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When the English settlers landed in Australia, they noticed a strange animal that jumped extremely high and far. They asked the aboriginal people using body language and signs trying to ask them about this animal. They responded with "Kan Ghu Ru" the English then adopted the word kangaroo. What the aboriginal people were really trying to say was "we don't understand you", "Kan Ghu Ru"

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Correction:

The information above is a complete myth. it is also not substantiated by the related link.

According to the Oceaniaweb factfile and other reliable sources, the word "kangaroo" is believed to have come from the Aboriginal word gangurru, a Guugu Yimidhirr word referring to the Grey Kangaroo. Captain James Cook's botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, first recorded the word as "kangaru" when the Endeavour was damaged on the Great Barrier Reef near modern-day Cooktown, and required the crew to stay on the mainland for almost 7 weeks repairing their ship. This gave Banks ample time to make copious notes on the fauna and flora, and to be certain of the Aboriginal word for kangaroo, even though he had trouble translating it into written form.

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11y ago

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