The weirdest ways we stay entertained on the road!

We explore the iconic ways Aussies pass the time on a road trip. It might be all about staring at the phone nowadays, but most of us remember playing a game of eye-spy in the backseat of the car when we were kids. We find out the most popular games, and where they originated from.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ozzie. Families spend about eighty billion dollars a year traveling
the country and our favorite mode of transport the old
family car. Yes, the family road trip is a rite
of passage in Australia. Hours, sometimes days of the kids
asking are we there yet? So the big question on
every parent's mind is how the heck do we keep

(00:22):
them entertained. I'm Amanda Keller and I spy with my
little eye. This episode of brain fuel Great Ossi Stories
from the Road fueled by Ampole, Australia's own Unicorn Real
or Fake. That's comedian and radio presenter Ironica Milsom fak

(00:43):
ah correct. She and her daughter love this game called
real or Fake. The rules pretty simple. Penguin real or fake? Ah,
real Dragon, real or fake fake? Well done. With all
our handheld devices, our smartphones, our iPads, our Nintendo DS's,

(01:08):
you might think the car game has gone the way
of the dinosaurs, but not in Veronica's car Dinosaur reeal
or fake amember fake Okay, no, it is real. Before
the invention of modern cars in eighteen eighty six, people
would travel long distances on trains, where entertainment came from

(01:30):
reading a newspaper. Having a cheeky gin with a handsome
stranger less easy and less advisable to do while you're
behind the wheel, So we invented new types of entertainment
to help keep drivers awake and backseat passengers from biting
each other out of boredom. They were born from parlor
games that we'd been playing for centuries. For example, I

(01:51):
Spy dates back to the Victorian era, where children were
I spied and not heard. I always liked to hide
a capsicum in my glovebox. I always win at ice spy.
I Spy. I think it's a bit stupid because if
you're in a car, I wants your spot something, it's
always behind you anyway. Some games took direct inspiration from
driving itself, like the infamous punch Buggy, a game that

(02:14):
encourages sibling rivalry and violence. Punchbuggy got banned in our
car because it always turned into a full scale brawl
between my brothers in the backseat. Most of our traditional
car games come from the UK and the US, but
that doesn't mean we don't have our own. Australian place
names were practically invented for making up stories. We've got

(02:37):
Spanker Knob, Teddy Bear's Gap, and even a place that's
just called the Boobs. Or there's the game Hey Cow,
very complex rules, see a cow, shout Hey a cow. Yes.
The car game is an essential part of the road
trip experience. It's a way for families to bond and

(02:58):
see the beautiful landscape in fresh way to demonstrate their
excellent eye sights or they're less excellent spelling skills. So
next time you're on the road, why not play a
bit of car bingo license plate game or my own
personal favorite, who can stay quiet the longest? What about

(03:19):
fairy real or fake? Ah? Where? Correct? I guess from
a game of ice by on a road trip or
whatever your journey. Ampole is the fuel that gets you there.
Make sure you follow our adventures for free in your

(03:40):
favorite podcast app. I'm Amanda Keller and this is brain fuel.