Australian Woman Wears Helmet To Hang Laundry, Still Gets Smoked By Kamikaze Butcherbird

I am a long-time advocate for helmets. Not even just for riding bikes and scooters. Part of me thinks we should all be wearing them most of the time.

I'm also a long-time fearer of birds.

Never have I felt more vindicated in these two positions than I did watching some helmeted Australian woman get kamikaze-d by a bird in a viral video that's making the rounds.

Now, I've never been to Australia, but from what I've seen on TV and read on Outback Steakhouse menus, every animal there is trying to hurt you. Snakes, spiders, platypus-es-es, and even some birds, including the aptly named "butcherbird."

I mean, with a name like that, would you expect anything less?

Well, according to The New Zealand Herald, a TikTok user by the name of @gunkasey was having a hell of a time with these birds. So much so that she posted a video of herself donning a helmet just to hang some laundry on the washline.

Why? Because she knew that one of these butcherbirds was going to come crashing right into her head, and sure enough, one did.

She caught it on camera.

Now, just a heads up, if you're going to try watching this in a waiting room or at a wake, she drips a couple of expletives, including one that rhymes with the last name of late Candid Camera host Allen Funt.

Now, as I mentioned, I'm all for helmets… but how many times do you have to get divebombed in the noggin by a bird while hanging laundry before you start having to wear protective equipment?

For me, the answer is one. Actually, zero. If a bird just looked at me funny when I came striding out with a wash basket full of boxer-briefs I was about to put on display for the entire neighborhood, I'd turn around and grab my anti-bird helmet.

Which, by the way, is a real thing.

Butcherbirds are related to magpies, and apparently, magpie attacks are common enough in Australia that I found a company called PieProof, which makes cycling helmets for people riding through areas where birds can be aggressive.

I'd still like to visit Australia someday, but I think I'm going to stick to the great indoors if I journey down under…