From: Peter.Macinnis@p0.f508.n711.z3.fidonet.org (Peter Macinnis)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.science
Subject: bats
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 92 19:24:00 PST
Organization: FidoNet node 3:711/508.0 - The Bay, Neutral Bay NSW

JM>G'day mate,
A word of advice -- by all means write it, but never try to say it to an
Australian -- you can't pronounce it unless you've been trained by
generations of flies to keep your mouth shut while you talk <g>.

JM>This is Nicole and Robyn plus a few of our class mates.
G'day.

JM>We are from Rudyard, Montana U.S.A. Do you know if bats can get sick besides
JM>rabies.  Do you know how many teeth a bat has.  Why do bats hang up-sidedown
JM>What is the average life span of a bat ? Do you talk the way you write? Than
JM>from the Blue Sky 7th grade.
Yes, I'm sure bats can get sick -- we don't have rabies in Australia at
all -- one of the reasons for having very strict quarantine laws!  Bats
are certainly attacked by mites, and a variety of other parasites, but
I'll have to look into this one for you.

Bats' teeth -- the only reference I have to hand gives the dentition for
a fruit bat and a pipistrelle.  The dental formula is upper jaw first,
then lower jaw, for incisors, canines, premolars and molars.  The fruit
bat, is 2/2, 1/1, 3/3, 2/3.  The pipistrelle is 2/3, 1/1, 3/3, 3/3.
That is HALF thejaw: humans are 2/2, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3.

Why do bats hang upside down?  I thought they only did that down here
because they were from your hemisphere!  <GBG>  Seriously, bats have
committed their front limbs as wings, so they don't really have much
choice about hanging upside down.  I guess they hang that way because
they can, without having a rush of the blood to the head.

The life span of a bat?  Don't know, but some young bats take as long as
240 days to develop (similar to us), so the life span would need to be
several years at least -- I'll leave you to work out why.

Do I talk the way I write?  No, not really.  Out here, we have three
distinct accents: generally called broad, general Australian, and
educated Australian.  I'm not far off 50, and my generation were
encouraged to "speak properly", to cultivate "educated Australian", to
sound as English as possible.  In fact, any English person who has been
here more than three months is likely to mistake me for English,
especially when I talk on the radio or in public, but I can drop down
when I want to, and often I do.  These days, it is fashionable to show
our independence in the way we speak, even if we follow other people's
customs in everything else.

Our accent in general Australian shows up more as a choice of words and
expressions that we use.  We all understand American, if only from
television, but we talk about footpaths, not sidewalks.  There are just
a few regional terms and usages -- John Feltham in Townsville signs
off "Ooroo", where I say "Hooroo".  He probably washes his clothes in a
trough, while I call the same thing a tub, and there are a few minor
variations like that.

Inerestingly, a number of local writers have had problems when they go
to publish in the States -- US publishers are terrified of using any
regional terms or abbreviations.  We, as I have indicated, get exposed
to all of the variations by way of TV, and the British are now exposed
to more Australian soapies than you can poke a stick at.  Do you get any
of our TV in your area?

I imagine you thought I was writing like Crocodile Dundee, because I
wrote "G'day" -- maybe I was, but that broad accent is likely to be
brought out by most of us only when we meet Americans in Florence, and
they express doubt that we are Australian.  We can just about all speak
it, and we can detect any foreigner (except Meryl Streep!) who is trying
to imitate it, and I certainly broaden my speech when I go bush for one
reason or another, especially if I get out into the dry country.  Maybe
it really _is_ the fear of swallowing a fly!

Hooroo, it's a sunny Sunday, and I'm off for a quick swim!  Now it's
your turn to tell me about Rudyard.  Is MT Montana?  What is the geology
like around your way?  Are there any good fossil beds?  How's the
weather?  Does Blue Sky indicate that you are not all WASPs?  What
insects are found in your area?  Why is it called Rudyard?

Hooroo,
peter

 # BGQWK 1.0#36 #34



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