Rugby ?

[Timothy]

The most common sport when I was on active duty, was Frisbee  
Football was a close 2nd though.  

Foosball......Naval Station Key West, Truman Annex base champion in Singles and Doubles, 1976......

 

[Texas_Bryan]

I like my sports to involve the wearing of pants...

[sledgemeister]

roflmao explaining AFL to a non australian is like trying to explain why Vegemite tastes great.
Personally I like AFL, over rugby or bum sniffers as I call them. I have an issue with a game that requires a person to put their head next to another mans ass (ie the scrum).

Rugby is a weird game and while it can be very exciting especially the 7 aside version its weird!
Some are just plain perverse too.
ie

[tombogan03884]

OK, second question,
What the he77 is "Vegemite" ?

A termite that only eats leaves ?

[sledgemeister]

OK, second question,
What the he77 is "Vegemite" ?

A termite that only eats leaves ?

To aussies its the nectar of the gods, you commonly spread it on toast with butter, but can be used in a variety of ways, making broth, sealing oil leaks in gear boxes, axle grease replacement, or sealing tiles instead of using tar.



What is vegemite? Glad you asked hehe

Ever since World War ll Australian troops have depended on Vegemite for a taste of home.

Australian doctors started recommending Vegemite as a convenient source of vitamin B after it was approved by the British Medical Association in 1939. 

These days you'll find jars and tubes of Vegemite with Aussie backpackers and travellers the world over.

Vegemite is responsible for giving us a second national song - the "Happy Little Vegemites" jingle and it continues to put a rose in every patriotic cheek. 
Vegemite

Vegemite dates back to 1922 when the Fred Walker Company, which became Kraft Walker Foods in 1926 and Kraft Foods Limited in 1950, hired a young chemist to develop a spread from one of the richest known natural sources of the vitamin B group - Brewers Yeast.

Following months of laboratory tests, Dr. Cyril P Callister, who became the nation’s leading food technologist of the 1920s and 30s developed a tasty spreadable paste. It came in a two ounce (57g) amber glass jar capped with a Phoenix seal with the label "Pure Vegetable Extract". 

In an imaginative approach, Walker turned to the Australian public to officially name his spread. He conducted a national trade-name competition offering an attractive 50 pound prize pool for the finalists. 
Dr. Cyril P Callister

How the 50 pounds was distributed or who was the winning contestant has unfortunately been lost in history, but it was Walker's daughter who chose the winning name out of the hundreds of entries.

That winning name was Vegemite and in 1923 Vegemite first graced grocers' shelves. It was described as "Delicious on sandwiches and toast, and improves the flavour of soups, stews and gravies". However, it took 14 long years of perseverance from Walker before Vegemite finally gained acceptance and recognition with the Australian people.

When Australians first heard about Vegemite, a thick, dark English spread (called Marmite) already dominated the spread market and Australians were reluctant to try Fred Walker's locally made product. Poor sales performance resulted in Vegemite being re-named in 1928. 

In an attempt to emulate the success of Marmite, Walker re-launched Vegemite as "Parwill". "If Marmite...then Parwill" was the rationale behind Walker's strategy to carve a niche in the market for his concentrated yeast extract spread. 
Parwill

However Parwill was only ever sold in Queensland and Walker's creative play-on-words fell on deaf ears and Parwill failed. Walker went back to the drawing board, and finally realised that the Vegemite brand could work. All he had to do was stimulate consumer trial. 
The Phenomenon Begins

In 1937, another intriguing promotion was launched: a limerick contest with substantial prizes, including Pontiac cars. Entries poured in and Australians were finally purchasing and eating Vegemite on a massive scale. Vegemite was well and truly on the road to success!

Immediately prior to the outbreak of World War II, Vegemite gained official product endorsement from the British Medical Association. This allowed Vegemite to be advertised in the Australian Medical Journal, and for medical professionals to recommend Vegemite as a Vitamin B rich, nutritionally balanced food for patients.

By 1942 Vegemite had become a permanent fixture on Australian tables. However, tough times were experienced during World War II when supplies for the civilian market were rationed on a strict per capita basis. This was in order to meet the demand of the Armed Forces which were buying Vegemite in seven pound (3.2kg) and eight ounce (227g) tins, plus 1/2 ounce (14g) individual portions because of the product’s nutritional value.

Fred Walker’s company kept Australians aware of why Vegemite was in short supply and continued to promote the healthy virtues of Vegemite, such as the high level of Vitamin B within the spread. Throughout the years of conflict, this message generated immeasurable goodwill for the product.

When world peace finally arrived, Australia experienced a post-war ‘baby’ boom’ creating a huge new market for Vegemite. People with years of Infant Welfare experience, such as baby care expert Sister McDonald, said in the Women’s Weekly that “Vegemite is most essential”, further cementing Vegemite’s reputation for nutrition and wholesomeness. Infant Welfare Centres were recommending babies have their quota of Vitamin B1, B2 and Niacin - of which Vegemite has them all!


Australians Sing for their Vegemite

If asked, most Australians could sing the Vegemite theme song. The jingle was first performed on radio in 1954 when The Happy Little Vegemites - a trio of bright youngsters with a vital beat - burst into song with the ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ toe-tapping jingle.

Two years later, the Happy Little Vegemites were no longer just a voice on radio. Kraft adapted the popular ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ campaign for a television audience showing healthy young children in happy scenes. Kraft’s ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ campaign continued intermittently on radio and television until the late 1960s.

In the ensuing years, the ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ advertising campaign was replaced by other commercials depicting Vegemite as a nutritional food for people of all ages. It wasn’t until the late 1980s when the original ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ commercials were dusted off and colourised, that new generations of Australians were given the chance to experience the nostalgia of Vegemite
As we now move through the 21st Century, Vegemite remains relatively unchanged in recipe and label and we now sell over 22 million jars every year! We are always discovering new ways to enjoy Australia’s favourite spread and it is not limited to bread or crackers. There are now many great contemporary recipes that contain Vegemite, click on recipes to see these.

Kraft has had an on-going commitment since the 1920’s to reinforce the message to Australians that Vegemite is nearly five times more concentrated than yeast, making it one of the world’s richest known sources of the energy giving Vitamin B group.

So not only is Vegemite a part of Australia’s history, it is also good for us. For generations, Vegemite has and will remain an intrinsic part of Australian family life.

In 2003, this Australian icon celebrated a key milestone - 80 years in the market. This new era brings with it a revival of the jingle - a means by which Vegemite can continue to SPREAD THE SMILE across the nation.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Sounds like an ad for "Soylent green"  
Is it available in the State's ?
( I don't care if it is made from people, I need a more balanced no hassle diet.    )

[tombogan03884]

Just realized, I drifted the crap out of my own thread 

[sledgemeister]

Sounds like an ad for "Soylent green"  
Is it available in the State's ?
( I don't care if it is made from people, I need a more balanced no hassle diet.    )

Theres was talk a while back about the US banning it because of added folate, but then the numpties realised no folate was added to the product as it occurs naturally in it.

Try here if your interested in trying it
http://evryaustralian.stores.yahoo.net/

http://www.aussieproducts.com/vegemite.asp

[PegLeg45]

Think I'll just stick with peanut butter....... 

[Big Frank]

Think I'll just stick with peanut butter....... 

or Nutella. Yum.