Discovery

I went to Corbis' site today to check out their new Hotline Calendar which is actually pretty damn nifty. It's a great idea - fill up a calendar with all sorts of trivial anniversaries and commemorations, and then provide links to pictures to illustrate the lame articles that will inevitably accompany the events. Step 3: profit.

But one entry caught my eye as being particularly ham-fisted. Did you know that on March 1st 1606, Willem Jansz discovered Australia? I'm sure all the people already living there we were also surprised. I don't know, but didn't the whole 'man discovers new land' version of history fall out of fashion about 30 years ago? But what elevates this entry from the realm of merely stupid to that of the absurd, is that they illustrated it with a photo of aborginal artwork. Wait - so there were people there when it was discovered? And they painted pretty pictures?

It's pretty sad that nobody thought twice before posting it. I actually send them a note about it. I got a auto response telling me my concern is being forwarded to the appropriate person, which I imagine is the big trash bin in the sky. I am kinda looking forward to an explanation though. Someone's going to have to tie themselves into semantic knots over this one.