Tony Armstrong Is Here To Tell You Not To Put Vegemite On Your Shoes

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In a promotion of his new show, Great Australian Stuff, Tony Armstrong is showing us why we shouldn't polish our shoes with Vegemite. Cheers, Tony.

In Great Australian Stuff, Tony Armstrong is unearthing the odd and often forgotten history of iconic Aussie stuff from Vegemite to the boomerang. The 4 part series is airing on ABC and iView on Tuesdays. Armstrong, charming as ever, guides the audience through the stories behind Chiko Rolls, Aussie slang and humble sheep farming.

To promote the series, Armstrong has been bravely debunking some of the weirder Australian life hacks. One of these "hacks" includes the idea that you can polish your shoes with Vegemite.

The TikTok, which can be viewed below, sees Armstrong spread Vegemite over his shoe brush at home and get to scrubbing. Sacrificing one of his own shoes to the cause, he asks the all important question: is polishing with Vegemite genius or gross?



Spoiler alert: It's gross and does nothing in the shoe shine department. Armstrong also investigates a New Zealand meat pie hack that involves chucking the classic Aussie staple between two bits of bread and eating it like a sandwich.

Armstrong is joined by fellow beloved Australian culture commentators throughout the series, including Benjamin Law, Nazeem Hussain, Jenny Kee, Nornie Bero, Kevin Kropinyeri, Richard Glover and Jean Kittson. Together, they uncover the secret and bizarre stories behind Aussie stuff we all know and love.

Personally, I am grateful that watching the series unlocked the deeply buried core memory of the Women's Weekly Great Australian Cake Book. Rest in peace to a legend. My mum never did get around to making me that tiger shaped vanilla sponge.

If you’re looking for something that will give you oodles of odd Australiana trivia to dazzle your friends with, or maybe you just want to watch Tony Armstrong be charming and educational — Great Australian Stuff is currently available on ABC iView.

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