Weird Laws That Will Make You Say "Wait, What?"

Bright Side

Ever heard of some totally bizarre laws that make you go, "Seriously?" Well, get ready for a wild ride because we've got a lineup of weird regulations from around the globe that will leave you scratching your head. From banning chewing gum to outlawing owning more than one guinea pig, these laws are so out there, you'll wonder how they even came to be. But hey, they're real, and they'll definitely make you question what's considered legal in some countries. So buckle up and prepare to be amazed (and maybe a little perplexed) by the strange and wacky laws that exist in our world today!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00If you live in Japan, your employer will take care of your waistline.

00:04In the USA, you won't be able to put a chicken on your head, even if you want to do it a

00:08lot.

00:09Plus, you'll find a Kinder Surprise egg only in the black market in this country.

00:14In Australia, you won't be allowed to touch a lightbulb in a public place.

00:18Yep, you got it right.

00:20We're talking about the weirdest bans and laws in the world.

00:25Your waistline can't be too wide in Japan, otherwise you might get in trouble.

00:29I'm not kidding.

00:31There's a curious regulation in this country, called the Metabolaw.

00:35It was implemented to stop people living in Japan from gaining weight.

00:39Since 2008, everyone from the ages of 40 to 74 has to have their waist measured by their

00:44employer.

00:45The main goal of this campaign is to shrink the overweight population by 10 to 25%.

00:51If a man's waistline is more than 33.5 inches and a woman's is above 35 and 6 inches, they'll

00:57have to take on some serious physical activity, and these weight loss classes will be funded

01:02by their employer.

01:04If a company repeatedly fails to meet specific targets, namely to reduce the number of overweight

01:10employees, they get fined.

01:12There have been reports of large corporations getting fines of up to $19 million for missing

01:16their targets.

01:18Panasonic reportedly gives its employees Metabo check towels with tape measure-like markings.

01:24They allow employees to keep track of their waistlines and wipe their tears when they

01:27don't meet the requirements.

01:30Still, some companies aren't very strict about this law.

01:34After all, initially, the authorities wanted to ensure there was a minimum of 65% participation.

01:40In any case, it's a mistake to believe that the Metabolaw bans obesity, making it illegal.

01:48In the USA, no one will say a word about the size of your waistline.

01:52But if you pull a Kinder Surprise out of your pocket, oh, in this case, you'll have

01:56to pay a pretty penny.

01:58The thing is, confectionery products that contain a non-nutritive object are prohibited

02:03by law in this country, unless this non-nutritive object is functional, like a stick inside

02:09a lollipop.

02:11A few decades ago, the Consumer Product Safety Commission examined and issued a recall for

02:16some Kinder Surprise eggs that had been brought into the US illegally.

02:21The toys within the eggs had small parts.

02:23The members of the commission decided that this chocolate product was intended for kids

02:27of all ages, including the youngest.

02:30But since these yummies violated the small parts regulation, they concluded that Kinder

02:34Surprise should be banned from being imported into the USA.

02:38In January 2011, one person was threatened with being fined more than $200 for carrying

02:44a single egg across the US border into Minnesota.

02:48And in June 2012, two Seattle men were held for two and a half hours after returning to

02:53the US from a trip to Vancouver.

02:55They had six Kinder Surprise eggs in their car.

02:58They were shocked when the potential fine was announced – $2,500 per egg!

03:05And still, Kinder Surprise eggs remain popular on the black market.

03:10You can easily buy Kinder Surprise in Sweden, but you won't be able to bring some other

03:15products into the country.

03:17For example, sausages, butter, chocolate, and even potatoes grown outside of the European

03:22Union.

03:23Expired products are also prohibited.

03:26Speaking of sausages and butter, in particular, this unusual measure was taken to protect

03:31the internal market and Swedish agriculture.

03:34At the same time, this ban has a broader interpretation of more general import restrictions, like

03:40all meat and dairy products imported from other countries outside the EU.

03:45As for the products you can't bring home as a souvenir from Sweden, it's definitely

03:49surströmming, at least if you're traveling by plane.

03:53It's an infamous delicacy made of fermented sea herring.

03:57After being caught, the fish are stored in a series of salted water solutions.

04:01Two months later or so, the partially preserved herrings are placed in airtight tins, and

04:06they continue to ferment for about a year.

04:09Three days after you open a can of surströmming, the stench of fermented herring will still

04:13be hanging in the air.

04:15It'll cling to your skin and hair, hide between the threads of your tablecloth.

04:20Imagine a can of this stinky goodness exploding on a plane, affected by the changes of the

04:24atmospheric pressure in the cabin.

04:27You'd be begging for a parachute.

04:30And if your wish was granted, you could land in Wisconsin, where it was once prohibited

04:34to wear a chicken on your head.

04:36Yep, you heard it correctly.

04:38While it's not actually clear whether this law ever existed in the first place, but it

04:43sure doesn't work these days.

04:45But rumors claim that you couldn't enter Wisconsin while carrying a chicken on your head.

04:49I mean, why would you want to wear a bird on your head?

04:53However ridiculous this law sounds, it's not truly unique.

04:57Just one state away in Minnesota, it's reportedly illegal to enter the state while carrying

05:02a duck on your head.

05:03I guess it makes the border between the two states a bird-free zone.

05:07Anyway, these laws are likely nothing more than an urban myth.

05:13That's not the end of the chicken story.

05:15In the town of Quitman, Georgia, it's officially illegal for chickens to cross the road.

05:20The town's legislation officially states that if you're an owner of any domestic fowl, you

05:25mustn't allow them to wander the streets of the town or be on the premises of any other

05:29person.

05:31The law was implemented to make people keep their farmyard birds properly contained at

05:35all times and prevent them from roaming on public property.

05:38So if you live in Quitman, own a chicken, and let it roam free, get ready for a very

05:43unpleasant visit resulting in a large fine.

05:48In Victoria, Australia, chickens are totally free to do whatever they want, but people

05:53aren't.

05:54Once it was illegal to change a lightbulb unless you were a licensed electrician.

05:58Taking your own lightbulb into your own hands could result in a fine of 10 Australian dollars.

06:04Luckily, a revision to the 1988 Electricity Safety Act brought a necessary update to this

06:10law.

06:11According to it, it was still legal to do your own electrical work if you didn't have

06:15a license, but you could change a lightbulb and remove a plug from a socket on your own.

06:20At the same time, you're still not permitted to change lightbulbs in commercial and public

06:24establishments, particularly in Western Australia.

06:28By the way, another thing you can't do in Victoria is fly a kite to the annoyance of

06:33any person or sing an obscene song or ballad in a public place.

06:37In Queensland, it's illegal to post fake job advertisements.

06:41And in New South Wales, drivers splashing mud on public bus passengers can be fined

06:45up to $2,200.

06:50Even though Canada is on the other side of the world, it has its own share of weird bans,

06:55and one of them is related to coins.

06:58In this country, nothing is more important than politeness, and when you go shopping

07:02there, you shouldn't inconvenience the cashier by giving them too much change.

07:07So, there's a legal limit on the number of coins you can use for a single transaction.

07:13The Currency Act implemented in 1985 states that one can use no more than 25 pennies,

07:19100 nickels, 100 dimes, 40 quarters, 25 $1 coins, or 22 $2 coins within one transaction.

07:32If you exceed these limits, the vendor can refuse to accept them and you won't be able

07:36to complain.

07:37It's the law.

07:39It was actually created to prevent people from paying for expensive stuff with hundreds

07:43and thousands of coins and making cashiers count them.

07:47If you don't live in Canada, such limitations may seem weird.

07:52At the same time, they start to make sense when you read how in 2015, an American student

07:58had to pay a $110 parking ticket and decided to do it using 11,000 pennies.

08:05He had to visit a few banks to collect the coins in five giant boxes.

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