Faced with the subsequent telephone bill, the boy’s father looks apoplectic. “Nine hundred dollarydoos!” he screams, in one of the worst imitations of an accent ever to grace a television screen. “Tobias! Did you accept a six-hour collect call from the States?”

For what it’s worth, according to well-known Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki, water can swirl the opposite way in plugholes down under, but only in carefully controlled situations.

It’s a scientific lesson Australia’s leaders may want to consider as they try to prevent their economy from going down the toilet.

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