This month, we take a look at some strange worldwide customs. We’ll look at examples from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden.
Clever Pigeons
It’s Illegal to kiss on train platforms in France. This law was created to prevent delays. Apparently, lovers were holding up train departures with long goodbyes!
There’s a town in Norway called Hell – and it freezes over every winter.
Water can boil, evaporate and freeze at the same time – it’s called the triple point.
If you could fold a piece of paper 42 times, it would reach the moon.
Time passes slightly faster at the top of a building than at the bottom. Due to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, gravity affects time so the higher up you are, the faster time moves (very slightly).
Pigeons can do maths – some outperform toddlers in basic counting tests.
Blue Whale’s Heartbeat
You can hear a blue whale’s heartbeat from two miles away.
It’s illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland – they need a friend.
In Samoa, it’s a crime to forget your wife’s birthday.
In certain Italian coastal towns like Eraclea, building sandcastles on the beach is banned because they can block walkways and be a “public nuisance”.
It is illegal to run out of fuel on German Autobahns. It is considered a preventable offense, so it’s illegal and can land you a fine.
Denmark doesn’t allow you to name your baby whatever you want. There’s a government-approved list of names. If your desired name isn’t on the list, you have to get permission.
Australian Weddings
If someone knocks and asks to use the bathroom in Scotland, you legally have to let them in. While more of a legend than an enforced law, many believe it’s rooted in old hospitality customs.
The Eiffel Tower can grow over six inches taller in summer due to heat expansion.
In Sweden, it’s illegal to spank your children. Sweden was actually the first country in the world (1979) to ban corporal punishment of children, even by parents.
Receive a bone marrow transplant, and you might inherit more than just healthy cells. Along with potentially taking on your donor’s allergies, your blood type can actually change. Even more surprisingly, your body could end up carrying two distinct sets of DNA – one in your blood and another in places like your skin, saliva, or hair. This means you might also leave your donor’s DNA at a crime scene, not your own.
It’s illegal to disrupt an Australian wedding or funeral. Doing so could land you with a fine of nearly £5,000 or two years in prison.
The word “alphabet” comes from the first two Greek letters: alpha and beta.
Taste Buds
“Bookkeeper” (and its variants) is the only English word with three consecutive double letters.
“Queue” is just the letter Q followed by four silent letters.
The longest English word without a true vowel is “rhythms.”
Taste bud cells undergo continuous renewal even in adulthood. Their average lifespan has been estimated to be approximately 10 days.
Fingernails grow faster on your dominant hand.
Laughter boosts your immune system and burns calories.
Status Symbol
Humans glow in the dark. It’s just 1,000 times too faint for our eyes to see.
White bread used to be a status symbol. The whiter the bread, the wealthier you looked.
Popcorn has been eaten for over 5,000 years.
Pasta was not invented in Italy. It originated in China, and Marco Polo likely brought it to Europe.
M&Ms were created for soldiers so chocolate wouldn’t melt in their hands.
White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate. It doesn’t contain cocoa solids, just the cocoa butter (the fat from the cocoa bean).
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