12 August 2007

Two queries from a newbie

| deejay
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We’ve been in Canberra eight months, and we love it. But we’re still stupid newbies, and we’d love some local wisdom on two questions that have us stumped. We hope you don’t mind us asking here!

1. Can anyone tell us the backstory behind all the stuffed toys attached to trees along Bungendore Road?

2. Our tap aerators seem to get clogged all the time with a white, tasteless, slightly crumbly substance. We presume it is a local mineral deposit in the water but we can’t figure out what it is. (It isn’t salt). Does anyone know? Is there anything we can do to prevent it? The ones on the sinks are easily cleaned, but the shower head is a royal pain to unclog.

Thanks for your patience and insight!

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Gungahlin Al9:28 am 14 Aug 07

*souls
damn you crummy typing fingers…

gun street girl9:05 pm 13 Aug 07

I heard that the bears were some sort of art installation. Is the huge gorilla still hanging overhead on the road?

blingblingbears3:18 pm 13 Aug 07

haha I was waiting for some sort of comment like that! or for someone to accuse me of being the bear-hanger!

Gungahlin Al1:54 pm 13 Aug 07

“Oh my goodness” deejay??
Please watch your language – we have some sensitive sould frequent this site.
🙂

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt10:48 am 13 Aug 07

I have heard that the bears are put there by a local witches group. I wonder what they hope to achieve?

blingblingbears10:31 am 13 Aug 07

The bears actually go all the way to the coast. I was staying out at Congo one New Years and we accidently found the actual house that the bears lead all the way to. I was tempted to knock on the door to ask why they have a path of bears but I didn’t…

Non_Sequitur10:09 am 13 Aug 07

I thought the teddies were a signal to get to the nudist camp – the bears faces are towards you as you approach the camp, and then as soon as you pass the gate, their backs are turned towards you. I thought it was all part of a clever pun (as being bear naked). Much nicer story than the one put out by the ABC!

Oh, my goodness, I knew this was the place to ask! Thanks to all for the mineral info, prevention tips, and, er, creative re-use ideas. And the teddies in trees information was sad but good to know. Thanks everyone!

Where’s the rest of my post?

Anyway, I’d ring ACTew and ask them as it may be a problem in your street or house pipes. It’s not from the water supply, I tested it yesterday.

Vic Bitterman10:45 pm 12 Aug 07

Just quietly between you and me, if you collect the white stuff from your tap filter, let it dry and snort it, it’s the same as high grade coke.

Allegedly.

It’s not from the water supply, we have just about the softest water in Australia. We test it every week and, although it’s slightly harder than it has been, it’s still extremely soft (

For a bit of info on the Teddies in the Trees, have a look at this link:
http://www.abc.net.au/southeastnsw/stories/s1669027.htm

So in South Canberra this stuff is totally disolved. I guess this results in lower birth rates, explaining the reduction in population in Kambah/Wanniassa noted in today’s CT.

Shhhhhhh!!!!

It is the undissolved mind control pills that they put in to your water to control your sexual drive.

Likewise, I’ve never encountered that problem with the taps (also a South Canberra resident).

Never come across this problem in the years I’ve lived in the south of Canberra. Is it a worry in specific areas?

Gentleman Farmer6:55 pm 12 Aug 07

It’s just lime (calcium oxide) clogging your taps and shower head. “Hard water”. You can get rid of it by soaking the affected item in plain old white vinegar diluted 1:1 with water, for at least an hour. If the shower head doesn’t come off easily, point it all the way down, fill a plastic bag with the solution and tape it over.

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