Other offshore islands, like Newfoundland and Ireland, have also suffered in this way. This view was challenged from the s by the growth of tourism based on appreciation of Tasmania's scenic beauty, and from the late s by Tasmania's booming economy and burgeoning production of fine food and wine; the kindly pity mainlanders once showed to Tasmanians began to disappear. Some novelists and poets still describe Tasmania as tainted by cruelty to convicts and Aborigines, crushed under resulting gothic gloom, but this is not apparent generally.
Tasmania's dominant image overseas arises from the popular Warner Brothers cartoon character, Taz their imaginary Tassie devil: strong, ravenous, and mainly interested in eating. Table of Contents. However, in trying to correct the iodine balance, authorities went too far, with a proliferation of iodine supplements leading to an epidemic of thyrotoxicosis — hyperthyroidism caused by the overproduction of hormones.
Prof Richards, who is now retired, worked with thyrotoxicosis sufferers at the height of the problem and said while the correct balance had finally been achieved, the tipping point was never far away. Thousands of Sydneysiders will see a significant restriction scrapped from next Monday.
New studies have discovered how a fatty acid found in everyday pantry items can increase the likelihood of cancer. Mums are joining in a TikTok trend of flashing their breastfeeding babies and recording the adorable reactions to their next meal. Curious Hobart. What is the origin of the joke about Tasmanians having two heads? Or, if you are a Tasmanian, have you ever been asked, "Where's your scar? For centuries, people from Tasmania have been the butt of jokes about having two heads, and one anonymous Curious Hobart questioner wanted to know why.
Stefan Petrow, a professor of history at the University of Tasmania, said the joke has long shaped the way other Australians view Tasmanians. So we looked into where the two-headed joke came from, and if there's any truth to it. There is little reference to two-headed Tasmanians in historical records, with internet research generating myriad blog posts and amateur documentaries. But there are three theories, the first of which alludes to Tasmania's historically isolated community and limited choice of mating partners.
The second comes from World War I, when soldiers from the island state allegedly requested two pillows for their bunks instead of the usual one.
Professor Petrow said that explanation was "as good an explanation as any". But the most plausible explanation is medical and has its basis way back in the glacial period. The joke about the second appendage is most likely to have come from the widespread cases of goitre in Tasmania throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Paul AC Richards is a retired professor of nuclear medicine, and worked with patients with thyroid conditions throughout his career. Sometimes those goitres were removed, leaving a scar on the neck where the infamous second head would have been. Famous Tasmanians have not been immune, with Dame Enid Lyons — the first woman elected to the Australian House of Representatives — undergoing goitre removal surgery before the federal election.
He said goitre was so prevalent in Tasmania that the State Government provided daily potassium iodine tablets to schoolchildren in , but the program was eventually dropped as it wasn't an effective measure during school holidays.
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