Short Stuff: Drop Bears

Summary

Short Stuff: Drop Bears – Episode Summary

Released on May 7, 2025, "Short Stuff: Drop Bears" is an engaging episode from the popular podcast Stuff You Should Know, hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant under the iHeartPodcasts banner. In this episode, Josh and Chuck delve into the intriguing Australian folklore of drop bears—a mythical creature used to playfully scare tourists and newcomers. This detailed summary captures their lively discussion, key insights, and humorous exchanges.

---

Introduction to Drop Bears

Josh and Chuck kick off the episode by setting the scene of being tourists in the Australian bush, introducing the central topic of their discussion: drop bears.

• Josh Clark [00:39]: "But we are here. And being tourists walking through the Australian bush right now, we need to be careful of drop bears."

What Are Drop Bears?

The hosts describe drop bears, painting a vivid image of these legendary creatures and their purportedly fearsome nature.

• Chuck Bryant [00:54]: "Because, you know, if you're especially a tourist or maybe a foreign soldier, you're walking around the outback, look up, because if you walk under a tree, a drop bear might drop down, knock you on the head and eat your head." [00:54]

Josh expands on the danger posed by these mythical animals, emphasizing their deceptive appearance.

• Josh Clark [01:11]: "They look a lot like a koala, except with orange wiry hair."

Origins and Mythology

Josh and Chuck explore the origins of the drop bear myth, suggesting it as a longstanding prank among Australians to tease tourists and newcomers.

• Chuck Bryant [02:22]: "Drop bears are made up. They're a myth. They're a joke, really. A long-standing pranky joke that Australians play on newcomers and tourists and travelers and visiting military, that kind of thing."

They compare drop bears to other mythical creatures, such as the American jackalope, highlighting the humorous intent behind these myths.

• Josh Clark [03:14]: "It's sort of like here in America, like a jackalope."

Cultural Impact and Possible Real Creatures

The discussion shifts to potential real-life inspirations for the drop bear legend, referencing extinct Australian marsupials.

• Chuck Bryant [04:32]: "Thylacoleocarnifex, or a marsupial lion. Apparently, the skull does resemble a koala or maybe a wombat, but instead of grinder teeth, they have shearing teeth."

Josh muses on whether ancient creatures like the marsupial lion could have influenced the drop bear myth, suggesting a possible echo from Australia's prehistoric past.

• Josh Clark [05:23]: "Is this actually like an echo from the past? Like this is this Drop bear prank is actually based on like a human knowledge of the fact that there was something similar years back and it just got passed down all this time and then morphed into the prank?"

First Mentions and Pop Culture Integration

The hosts delve into the first recorded mentions of drop bears and their integration into Australian pop culture, particularly through media portrayals.

• Josh Clark [06:06]: "The first official mentions that people know about were in the beginnings of the 1900s... the words drop bear first time in print, apparently."

They highlight Paul Hogan's role in popularizing the myth, referencing his character Crocodile Dundee and the associated media skits.

• Chuck Bryant [07:05]: "But the year before, a post punk band called the Drop Bears had formed back in 1981... [and] Paul Hogan... we know him as Crocodile Dundee."

Survival Tips and Humorous Advice

Josh and Chuck share humorous "tips" purportedly to avoid drop bear attacks, showcasing the playful nature of the myth.

• Chuck Bryant [10:19]: "They even been given a scientific name, Thylarktos plumatus."

• Josh Clark [11:05]: "One... put dabs of toothpaste behind your ears." [11:05]

• Chuck Bryant [11:23]: "You got to smear your cheeks and forehead with Vegemite." [11:23]

• Josh Clark [12:08]: "All have got great senses of humor, so I know you'll take that with aplomb." [12:08]

The hosts humorously critique these tips, suggesting their absurdity and the intended jest behind them.

Connecting Myth to Modern Day

The conversation ties the drop bear myth to modern-day interactions, emphasizing its role in Australian humor and tourist experiences.

• Chuck Bryant [13:01]: "And if you are a visiting military soldier and you are attacked, to protect yourself, curl into a ball and protect all of your major internal organs and major arteries." [13:01]

Josh reflects on the playful nature of the myth, noting the creative imagery it conjures.

• Josh Clark [13:34]: "Funny pictures of, like, just photoshopped koalas that looked super scary and mean." [13:34]

Conclusion

Josh and Chuck wrap up the episode with light-hearted banter, acknowledging the enduring charm of the drop bear myth and its place in Australian folklore.

• Chuck Bryant [13:45]: "Maybe you guys can write in and tell us." [13:45]

• Josh Clark [14:01]: "Short Stuff is out." [14:01]

---

Notable Quotes

• Josh Clark [00:54]: "If you walk under a tree, a drop bear might drop down, knock you on the head and eat your head." [00:54]

• Chuck Bryant [02:22]: "Drop bears are made up. They're a myth. They're a joke, really." [02:22]

• Josh Clark [05:23]: "Is this actually like an echo from the past?" [05:23]

• Josh Clark [11:05]: "One... put dabs of toothpaste behind your ears." [11:05]

---

Final Thoughts

In "Short Stuff: Drop Bears," Josh and Chuck successfully blend humor with folklore, offering listeners both entertainment and insight into one of Australia's most beloved myths. Through their engaging dialogue and witty exchanges, they illuminate how such legends serve not only as jokes but also as cultural touchstones that enrich the storytelling fabric of a nation.

---

For more intriguing topics and engaging discussions, tune into Stuff You Should Know on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Josh Clark]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

[Chuck Bryant]

With t Mobile. No, Trendspotter has to deal with Trendspotty service because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off at the $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required card has no cash access and expires in six months.

[Dave]

Hey, and welcome to the Short stuff. I'm Josh and there's Chuck. And it's just us. No Dave, no Jerry, no nothing. But we are here. And being tourists walking through the Australian bush right now, we need to be careful of drop bears.

[Josh Clark]

That's right. Because, you know, if you're especially a tourist or maybe a foreign soldier, you're walking around the outback, look up, because if you walk under a tree, a drop bear might drop down, knock you on the head and eat your head.

[Dave]

Yeah. Might bite your skull open with its molars, might use its fangs to bite your neck. And you're dead. You're dead. When a drop bear drops on you because they can get fairly big. I saw about the size of leopards. Leopards average something like 6ft long, 7ft long, weighing between 100 to 200 pounds. This is a big animal. The thing that makes it so crazy is that it looks a lot like a koala, except with orange wiry hair.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. And luckily, you know, we toured Australia and did some great shows all over that wonderful country. And we both checked in as safe at the end of it from drop bears. Thank God it didn't happen.

[Dave]

No, we made it out alive. Basically because if you get dropped on by a drop bear, they're very patient, they're very quiet, they'll wait for hours up in a treetop for someone to pass by and then they drop out right on top of you. Like you said, you're dead, you're toast. So had we met a drop bear, one or both of us would not be sitting here today.

[Josh Clark]

That's right. I'm genuinely wondering how many Australians think that we're being serious right now.

[Dave]

I hadn't thought about that.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. They're like, don't these guys know, man.

[Dave]

You do the best New Zealand accent.

[Josh Clark]

Was that okay?

[Dave]

Sure. It all sounds like Murray.

[Josh Clark]

Murray.

[Dave]

Yeah. So, yeah. We should probably tell everybody who isn't from Australia that drop bears are made up. They're a myth. They're a joke, really. A long standing pranky joke that Australians play on newcomers and tourists and travelers and visiting military, that kind of thing.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. A lot of people think it started in either Sydney or South Wales. The early settlers there, you know, playing pranks on people who came probably because they didn't want them there would be my guess.

[Dave]

Sure. Or just to humiliate them out of boredom.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, exactly. Apparently the Australian Museum over the years has kind of kept this joke going by fabricating sightings. It's sort of like here in America, like a jackalope.

[Dave]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Clark]

You know, like creating these creatures. Not like a Bigfoot, it's not a cryptid, but I guess a jackalope probably technically is, but you know, just sort of a humorous thing to keep going. And the official government even gets involved and kind of plays along.

[Dave]

Well, I saw one of the things that is part of this legend is that the Australian government doesn't recognize the existence of drop bears in reality because they don't. But as part of the legend, it's because the Australian government is covering up their existence because they don't want to harm the tourist industry in Australia because again, they jump on tourists, basically people who don't have Australian accents.

[Josh Clark]

Well, and I'm sure they're also like, there's all manner of things that'll kill you. The last thing we need is a made up thing.

[Dave]

Exactly. So we said the Australian government's part of it. So a lot of other institutions have contributed to kind of keeping this, this idea alive. I saw an article in the Conversation about drop bears and surviving drop bear attacks, and it was totally straight from start to finish. There wasn't even a little disclaimer in italics at the end. And they've even been given a scientific name, Thylarktos plumatus.

[Josh Clark]

That's pretty funny.

[Dave]

It is. It's great.

[Josh Clark]

There actually is like evidence that there could have been some sort of ancient animal in Australia during the last ice that is similar to a drop bear that does have a real scientific name, Thylacoleocarnifex, or a marsupial lion. Apparently the skull does resemble a koala or maybe a wombat, but instead of grinder teeth, they have shearing teeth. And apparently it once belonged to a group of marsupials called the diprotodonts. And with today's koalas, they're in that same group of marsupials. So opossums wombats, kangaroos and koalas, they were all part of this group back in ancient times. But whatever. This more fearsome one was a. It wasn't a drop bear. But it was similar enough for people to reference it at least.

[Dave]

Yeah. And people were living at this time. This is during the last ice age. So there were people in Australia at the time, Aborigines were there. And they would have seen and possibly interacted with this marsupial lion. So it raises the question, like, is this actually like an echo from the past? Like this is this Drop bear prank is actually based on like a human knowledge of the fact that there was something similar years back and it just got passed down all this time and then morphed into the prank? Some people say no, I think there's a possibility. It just seems weird to have come up with that independently. I could also be overthinking it.

[Josh Clark]

Oh, maybe, who knows? The first official mentions that people know about were in the beginnings of the 1900s, and it wasn't in a newspaper like the words drop bare until 1982, apparently, when there was a message in the 21st Birthdays column of the Canberra Times on 31 July. You know, it's from a different country. If they say the 31st of July.

[Dave]

Right.

[Josh Clark]

We say July 31st over here. And apparently I say Canberra and that's not right either. Right.

[Dave]

I think it's Canberra.

[Josh Clark]

Canberra. Okay.

[Dave]

I think not even bruh. Bruh. Like bruh, what's up, bruh? Yeah, what's up, Canberra.

[Josh Clark]

Okay, I gotcha. But in this message, regardless of pronunciations, it was Tam T A M. Beware of drop Bears in the future. For sure. Totally love Clint. And no one knows who these people were. We'll never find out who these people were. But the words drop bear first time in print, apparently.

[Dave]

Yeah. But the year before, a post punk band called the Drop Bears had formed back in 1981, I went and looked up one of their videos for a song called Fun Loving.

[Josh Clark]

Good.

[Dave]

Yeah, it was not bad.

[Josh Clark]

Okay, let's check that out.

[Dave]

But yes. So drop like drop bear somehow just came out of nowhere that term did. But there had been this idea of a koala like animal dropping from trees and attacking people. That had been around, at least in print, since the 1920s. It seems to have been a military prank. Like that's where it kind of was kept alive all of the decades. But it eventually made the leap to pop culture thanks to a guy known in Australia as Hoags. His name is Paul Hogan. Here in the United States, we know him as Crocodile Dundee.

[Josh Clark]

I say we take a break. That's quite a cliffhanger when you got Crocodile Dundee hanging out there. And we'll be right back after this. Hey everyone. As a small business owner, you don't have the luxury of clocking out early. Your business is on your mind 24 7. So when you're hiring, you need a partner that grinds just as hard as you do. And that hiring partner is LinkedIn jobs.

[Dave]

Yeah. So when you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job for free, share it with your network and get qualified candidates that you can manage all in one place.

[Josh Clark]

That's right, those qualified candidates. You know, at the end of the day, the most important thing to your small business is going to be the quality of those candidates. And with LinkedIn you can feel confident that you're going to be getting the best.

[Dave]

Yeah. And actually, based on LinkedIn data, 72% of small businesses using LinkedIn say that LinkedIn helps them find high quality candidates.

[Josh Clark]

Just post your job for [e-mail] sysk that's LinkedIn.com sysk and you can post your job for free here. Terms and conditions apply.

[Advertiser]

There's nothing like sinking into luxury. Annabe sofas combine ultimate comfort and design at an affordable price. Annabe has designed the only fully machine washable sofa from top to bottom. The stain resistant performance fabric slipcovers and cloud like frame duvet can go straight into your wash. Perfect for anyone with kids, pets or anyone who loves an easy to clean spotless sofa. With a modular design and changeable slipcovers, you can customize your sofa to fit any space and style. Whether you need a single chair loveseat or a luxuriously large sectional, Anna Bay has you covered. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home. Sofas start at just $699 and right now you can shop up to 6, 60% off store wide with a 30 day money back guarantee. Shop now at washablesofas.com add a little to your life. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Josh Clark]

Stuff you should know. All right. We promised Talk of Crocodile Dundee. In 1981 on his show, the Paul Hogan show, he did a skit where he starts talking about the untold horrors of the Australian bush. And although he didn't use the word drop bear, he talked about killer koalas silently sitting and then dropping out of trees and killing people.

[Dave]

Yeah. So within a few years this thing crosses over to the mainstream. Drop bears are attached as the name and it just becomes an institution in Australia, apparently.

[Josh Clark]

That's right. And we've gotten real tips because, you know, they like to play along with this stuff and so you can actually get real published tips on how to avoid being killed by these. Right.

[Dave]

Apparently one. So remember, they're telling, like, soldiers in Australia are telling, like, some American detachment that's visiting or doing training exercises or something to do these things. And apparently they do. Sometimes one is to put dabs of toothpaste behind your ears.

[Josh Clark]

I mean, that's very tame.

[Dave]

I mean, toothpaste, of course.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, yeah. I'm surprised that's all it was because why didn't they say, like, human feces or something if they really want to kick it up?

[Dave]

Yeah. Yes. But I mean, just the fact that you did something that they can demonstrate you did that. That's. That's enough. When they tell you that this whole thing's a joke and you're a total moron.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, I guess so. I guess they got a little closer to human feces on this next one.

[Dave]

A little bit.

[Josh Clark]

They said that you got to smear your cheeks and forehead with Vegemite. Boy, I'm going to get killed for that one.

[Dave]

You are, but I'm so sorry.

[Josh Clark]

Australia, Australia.

[Dave]

You should know by now, no one outside of Australia likes Vegemite. That's just your thing.

[Josh Clark]

That's right. And you've all got great senses of humor, so I know you'll take that with aplomb.

[Dave]

That's right. So another one is putting forks in your hair, which, I mean, you'd have to have thick, curly hair to hold a fork in your hair.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, a fork would fall right out of my hair.

[Dave]

Same here. Yeah. And then you could wear a neck guard. That would be the funniest one to me. That's what I would try to get people to do. Remember like the. The old school neck guards that. Like in that episode of the Brady Bunch where there's the car accident, the person that Mike Brady hit was wearing, like, a neck protector to keep them from turning their head. And then he throws the briefcase and they look really quickly and Mike Brady proves his case foiled.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Yeah. If I could get somebody to wear one of those to protect against a drop bear attack, I would feel pretty good about myself.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. And if all of these things fail, I believe so much of what you say. If you told me I needed to wear that for any reason, I probably would.

[Dave]

All right, well, keep sharp, man. Cause I'M gonna try it sometime.

[Josh Clark]

You know, if you want a podcast, better put on a neck brace. Apparently, if none of those things work, though, and you are a visiting military soldier and you are attacked, to protect yourself, curl into a ball and protect all of your major internal organs and major arteries.

[Dave]

Yep. Pretty great stuff, Chuck.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, no, I mean, I was kind of sad. If you look up drop beer, there's some funny pictures of, like, just photoshopped koalas that looked super scary and mean.

[Dave]

What do you mean? What was sad?

[Josh Clark]

No, no, no, no. Did I say sad?

[Dave]

Yeah, you said it's kind of sad.

[Josh Clark]

Did I?

[Dave]

Either that or I've just totally lost my mind.

[Josh Clark]

Finally, in my mind, I said funny. I guess only the listener will know the truth.

[Dave]

Yeah, of.

[Josh Clark]

Of which one of us just had a stroke.

[Dave]

Maybe you guys can write in and tell us. In the meantime, everybody, Short Stuff is out.

[Josh Clark]

Stuff youf Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

[Advertiser]

Listen to your favorite show.