FOXSYLVANIA

– – She’s a purple marsupial, has big doe-eyes, and almost resembles a muppet or Claymation creation…the Aussie Shampoo kangaroo, that is!  Despite the name, Aussie Shampoo products are made in Cincinnati, Ohio by Proctor and Gamble.  The manufacturing process for the floral-scented product includes use of the Australian Kangaroo Paw Flower extract.

Australian aboriginal legends have existed about a purple kangaroo since ancient times, and in 1924 a biologist named Le Souf made the claim to the amusement of the scientific community that he had found such a  creature, even sending specimens to be studied that turned out to be run of the mill wallabies.  In 2001 through DNA testing and photographic evidence a purple-necked rock wallaby was identified as a new species.  It seems that these animals have a purple dye that they secret from glands in their skin around their neck and face.  The dye quickly fades after death, a fact which made the animal hard to identify…