The purpose of most legislation is to promote acceptable behavior and to prevent or punish unacceptable behavior. Still, it can be hard to understand the laws and customs of other countries, and travelers are often advised to take care not to inadvertently break the law.

Often, travelers can get a good idea of what is and is not allowed in other countries with a little careful thought. However, no amount of thinking can explain some of the more bizarre laws from around the world.

10 You Can’t Like Winnie The Pooh In Poland

Children have impressionable minds. So we might think it’s a good thing that councillors give careful consideration to any mascots that they might put on a playground. In Tuszyn, Poland, however, the town council seemed to take their responsibility a little too seriously.

They decided that Winnie the Pooh, a beloved children’s character, was an “inappropriate hermaphrodite” because of its lack of identifying genitalia. As we all know, one of the things you really need in a children’s character is prominent genitals. One councillor said, “The problem with that bear is it doesn’t have a complete wardrobe.” The bear’s lack of pants was an issue as it was “half naked.”

The meeting, which was taped in secret and leaked to the media, began to get out of hand when someone mentioned that the author was “over 60 and [had] cut Pooh’s testicles off with a razor blade because he had a problem with his identity.”

In the end, the council decided to go with a Polish children’s character that was fully dressed “from head to toe.” Just to be on the safe side.^[1]

9 You Can’t Hold A Fish In A ‘Suspicious Manner’ In England

You might imagine that an Englishman would be free to hold his fish in any way he chooses, but you would be wrong.

According to the 1986 Salmon Act, Section 32, if he handles a salmon in a “suspicious manner,” he will be subject to prosecution and a fine of up to £800. And not just a salmon. The law applies also to trout, eels, lampreys, smelt, freshwater fish, and any other fish “specified for the purpose.”

All of this seems to be very specific—except, of course, that the legislation does not say what a suspicious manner looks like.

Also illegal in England is flying a kite to the annoyance of locals, getting drunk in a pub, ringing a doorbell without “lawful excuse,” or keeping pigs outside your house. That’s keeping pigs outside your house.^[2]

8 You Can’t Be Fat In Japan

Even though the country doesn’t have a large obesity problem, Japan decided to take a proactive approach to the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight. So, in 2008, Japan banned its citizens from being fat.

The “metabo law” requires all citizens over age 40 to have their waist measurements taken once a year. Anyone deemed to be overweight is given three months to shape up. After that, they receive compulsory dietary “advice and guidance” followed by six months of “reeducation” if they are still not making sufficient progress.^[3]

Employers must ensure that their employees participate in the scheme or risk fines of up to $19 million. So far, the metabo scheme has cut obesity by 3.5 percent, which certainly seems impressive in a country with already low obesity rates.

7 You Can’t Have Funni Names In Germany

Like most governments, the Germans were anxious to ensure that children were not bullied at school. Specifically, they don’t want kids to be teased because of their names.

Height, weight, glasses, funny haircuts, okay. But not names.

So, the government has instituted a policy of allowing only approved names to be entered on German birth certificates. Of course, there are a few rules. For example, new parents are not allowed to name their children after ordinary nouns such as a piece of fruit.

To make it onto the approved list, a name must not leave the child open to ridicule or abuse. (Calling your child “Reignbeau” or “Kal-El” would fall under this heading.) It must also be a recognized name. (“River” would be out, as would “North.”) Finally, it must make the sex of the baby clear. (“Indio” or “Dusti” just wouldn’t cut it.)

On the whole, it seems that the German government would like parents to use properly spelled, good old-fashioned names. The name “Adolf,” for example, has not been banned, though it’s rarely used.^[4]

6 You Must Wear Speedos In France

In public swimming pools in France, men are only allowed to wear extremely tight-fitting swimming trunks in the swimming pool. Attempts to jump into the pool in shorts may lead to you being “rescued” by a lifeguard or hauled out by a large hook.

Supposedly, the reason for the rule is “hygiene.” Although the tight swimsuits may not always be flattering, they are unlikely to have been worn outside on the streets. On the other hand, shorts might have been worn anywhere.

The law has been in place since 1903. Though the subject has been reviewed in the French parliament several times since then, the law has not been repealed and is still strictly enforced.

So, what happens if you have the wrong sort of swimwear? No problem. Most public pools have vending machines that sell microscopic swimwear in any color you want.^[5]

5 You Can’t Build Sandcastles In Italy

There are lots of things you are not allowed to do in Italy. For example, some places have outlawed miniskirts, low-cut jeans, and tops that show “too much” cleavage. Swearing can lead to a fine, as can lying on park benches or climbing trees.

If you have been swimming, you must not wear your swimming costume after leaving the beach. Also, when you return to your hotel, you must not dry your towels by hanging them out the window. You cannot eat in the street in Rome, kiss anyone inside a car, or walk your dog on anything other than a short leash.

But perhaps one of the strangest laws in Italy is in Eraclea, near Venice, where it is forbidden to build sandcastles on the beach. The reason? Apparently, they cause an obstruction.^[6]

A single sandcastle. On a great big beach.

Safety first.

4 You Cannot Be Reincarnated Without Permission In China

In 2007, the Chinese government banned Buddhists from reincarnating without prior written authorization in “an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.”

However, the law would allow the Chinese a say in the next reincarnation of the most important Living Buddha when the current Dalai Lama dies. According to tradition, the Buddhist leader, who is in his eighties, will be reborn to help humanity.^[7]

Nevertheless, the Chinese government is determined to participate in the process of choosing the next Dalai Lama and thus in just how he intends to help humanity. This is particularly important to the Chinese authorities because His Holiness (Tenzin Gyatso) has been such a thorn in their side. For his part, the Dalai Lama has said that he refuses to reincarnate in Tibet as long as Tibet remains under Chinese control.

However, there is nothing to stop him from reincarnating anywhere else in the world. He could choose to reincarnate far away from Tibet. Or, perhaps, just over the border.

3 You Can’t Have A Water Pistol In Cambodia

Water pistols are usually seen as harmless fun—just children’s toys for sunny days. However, if you want to use one in Cambodia, you are likely to be disappointed or get into trouble. The governor of Phnom Penh has banned the sale, import, and possession of all water pistols in the city.

It has become a tradition to use water pistols during New Year’s celebrations. Presumably, the governor thinks it’s silly and should be stopped. In 2002, the vice governor of Phnom Penh said, “We will not allow people to use [water pistols] because our nation is now peaceful, and if we let people play with them, it will look bad.”

The Cambodian authorities are not complete killjoys, however. They have set up designated areas for people to play with water. Just make sure you don’t throw your talcum powder around when you are getting dry later. They don’t like that, either. Apparently, it leads to rubbing powder on “one another’s faces.”^[8]

2 You Cannot Hike Naked In Switzerland

In 2009, voters in Appenzell Inner Rhodes in the Swiss Alps voted to ban naked hiking. Ordinarily, naked hiking might not be at the top of the political agenda, but a sudden influx of naked hikers from Germany brought the issue to the fore. Swiss locals going about their daily lives objected to encountering walkers wearing nothing but a pair of walking boots and a smile.^[9]

You can understand why they might find it disconcerting or even “thoroughly disturbing and irritating” as one Swiss official put it. German travel websites had been advertising “a special experience of nature, free and healthy.”

Not that free. The Swiss government has imposed hefty fines on anyone caught walking au naturel. The ruling has been challenged by nature lovers, but the Swiss high court agreed that the government had the right to “uphold public decency.”

Shorts, please. Or at least a Speedo.

1 You Can’t Crush Beer Cans With Your Breasts In Australia

If your party trick is crushing beer cans between your bare breasts, be warned. They don’t like that in Australia. In 2007, a barmaid was found to be in breach of the Liquor Control Act and fined A$1,000 as a result of “entertaining” her customers this way. The bar manager was also fined.

Declaring their intention to crack down hard on this sort of behavior, the authorities said, “It sends a clear message to all licensees . . . that we will not tolerate this type of behavior in our licensed premises.”^[10]

The barmaid, who supposedly had been “forced to work underground” after her arrest, was also observed crushing a beer can with her buttocks and hanging spoons from her nipples. For some reason, she elected not to appear in court in person.

However, her spokesman suggested that the police concentrate on more serious crimes. He said, “If the police are fair dinkum about protecting people in pubs and clubs, why don’t they target the real issues instead?”

At least, we think that’s what he said.

Ward Hazell is a writer who travels and an occasional travel writer.

The Victorians were a clever lot. They gave us steam trains, stamps, photographs, and the first public flushing toilet. But they were also rather accident-prone. A bit like letting a child play with matches in a firework factory, the Victorians had a lot of dangerous chemicals at their fingertips. In the days before health and safety, their idea of protection was to print a skull and crossbones on a bottle of arsenic. The flaw with this plan was that they then happily sold the same arsenic over the counter as rat bait, often with dire consequences.

Let’s take a look at a world where appearances were everything and safety came second. It was the 19th century, and the Victorians found some pretty weird ways of accidentally doing away with themselves.

10 Wallpaper

Rather than 50 Shades of Gray, the Victorians were passionate about the color green. In fact, green wallpaper was to the home what an iPad Air is to tablets. This love of green came about because of the end of the window tax and gas lamps. With natural light flooding in during the day and better light at night, the Victorians unleashed their inner passion for bright colors.

The fashionable color to dress the walls with wasn’t just any green. It had to be a lush shade called Scheele’s Green. Not only was it bright, but it resisted fading—an extra boon. The dark side of this colorful wall dressing was that it slowly poisoned people. Copper arsenite, an arsenic derivative, gave it the rich color.^[1] Breathing air polluted with arsenic vapor had the potential to kill . . . and often did.

Whole families ailed and died, with children especially at risk. The signs of arsenic poisoning were similar to diphtheria, so many politicians remained skeptical of the danger. And those doctors who did voice concern about arsenic were often publicly ridiculed, especially by companies producing the wallpaper!

It took until 1903 for arsenic compounds to be forbidden as a food additive, but the use of arsenic in wallpaper was never formally banned.

9 Baby Bottles

Roman mothers used hollow horns to feed their babies, and baby bottles were nothing new in Victorian times.^[2] What was new was a special glass bottle fitted with rubber tubing and a teat. The idea was the infant sucked on the rubber tube, like sucking cola through a straw.

These bottles were backed by a popular marketing campaign and given names such as “The Little Cherub” or “The Princess.” Mothers loved how an infant could feed themselves; it was a source of great pride. These feeding bottles became the go-to accessory for the modern Victorian mother—but with deadly consequences.

There was a basic design flaw: The rubber tubing was set into the glass and nearly impossible to clean. Inside the bottle, warm milk made it the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. The advice given by Mrs. Beeton, the household guru of the day, didn’t help. Writing in 1861, she declared it wasn’t necessary to wash the bottles for two to three weeks.

The result was babies drinking a soup of bacteria, often with fatal consequences. Indeed, the bottles soon gained another name: “murder bottles.” This, along with the condemnation of doctors, should have stopped their use. But it didn’t. Sadly, many mothers were taken in by advertising and continued using them regardless.

8 Carbolic Acid

The Victorians just couldn’t get the balance right. Take hygiene, for example. On the one hand, they used dirty baby bottles, and on the other, they came up with the saying, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Top this off with new theories about germs causing infection, and the urge to clean became obsessive. So they poisoned themselves with carbolic acid.

Every household had caustic soda or carbolic acid, used as cleaners, in a cupboard somewhere. But therein lay the problem. These deadly products came in packaging that was identical to other household items, including foods.^[3]

It was easy to confuse one box with another and accidentally poison the cakes. In September 1888, this is exactly what happened when carbolic acid was mistaken for baking soda. Thirteen people became sick, and five died.

It was another 14 years before the Pharmacy Act made it illegal for chemicals to be stored in similar bottles to ordinary items.

7 Lead

It’s almost as if the Victorians wanted to die!

With the Industrial Revolution, cities started to expand. This meant supplying households with water. Reservoirs were built to supply standpipes in the poorer districts or houses in affluent areas.

However, much of that water traveled along lead piping, picking up the deadly toxin as it went. Interestingly, it is from the Latin word for lead, plumbum, that we derive the term “plumbing.” What makes this all the more ironic is that in 1847 and 1848, the British government wrote laws making it a criminal offense to pollute drinking water.

But the danger didn’t end with water. Lead was added to paint to stop it from flaking and to make the colors vivid. The Victorians slathered lead paint over furniture, cots, and even children’s toys. When children gnawed on their cribs or chewed on toys, they accidentally poisoned themselves.^[4]

6 Laudanum

Laudanum was the Victorian equivalent of aspirin. It was a cure-all that settled nerves, eased pain, and ensured restful sleep. The only problem was that laudanum is a syrup of opium.

Laudanum was available from any pharmacy to buy, and it was affordable at around 25 drops for one penny.^[5] While the wealthy looked down on the poor as laudanum addicts, they failed to see their own dependence and merrily imbibed this addictive cordial. Laudanum was widely marketed to women to ease their ailments, such as menstrual cramps and “hysteria.” Ironically, it’s possible laudanum that was taken by women to ease the symptoms of arsenic poisoning by their green wallpaper!

Of course, opium is addictive. This meant people became dependent on the feelings of euphoria it created and took more and more. The alternative was to withdraw, with the typical symptoms of tremors, hallucinations, and sweats. With the doses unregulated and laudanum freely available, overdose was common.

5 Adulterated Bread

The Victorians judged by appearance. They tended to link white to purity, and whiter meant better. They had an obsession with white bread. With all the nasty wheat germ and bran taken out, they looked on white bread as pure and healthy. By some twisted logic, adding a chemical whitener—alum—made it even better.

Compounds referred to as alum are double sulfate salts of metals like aluminum or chromium. Traditionally, alum was used in the medieval wool trade to fix dyes and was later used in styptic pencils. It doesn’t even sound like it would be healthy.

Sadly, alum has no nutritional value. The addition of alum robbed the poor, for whom bread was a staple of goodness, and led to malnutrition. Indeed, it contributed to a range of deficiency-related diseases. Worse even than that, alum irritates the bowel wall and can cause long-term stomach upsets or constipation. For small children, this was a step too far and caused deaths.^[6]

4 Boracic Acid In Milk

Boracic acid belongs to a family of mild acids which include borax and boric acid. They are mostly used today in insecticides. Doesn’t make it sound a great addition to milk, does it? However, here we find home guru Mrs. Beeton raising her hand again.^[7]

In the days before pasteurization and fridges, milk could contain harmful bacteria and go bad quickly. To prevent this, Mrs. Beeton advised the addition of boracic acid to milk as a preservative. It also had the benefit of sweetening the flavor slightly and removing any sour, tainted taste.

The effects of boracic acid on adults are usually mild, such as nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea. However, the chemical hid the taste of turned milk, meaning many people drank what wasn’t fit for consumption—with upsetting consequences. For children, too much boracic acid can cause seizures, neurological problems, and even death—in the very group most in need of the health-giving benefits of milk.

3 ‘Corpse’ Candles

At the beginning of the 19th century, candles were either made from tallow or beeswax. The former burned with a sooty flame and smelled bad, while the latter were expensive. But a new process formulated in 1810 changed this.

A French scientist, Michel Chevreul, hit on a way of separating tallow and adding a secret ingredient which made for cheap, high-quality candles. Although banned in his native France, these candles took off big-time in England. The craze for these compound candles peaked in 1835 and 1836.^[8]

However, one night, a professor of chemistry was working late by the light of his new candle. He smelled a garlic odor coming from the melted wax and became suspicious. He knew arsenic compounds had a garlic-like smell and correctly identified the secret ingredient as arsenic. Professor Everitt ran tests, confirmed his suspicion, and made his deadly findings public. Writing in The Lancet, he described these new products as “corpse candles” because of their deadly vapor.

2 Gas Lighting

After candlelight, one can only imagine how magical gas lighting must have appeared in the 19th century. However, it was not without considerable risks. The Victorians used mostly coal gas for their gaslights, which was a cocktail of hydrogen, sulfur, methane, and carbon monoxide.

This mix was a deadly, with hazards including suffocation and carbon monoxide poisoning, plus the risk of explosion. Indeed, the image of a wilting Victorian lady suffering a fit of the vapors may be due in part to a slow leak of carbon monoxide into a sitting room, coupled with wearing a tight corset.^[9]

1 Physicians

Victorian doctors worked within the medical knowledge of the day. Most medical procedures were based on trying to restore balance to the body. Thus, laxatives, purges, and leeches were popular as a means of draining foul humors. Also, doctors believed small doses of poison had medicinal properties.

The majority of the time, patients survived despite treatment, not because of it. However, occasionally, the medics hit on something by accident, like prescribing cigarettes to asthmatics. The active ingredient, arsenic (again!), was transported in a tobacco that contained a natural derivative of atropine—which opens up the airways. So the patients did improve, but not for the reason the doctors thought.^[10]

+ Anthrax In House Plaster

It’s generally not a good idea to coat the walls of your home with a deadly bacterium. But that’s what the Victorians did—albeit rarely.

Prior to gypsum plaster, walls were lined with lime plaster. This was a mix of lime strengthened with animal hair from goats, cattle, sheep, or horses. While anthrax wasn’t common in Victorian England, it did occur. Products from infected animals, such as skin, hair, or wool, were then a possible source of infection for people.

People can pick up anthrax through the skin abrasions or inhaling it, so let’s hope the hair from a few infected animals never made it as far as wall plaster.^[11]

Dr. Pippa Elliott is a veterinarian who is passionate about animals and history. At school, she was described as a “Trivia Queen,” and this is something she has never grown out of.

“Accident is the name of greatest of all inventors”. The words are said by an American author – Mark Twain. It is true that many of the life changing invention in the history of world are originated by accident.

The great inventions like x-ray machine, safety glass, matches, microwave oven etc., are the result of accidental and unintentional series of activities. But do you know that there are food items that are most commonly consumed by people and are result of accidental invention. So let us learn about 10 food items that were invented accidentally.

10. Chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chips cookies are loved, not only by children but also youngsters and adults. The chocolate chip cookie was actually accidentally invented by Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1930. The invention happened when Ruth decided to prepare a batch of Chocolate Butter Drop Do cookies, but after realising that she is out of baker’s chocolate she instead added broken pieces of Nestlé chocolate bar, and there our ever loved chocolate chip cookie was invented.

9. Potato Chips

Potato chips were invented by Chef George Crum in 1853. As the story goes, chef Crum invented potato chips accidently when a customer at Saratoga springs’ Moon Lake House was complaining that the fried potatoes were not thin enough even after slicing it thin repeatedly. Then he decided to slice the last batch of potatoes as thinly as possible, fried them and then added salt to them and sent them to customer. The customer loved them and we had our first ever potato chips invented.

8. Popsicles

Immensely popular among children this ice pop is actually invented by an 11 year old kid named Frank Epperson in 1905. One summer day Epperson left his mixed soda and water with a stick into it and then forgot the drink resulting it to remain outside in the cold night. The next morning when he got out, Epperson found his drink frozen inside the glass with wooden stick into it. He named his discovery “Epsicle” but later he changed it to “popsicle”.

7. Beer

The enormously consumed beverage “beer” is said to be discovered by Mesopotamians about 10000 years ago. The invention happened while they were trying to store grains for their bread, but because of the dampness of their storage spaces it caused their grain fermentation. some Mesopotamians were brave enough to taste the drink and “beer” was invented.

6. Ice cream cones

The ice cream cone was invented in 1904 at Louis world’s Fair by Ernest A. Hamwi. Ice-cream cone was discovered when an ice cream vendor at the fair ran out of the bowl to serve ice cream in. After seeing this vendor next to him who was selling waffles, came with the idea of spinning the waffle into cone like shape for the ice cream. The idea of serving ice cream into cone like waffle seem compelling to customer and we can see how ice cream cone has made its way to our heart.

5. Coca cola

John Stith Pemberton, an American pharmacist invented coca-cola in the year 1886 at Atlanta. During the Battle of Columbus, Pemberton became injured which led him to get addicted to morphine. To cure his addiction Pemberton researched and experimented on painkillers that would serve as drug free alternative for his addiction. Eventually after several experiments he created syrup from coca leaves and coca wines. He named the syrup as Pemberton’s French wine coca, but later on, in 1886, due to the ban of alcohol, a non alcoholic version of wine was introduced, naming it, popularly known COCA-COLA.

4. Worcestershire sauce

The accidental invention of Worcestershire sauce took place at the town of Worchester, England in 1835. Upon returning to England, Lord Marcus Sandy, the former governor of Bengal, India found himself craving for his favourite Indian sauce and appointed drug store owners John Lea and William Perrins to recreate it, but because of the strong odour of the sauce from vegetable and fish mixture they decided to store it into basement and forgot for two whole years. The aging period changed the flavour of sauce and it became instant hit with customers.

3. Cheese Puffs/curls

The story of invention of cheese puffs is very unusual and weird one. The accidental invention of cheese curls happened by an animal food manufacturer Flakall Company of Beloit, Wisconsin in 1935. The staff there fed moist corn into the grinder in order to reduce the clogging in the machine. Edward Wilson, an employee at the corporation noticed that the moist cornmeal came out in puffy ribbons, and decided to take it home and added some seasoning to make the first cheese puffs.

2. Nachos

During World War II an accidental cuisine was invented, which is diversely enjoyed globally today. Ignacio Anaya, who was a maître ď at a restaurant called the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico, near Fort Duncan got to host a group of hungry U.S soldier wives. Anaya decided to cover a plate of Totopos with grated cheese and sliced jalapeños, and presented as an appetizer. The cuisine was named “Nachos” after Anaya’s nickname nacho.

1. Kellogg’s cereal

The most commonly consumed breakfast item corn flakes is actually an accidental discovery. In 19th century John Harvey Kellogg along with his brother Will Keith Kellogg attempted to make a food item to stop masturbation, but accidentally left the wheat to dry out and flaked it once dry to produce wheat flakes. After the discovery, in 1906, Will Keith Kellogg decided to experiment by switching from wheat to corn and marketed it alone to invent ever green breakfast option corn flakes.

So these were top 10 food items that were accidentally invented, but the list does not stop here, there are many more food items and other things that are result of accidents that changed the world.