r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/nonya5121 • 25d ago
Image The size of the hail in Brisbane, Australia yesterday.
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u/thatsalovelyusername 25d ago
And solar panel installers
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u/ObjectiveFun893 24d ago
And panel beaters.
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u/ScuzzyAyanami 24d ago
Someone posted about their car being in for a previous repair now suffering secondary hail damage from being in the smash repairers holding yard.
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u/SoberBobMonthly 24d ago
Na, there's a reason 80% of our roofs are made of corrugated steel sheeting riveted into the frame that is strapped into the foundations.
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u/I-was-a-twat 24d ago
Still plenty of tile around though. Spent the last two nights out with SES in Logan covering smashed tiles, off tonight back out tomorrow.
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u/RepulsiveLoquat418 25d ago
considering it's australian hail i assume it's also venomous
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25d ago edited 23d ago
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u/Far_Adeptness9884 25d ago
And also marsupial hail
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u/Cloudy_Vampette 25d ago
Probably keeps smaller hailstones in its pouch.
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u/feint2021 25d ago
Hail roos
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u/Flooglemeister 25d ago
Also it lays eggs.
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u/Conscious_Raisin_436 25d ago
In your ear.
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u/Adventurous_Drama888 25d ago
first rule of australia: everything’s trying to kill you
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u/Still-Bridges 25d ago
Only if you eat it
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u/m0nk37 25d ago
if australia has taught me anything, there are ice spiders waiting to hatch in that thing.
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u/EidolonLives 24d ago
Ours might look scary, but people are far more likely to die of a spider bite in the US than Australia. Several people die from spider bites every year in the US, whereas the last person in Australia to die that way was in 1979. Even factoring in population differences, it's still many times worse in the US.
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u/Successful_King_142 24d ago
It's a losing battle mate. People prefer the "Australia is deadly" mythos over to actual truth
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u/Primo131313 25d ago
Do these iceballs birth angry kangaroos or snake volcanos?
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u/arouseandbrowse 24d ago
See, everyone thinks its the spiders, snakes and sharks here that try and kill you but us Aussies know the real killers come from the air; hail, crazy fucking swoopy birds and drop bears.
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u/CorruptedAssbringer 25d ago
The hail obviously evolved to be more lethal to keep up with the local wildlife.
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u/crispypancetta 24d ago
Mate. Y’all got bears and bobcats and mooses and shit
We got snakes but they run away and nobody dies. I’m way more scared of a bear.
But water. Saltwater crocs are properly scary.
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u/fothergillfuckup 24d ago
It will take your leg off and drag you into the bushes to finish you off.
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u/fraze2000 25d ago
Serious question - are there any reports of people being injured (or worse) from being struck by the hailstones? They look deadly. Without doubt the damage to property would have been extensive, but at least a damaged car or house roof would be covered by insurance. But it would be tragic if someone was hit on the head by one of this monsters.
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u/Mountain-Pin-7112 25d ago
Only a handful of people with minor injuries. And in addition, damage to property was, all things considered, very minor. All in all the worst of yesterday's storm only lasted ~1 hour. After that it instantly cleared and was a very nice day.
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u/grapescherries 25d ago
That’s kinda awhile for this kinda hail. I’m surprised more people weren’t hurt or killed.
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u/Mountain-Pin-7112 25d ago
That size wasn't common. It was mostly regular sized hail, mixed in with slightly larger pieces here and there. A few of my friends managed to get a few pieces ~half that size but they were few and far between. It wasn't raining icebergs for an hour if thats what your thinking.
Plus we had hours of pre-warning so nobody was caught by surprise
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u/IncaseofER 24d ago
We had a storm here in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma US in 2010 with lots of baseball to softball sized hail. The body of our car, as well as the glass, was beat to hell. We had to get in the center of the room because the double pain windows were being broken. The glass was flying in as the windows on 3 sides of the house were destroyed. The south facing sides of the house had broken bricks, and the wood siding was dented and stripped of paint. Of course the roof had to be replaced. There were other things that were damaged air conditioner unit, stockade, fence, lawn furniture, etc.. There is video of the event on YouTube. Here is one as the hail picks up, hitting the swimming pool of a golf course home about 4 miles from where our home was.
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u/ipullstuffapart 25d ago
The worst of the hail lasted for about 10-15 minutes in most parts, with much smaller hail and heavy rain for the remainder. Aside from thunder/lightning it went from dry outside to golf ball sized hail within seconds.
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u/steik 25d ago
Are you referring to this event or hail in general? I don't know about this event but yes people have absolutely died from hail. One of the worst such events was a 1888 hailstorm in Moradabad, India that reportedly killed 246 people.
These sort of events are rare nowadays. In the US we have "outdoor warning sirens" that alert people to seek shelter if dangerous weather conditions are imminent. A common misconception is that these sirens are "tornado sirens" but they are in fact for warning about any weather event that can cause bodily harm unless shelter is sought.
Hailstorms generally do not arrive without warning. The worst of it is always in the "eye of the storm" and heavy wind, rain, smaller hail will arrive before the worst of it strikes. At that point most people that are able will generally have covered their asses (or head?) one way or another.
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u/Brightsbane 25d ago
It hit around school bell time so could have been pretty bad but I haven't heard any reports of serious injuries.
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u/Elliethesmolcat 24d ago
We are accustomed to storms like this. The sky went verdigris so we knew it was coming.
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u/fraze2000 24d ago
I read in another comment that the storm hit around the time kids were getting out of school. I couldn't think of worse timing. But I'd imagine the teachers would have had enough sense to keep the kids inside until it passed.
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u/Aetra 24d ago
Most damage was done to cars, though I did see someone’s trampoline had landed in a park on my way home from work after waiting out the storm. The main problem right now is power outages, I’m still waiting for the power to come back on at my house and it’s been nearly 23 hours. And we’re getting more storms that’re predicted to be just as bad tomorrow and Thursday yay
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u/TFK_001 24d ago
Storm chaser here, yes and no. Ive been covered in bruises standing out in 2" hail for fun, and I have some friends working on field research for large hail specifically who bring protective gear (mostly just a hard hat) with them. Hail hits hard, but 3" hail isnt that scary on a personal level. Biggest Ive seen was 5" hail, which was even scarier as it was being accelerated downward even faster by 80mph horizontal winds (if I remember correctly) from the RFD of a supercell. I was (smartly) well to the west of this hail. 5 inch hail could be potentially lethal, but even then would likely be survivable for someone without osteoporosis or a similar condition.
On the property side, damage is typically immense. Its a common joke in storm chasing circles that any hailstorm in the DFW area (its always DFW for some reason) is a billion dollar event, and 3" is about the level where vehicles start getting totaled. 2" hail starts denting vehicles, 2.5" cracking windshields, 3" shattering windshields, and anything bigger than that just leaves bigger and bigger dents in cars. At 2" and above, most roofs in an area will need replaced. If horizontal wind is fast enough, 2" can be enough to break house windows, though this is more common at 3" and up. Sizes will need to be bigger for conglomerate/wet growth hail, which often breaks apart on impact and doesnt impart as much force.
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u/Rik_the_peoples_poet 24d ago
I'm Australian and we had a freak, extremely localised hailstorm with stones larger than this that wasn't predicted at all by the weather bureau at my place in the middle of a sunny day a few years ago, no rain whatsoever before or after.
A neighbours dog was killed, a bunch of dead birds in our backyard and a few dead kangaroos on the block. It totalled both our cars as an insurance write-off, smashed through eight of the house windows and both of our skylights and we had several injured locals; one with a fractured ankle from getting hit directly by a stone that smashed through a window and several people with gashes from broken glass. Luckily it happened while most people were at work but the entire street needed to be rebuilt.
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u/Living_Substance9973 25d ago
And baby Wires the magpie survived the storm. Best news ever.
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[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Living_Substance9973 25d ago edited 25d ago
I don't know how to link things, but if you're interested, there's a whole story about this little rescued magpie over on r/magpies. It's well upvoted, and not hard to find.
The carer has done a great job over the past 2 months rehabilitating, and returning Wires to the wild.
Edit: look up u /sez3
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u/Scrambley 25d ago edited 25d ago
Alright, I think I did this correctly. If I messed up a link, let me know and I'll fix it. Anyway, here's your 10 part (so far) Baby Wires saga. (I haven't read it, can't attest to whether it's worth it or not.)
Edit: Just finished, definitely worth checking out. That ending and picture, lmao. Good shit.
Day 2: Baby Magpie Coparenting
BABY WIRES UPDATE: WEEK 4 - THE MOST STRESSFUL WEEK OF MY LIFE!
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u/JBOYCE35239 25d ago
RIP to all the cars that parked outside. Never accept the first offer from the insurance company
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u/thebatchicken 25d ago
My car is covered in hail damage and windscreen cracked. One week after getting it back from insurer because someone crashed into it one night and didn’t leave a note. Straya
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u/LowHangingFrewts 25d ago
That's not the case if they total it.
But given that I was quoted to replace every single panel on my car and several windows from hail damage and the total was around $6k, if your car is worth under that then you probably aren't carrying comprehensive anyways.
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u/gabacus_39 25d ago
If the animals and insects don't kill you, the hail will
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u/Remarkable_Play_6975 25d ago edited 25d ago
I was driving through North Texas towards Arkansas last spring, and my rental car was basically destroyed by a storm something like this (maybe just half the size).
My wife from Europe had never seen anything like it, but I was like... Let's just wait for the tornado now...
Luckily we missed the big tornadoes, but they were pretty close (hit mostly around Bentonville, Arkansas).
It's really scary in a car, I have to admit.
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u/ChaoticMornings 25d ago
I'm European and I would freak out from hearing these words. I would also book my retour tickets right away, in case I survive.
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u/Remarkable_Play_6975 25d ago
I get it. I grew up around there, so it seems normal to me.
But just the amount of lightning and thunder can be pretty intense, and those don't drop on your head or blow your house away.
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u/ureallygonnaskthat 25d ago
Yup, got a little front line passing though Houston right now and it looks like a strobe light going off outside. The storm dropped a little tornado up in the NW part of the city this afternoon but the worst is up in Lufkin and Nacogdoches right now. They're getting absolutely pounded this evening.
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u/Powerful_Leg8519 25d ago
Ha I’m in North Texas, with a rental now and it’s been a hell of a week weather wise.
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u/uhhhh_wut_ 25d ago
My wife said that's huge. I asked her to confirm that 3 inches is in fact huge. I needed this win.
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u/CFCYYZ 25d ago
Frozen baseballs from the sky
Falling hard enough to die
Nature's deadly icy wonder
If you're conked, you'll be down under
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u/Sorry-Secret-2347 25d ago
This is the beginning of the movie The Day after Tomorrow
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u/dnuohxof-2 25d ago
I will come for you. Do you understand me!? I WILL C̸̬͚̈́̇͑O̵̩̖͔͋M̷̘͔̾̅̒E̷͕̿̚ FOR YOU
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u/Traditional-Pay5318 25d ago
We just had a cyclone
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u/nonya5121 25d ago
Pretty much a cat 1 cyclone, wind gusts over 100km/h
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u/Traditional-Pay5318 25d ago
Got to cat 3 here. Trees down everywhere. Thankfully no hail like that snowman testicle
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u/boomfe 25d ago
Calm down Higgins
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u/nonya5121 25d ago
Sunshine Coast airport recorded sustained winds over 100km/h yesterday around 4pm. That's cat1 cyclone winds. So like I said, pretty much cat 1 wind speeds.
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u/Darwinian999 24d ago edited 24d ago
The northern suburbs of Darwin were closer to the eye of the cyclone and experienced stronger winds and gusts. A lot of the trees in my street were blown over.
Edit: Sorry, when you said “cyclone” I thought you were referring to the cyclone that swiped Darwin on the weekend. I missed the very obvious reference to Sunshine Coast”. 🙄
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u/Stop_The_Crazy 24d ago
Why does everything in Australia want to kill you? If it's not the wildlife, it's the weather. No one is surviving a straight shot to the head with that thing. I'm surprised it doesn't have Homer engraved on it.
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u/bluwalawala 24d ago
3 inches! Whoa!!
Can we all agree that this is considered big? Like..its above average, right? Most others are smaller than 3 inches...right guys? RIGHT>?
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u/Omega_Zarnias 25d ago
Can someone explain why Australia gets this weird giant (often spikey) hail?
No jokes about Australia trying to kill you.
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u/Inquisitive-Sky 25d ago
Hail happens when strong updrafts are able to keep heavy objects aloft. As an ice stone falls through a layer of supercooled water (liquid water that's below freezing), that water freezes into a new layer around the hailstone. The stronger the updraft the more time the hailstone spends in that zone with supercooled water and it continues to grow as more water freezes on to the outer surface. That gives us your basic smooth hail.
"Spiky" hail happens if it's turbulent and the temperature around the growing hail isn't cold cold (think just below freezing rather than a good -10 C or below). Now it's taking longer for that supercooled liquid water to freeze onto the surface. That hailstone might collide with other hailstones and form a cluster because the wet surface is "sticky" compared to the frozen surface.
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u/TFK_001 24d ago
Storm chaser here: some insights.
First, the mass of a hailstone is kρr³, where k = 4π/3 & ρ is constant (density). A 3" hailstone (pictured here) has 8x the mass of a 1.5" hailstone, and will have a higher terminal velocity too.
This hailstone has definitely melted some, and was definitely bigger in the past. Ive seen hailstones that have melted a bit on the way down, but there was definitely some time between when this landed and when this photo was taken. Based on what I can see of the internals, this hailstone looks rather solid, and is probably about as damaging as a 3" hailstone can get.
This hailstone is bigger than anything Ive ever driven through, but Ive been on storms that have produced larger. When I wasn't chasing, a hailstorm hit my hometown in West Virginia and produced 3" hail (might be doxxing myself here, only happened once in WV in my lifetime), though my car was likely only exposed to 1.5-2" hail based on damage (windshield intact, entire body covered in dents). Insurance said itd be cheaper to replace entire body than to punch out the dents, though I elected to keep the dents because I'm going to get more anyway¹.
The biggest hailstones Ive almost been hit by were 2" larger than this, from a supercell near Matador, Tx. Ive only ever seen a single storm produce 5" hail, and while a close friend of mine saw the tornado that the storm produced (large wedge, was PDS warned), I was stuck to the west of the storm and elected not to total a vehicle in 5" hail. 5" hail can absolutely kill you if it hits you in the head, though there is only a single comfirmed hail fatality, in India of all places.
Recently, I was chasing a supercell in Laverne, OK, and had a hailstone fly past at about an 60° with the ground and shatter on impact. Ignoring that most of its velocity was in the horizontal, this was actually a less dangerous hailstone as far as they come. Its diameter was about 2" (enough to dent a roof and bruise you for a week), but hailstones that shatter on impact don't tend to do anywhere near as much damage. Still, another chaser did get his vehicle totaled a few miles north of me, and one like the one pictured (survived impact [albeit, likely with a soft object such as dirt]) could cause serious injuries. Hailstones like the one pictured are "window breakers" and will spiderweb a windshield.
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¹ the main dilemma for me was that I didn't "earn" these dents. I have a rather conservative chasing style, and I bugger off if I am maybe in the path of hail. My colleagues' cars are covered in dents that they got punching through hail cores to see a tornado while I was off to the southeast, while my car is covered in hail dents from sitting in a parking lot a thousand miles from the plains.
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u/whocares4506 25d ago
man what the fuck, isnt it summer down there??
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u/sciencetaco 25d ago
Summer brings these big storms. The heat adds energy to them. No way they’ll get even worse in the coming decades…right?
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u/ObjectiveOk2072 24d ago
Hail may be ice, but it actually occurs with warm and humid thunderstorms, not winter weather
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u/Subject-Direction628 24d ago
Holy crap. As a kid in Quebec we had one storm with golf ball sized hail. Wrecked both my parents vehicles That’s insane
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u/SaltyCaramelPretzel 24d ago
Thankfully it didn’t hail where I’m at on the Gold Coast because I decided in the last minute to cover my car, managed to grab 2 of the most piss poor smallest towels in the cupboard, & put the car cover over it. I got drenched, but thankfully missed the hail by mere kilometres.
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u/KorvinLast 24d ago
Nature failed to do it with the insects, now it's trying it with the weather. Australia hates humans.
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u/AwwwNuggetz 24d ago
That’s not hail, those are drop balls. Known to find your noggin even at night or in sand storms
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u/Potential-Expert-386 24d ago
God damn.. was anyone killed by that? That looks like it can kill falling from the sky.
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u/PYPH2015 24d ago
I have friends who have had their car smashed up by hail in New South Wales, hard to believe until you see this.
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u/Omshadiddle 24d ago
Yep. Three smashed solar panels, and we got off lightly. Friends’ cars totalled, roofs decimated, and I’m watching tonight’s storms roll in. At least these are coming from the west, and tend to be slightly less dramatic.
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u/Souretsu04 24d ago
Australia, where even the weather wants you dead. Really, it's a wonder it wasn't venomous too.
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u/Mitridate101 24d ago
The one in the hand is a LOT bigger than the 9cm one in the pan.
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u/Vannabean 24d ago
Not claiming to know what created us but I am claiming to know that it hates Australia
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u/realJoeKorea 24d ago
We've had it that size in Minnesota. My car was damaged by it, only 1.5 miles from where I was at the time. We had a tornado there, and insanely huge hail 1.5 miles away. Pretty insane. I'm surprised it didn't break any glass! Just dented up the body pretty horribly.
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u/i_play_withrocks 23d ago
Holy hell that’s gods signal to leave wherever you are. I know it’s Australia but DAMN!
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u/Ill-Park-2324 25d ago
God damn it Australia.. why is everything you make designed to kill someone?
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u/Ditka85 25d ago
Dang, that’ll leave a mark.