One of the strangest and most real laws comes all the way from Milan, Italy, where it is forbidden not to have a smile on your face at all times. You must be happy and showing it, the only exceptions being when visiting a hospital or attending a funeral. Maybe it is just a law on paper, and surely it is kind of difficult to impose it - the fine, by the way, is about 100 Euros - but the simple fact that it exists is mighty strange.
Hard to be a taxi driver in Athens, Greece. A local law requires your driver's license to be revoked if customers complain that you lack personal hygiene or are poorly dressed when driving.
Maybe you grew up watching westerns, with rugged cowboys, Indians and lots of firefights? Then you should know that in Queensland, Australia, every pub still has to install a railing outside the building for customers to tie up their horses. Worth riding a horse there just to make use of it.
In Alaska it is forbidden to be drunk... in a bar. Yes, in a real bar, where many come solely for getting drunk and having fun. If you feel you are sucombing to the mighty spirits you must not enter a bar or, according to the situation, must immediately quit the one you are into. And yes, local police enforce this strange law.
In Switzerland it is against the law to hang your clothes out to dry on Sunday. On Monday, Wednesday or any other day of the week it is allowed, but not on Sunday. Never on Sunday. Even if you really like chocolate it is against the law to give your loved one a box of chocolates weighting in the excess of 50 pounds. The main issue here being where are you going to find a 50 pound box of chocolates? Or even half that weight?
When travelling to the Island of Capri, Italy, be careful what you wear. Noisy sandals can bring you a nice fine, as they are against the law. Just how the policeman will evaluate how noisy the sandals are is another story.
You must not kiss on the train platforms in France, as a law that is over a century all is still in the books. Not that anyone was actually fined or (most probably) anyone remembers it, but it is there.
Photo: wikipedia.org, publicdomainpictures.net
