends or heading off to enjoy the fireworks. This year’s display in Sydney promises to be the best ever (as it always does!), and fortunately for Brisbanites they are still going ahead despite threats that they would have to be called off due to bad weather.

Wet weather aside, we’re lucky in Australia to at least have warm weather for New Year – in other parts of the world they have to celebrate huddled around a fire, although apparently the fun of the hogmanay tradition in Scotland makes it worth putting up with the cold at least once in your lifetime.

Once that first dawn of the New Year has swept its way around the globe we all turn our thoughts to two things – firstly the resolutions we’ll make for the coming 12 months, and secondly how we’re going to get over our hangovers!

Have a great one, wherever you are!

Clea

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It has been a big year for Yahoo!7 Answers. We have seen more and more people join the site and have worked hard all year to bring you all kinds of improvements, including stars for good questions, improved search functions, the ability to create your own group of contacts, new categories and the very successful community moderation.

There was certainly a lot to talk about over the past twelve months, and lots of questions that eventually got answered. Those wondering what would happen in the final Harry Potter book all had the chance to find out if their theories were correct, as did those who tried to predict who would win at the Golden Globes and who would show up looking hot! Few would have predicted the sad death of tragic celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, but after some of Britney Spears’ antics in 2007 many are hoping she won’t end up the subject of similar sad headlines.

Closer to home we started the year marvelling at the QE2 and QM2 when they visited Sydney and then wondering if we would all soon be drinking recycled sewerage water. We were shocked by the rapid spread of equine flu, amused by the goings on at the APEC conference and disappointed when our team didn’t even make the finals at the Rugby World Cup.

2007 also saw many new members in the form of celebrity guests, including actor Robert De Niro, actor turned environmentalist Leonardo Dicaprio and even the (now former) Prime Minister of Australia John Howard. Mr Howard wasn’t the only politician to show up on Answers, with the President of India asking a very interesting question, and even Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton posting a query for the general public to answer. On the Aussie celebrity front several big names popped their heads up on Answers, including David Koch, Ian Thorpe and Mark Philippoussis.

Only a few days left of 2007, it has definitely been a busy one, but we’re already hard at work on bringing you some more big names and some more big improvements in 2008!

Clea

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Most of us have grown up with Christmas – the excitement of presents, the thrill of Christmas morning and the fun times and togetherness of the holiday.

But while we follow so many traditions, some created by our own families, others handed down through time, you can’t help but pause and ask – why?

Why is Christmas held in December?

What do Christmas trees have to do with the birth of baby Jesus?

Why do people kiss under mistletoe?

Why must we all exchange presents?

What on Earth is Boxing Day all about?

Why do we hang stockings for Santa to fill?

Most of these questions have an interesting explanation that brings together all the different elements that Christmas has become based around as the years pass. And while they’re not all in reference to the accounts of the momentous birth of the year 0 AD they certainly help to make us feel warm and fuzzy and to appreciate our loved ones, which is the best way to celebrate the holiday.

Keep your eye out for more fun Christmas questions over the break, and start getting ready for a big 2008 on Answers!

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

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Along with festivities, good food, gifts and time spent with family, modern Christmas brings excitement for a couple of other good reasons – i.e. Post Christmas sales where if you’re brave enough you can pick up some great bargains and get more for your gift voucher dollars… and also Boxing Day at the movies.

This year there are some mega pics hitting our screens, and one that is receiving great reviews is The Golden Compass, a fantasy thriller set in a parallel universe and full of daring escapes, terrifying villains and magical animals.

The star of the movie, Dakota Blue Richards, has never before been cast in a motion picture, but she had read the books that The Golden Compass is based on and was the perfect fit for the role, beating ten thousand other girls to the part.

Obviously the fantasy genre is of interest to the young Dakota, and in honour of the film opening around Australia the day after Christmas she wants to know what it is that appeals to you most about adventure and fantasy films.

Here’s a sneak peak at an extended preview for the movie –

If you’d like to learn more about The Golden Compass check out Yahoo!7 Movies, which also has screening times and reviews for all the best movies of the summer.

Clea

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 Photo by Edside

Aeroplane Jelly eat your heart out! The jingle is dead and advertisers are getting our attention more and more with popular music tracks.

Recently the number of searches on Yahoo!7 that have gone through the roof are all trying to find out who sings that “1 2 3 4” song that is played on the ad for the latest release ipod. It’s such a catchy tune and it gets played so much that everybody is wondering who sings it.

Another one that has had people searching online and asking on Answers is that Bonds ad that had all the girls dancing around in their undies recently. Or the commercial for beer where a guy is “harvesting” bottles of beer on his farm with some really cool music playing in the background. Another brand that has been very clever is the Tourism office of Victoria – remember that “Run Rabbit” song where the people were running around the vineyards? It certainly gets stuck in your head.

Other songs have only become famous because they were in ads – like the Mazda “Zoom Zoom” ad, and popular artist Moby never even got noticed until he sold the rights to his songs to some advertising companies. Coke promotes some memorable songs each year, particularly in their summer campaigns, and even Icelandic singer Bjork allows her music to be used in ads.

Maybe we’ll soon see Vegemite ads with Scissor Sister soundtracks!

Clea

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To me it never seems like Christmas until I’ve had a good singalong, and it’s amazing how many Christmas songs I know the words to without even thinking. I guess after a lifetime of singing them they get well and truly implanted in your head! I have a few favourite Christmas albums which I love to hum along to each year.

I’d have to say my favourite is “O Come all Ye Faithful”, I just think it’s a beautiful song with a lovely message and I love the way the music rises to a crescendo. Carols like that one, Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and We Three Kings have been sung by people all over the world for years, even centuries. It is not even known who the original writers of some of these carols were.

The most popular Christmas Carol, and one of the highest selling singles of all time is the more recent “White Christmas”, which was made famous by Bing Crosby in the fifties. We can all identify with that one here in Australia!

Moving forward into more modern times, new Christmas songs come and go each year. Some of the nicer ones and their message of hope and peace endure, and some that aren’t so nice seem to stick around too (if you’ve been to the UK for Christmas you’ll remember hearing that George Michael song every half hour for the entire month of December!).

If you’re really ready to get into the spirit of Christmas this weekend marks the 25^th anniversary of the Woolworths Carols in the Domain, held in Sydney but televised right across the country on Channel 7 from 8:30pm. The line up is huge this year – with The Wiggles, Ricky-Lee, Human Nature, Paulini and lots of Channel 7 celebrities.

We’ve got a special question from the official Woolworths Carols in the Domain mascot Carol Koala running this week for you to contribute to – “Which Christmas carol means the most to you and why?” There are already some great answers – why not contribute yours before Dec 25^th?

Clea

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It’s the end of an era for Australian television tonight, with the final appearance on the hit soap Home and Away of Sally Fletcher.

I remember all too well when H&A first came on the telly, and I guess I identified most with Sally because she was around the same age as me! However I never had an imaginary friend, and my life in comparison has been, well… quiet!

The fact that Home and Away’s popularity endures is a credit to the screenwriters, who never fail to come up with new scandals and scenarios to complicate the characters’ lives, like the recent stalker plotline, which had many people asking on Answers who the bad guy was. There are plenty of other questions about the show on Answers, wondering about old characters, lamenting that they missed particular episodes and even wanting to know more about that theme song! (Now who in this country can’t admit to not knowing the lyrics? “You know we belong together…”)

So it’s farewell to Sally Fletcher after 18 years, but no doubt Home and Away will go on without her, and her blog! Don’t forget that even though the show is taking a summer break you can still find all the info on the cast, characters and recent episodes on the official website. And here’s hoping that we can hang on to Alf for a few more years!

Have a great weekend!

Clea

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This week’s featured user has a very appropriate name given the category that she is a top user for.

Noel J hails from Adelaide in South Australia and out of more than 3,000 answers she’s given since joining Yahoo!7 Answers in November this year more than 30 percent have been voted as best. And the category she’s best at giving winning responses for is none other than everyone’s favourite time of year – Christmas!

Noel is mum to 6 adult children, has 14 grandchildren, and has fostered 60 children over the years so she has lots of advice on what can be given as suitable gifts during the festive season. If you’re trying to think of an idea for Dad, for a boyfriend, or even for a priest than it’s likely she’ll pop up with a helpful and friendly response. Noel is also an authority on Christmas lights, Christmas stories and Christmas songs! Plus she’s a pet lover and breeder of Burmese cats and kittens, so she can even answer questions that some of us definitely wouldn’t know the answer to – like how to keep cats out of Christmas trees!

Noel J has had her fair share of struggles, so another thing she has been able to do on Yahoo!7 Answers is help people who aren’t having such an easy time of it over Christmas. Most of her advice and answers come from life experience, and she is happy to share with others.

In her own words –

“Answers is really great, it is a good feeling to know you have helped someone solve a problem, and I am blown away because so many people seem to like my answers. Also I think heaps of your answerers have some great ideas, and sometimes I just like to read the things they have shared with your readers.”

Noel J gives well thought out answers that get to the point and are very helpful and insightful. She has been lucky enough to receive some nice emails from other contributors and has even found a pen friend using Answers!

That’s just the kind of warm fuzzies you want to hear about at Christmas! We hope you have a great one Noel J, and we’ll see you around in 2008!

Clea

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Love it or hate it, the pie floater. Image by Abstract Gourmet

I noticed this question this morning from a student in Germany who had been asked to put together a report on what Australian people eat during their daily lives. Although most Australian diets are amazingly multicultural, I have to confess that if I was answering the question I’d admit to having the essential Aussie breakfast of Weetbix this morning and that I’m planning to prepare a few lamb chops as an evening meal – us Aussies certainly love our lamb – and not every country in the world has it in such abundance. So while I do snack on sushi and enjoy my regular Thai takeaway, had I decided to go for a vegemite sambo today I’d have pretty much had the full Aussie menu!

Ah vegemite – not only is it good for you, but versatile beyond the imagination. It never ceases to amaze me that foreigners screw up their noses and spit the stuff out – but I guess it’s an acquired taste, i.e. acquired only if you begin eating the stuff from birth!

If you go right back to the early settlement days of Australia resources were scarce, and the most filling meals all included damper – a very basic bread made pretty much only from flour and water. You can add to the taste with some similarly traditional Golden Syrup (not to be confused with Maple Syrup – very much in the domain of the Canadians!) but it’s still one of the stickier and most simple Australian foods, hardly a delicacy.

Another great Aussie icon that we all miss when we’re away is Freddo Frog – who along with his colleague Caramello Koala is a simple but satisfying symbol of home along. I fondly reminisce about Twisties and Milo when I’m on my travels too – delicacies that the rest of the world just doesn’t get to enjoy (check out these ideas of different ways to indulge in Milo).

So while the rest of the world thinks throwing a shrimp on the barbie is what being Australian is all about there’s certainly more to it than that… but one thing I wouldn’t proudly admit to being an Australian tradition is the pie floater – a pie with mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy just isn’t my cup of tea!

Clea

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After a wet and woolly couple of weeks in Sydney I was starting to think we must be one of the rainiest parts of the world! Of course the fact that our dams still aren’t 60% full is an indicator that we’re not, so I did a bit of digging to find out which people on Earth truly live in a constant carwash.

While Australia does have many claims to fame, being the largest island technically isn’t one of them – since we’re actually considered to be a continent and you just can’t have it both ways. Despite being the world’s largest exporter of coal we can’t claim the deepest mine, and we don’t have world’s longest bridge . . . but fortunately we’re not on the list of the world’s officially poorest countries either!

I had a look around Answers and came up with questions about the world’s smallest country, where you can find the smallest tree and even the location of the world’s largest national park. I also found out which nation drinks the most tea (which I could have guessed) and which population of people eat the most cheese per head each year (which I never would have guessed!)

As you can see by the picture I’ve included with this blog, perhaps Australia’s most interesting “world’s biggest” is that 17 metre tall sheep in Goulburn!

Clea

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