Ever thought that chewing gum could land you in jail? Well, in Singapore, it has been completely illegal since 1992. The only exception is nicotine gum, but even smokers can only get it from a pharmacy with a prescription. Chewing gum is legal in New York, of course, but cinema owners there must chisel all gum off the undersides of their auditorium seats every month. Popcorn seem positively pleasant.
你以前有没有想过吃口香糖也会让你进监狱?在新加坡,从1992年起,吃口香糖就是一种违法行为。唯一的例外是尼古丁口香糖,但即使是吸烟者也只能凭处方才能从药店买到这种口香糖。在纽约,吃口香糖当然是合法的,但是电影院的老板们每个月不得不从座椅下面清除粘在上面的口香糖。所以电影院老板更愿意你吃爆米花。
In the remote Arctic town of Longyearbyen, dying is against the law. Actually, this is because it was found that bodies didnt decompose in the permafrost. The graveyard stopped accepting newcomers 70 years ago; so if someone fall serious ill there now, he will be hastily dispatched by plane to the mainland, where he can end his days without getting arrested.
遥远的北极城镇朗伊尔城的法律禁止死亡。事实上,这是因为人们发现那里都是冻土,尸体不会腐烂。那儿的墓地在70年前就已经不再接收任何新成员了。所以如果一个人现在在那儿病入膏肓的话,他将会立即被飞机送回大陆。病人在大陆上可以安全度过最后的日子,而不用被逮捕。
The people of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia simply love the durian fruit, which looks a little like a cross between a pineapple and a porcupine. However, many local authorities have completely banned the consumption of this delicacy from buses, subways, hotels and airports.
文莱、印度尼西亚和马来西亚的人民都很喜欢吃榴莲,这种水果看起来有点像菠萝和豪猪的结合体。但是许多地方政府部门都完全禁止人们在公交车上、地铁、酒店及机场食用这种水果。据说榴莲闻起来有点像猪的粪便、松脂及洋葱的混合物。
You are forbidden to be fat in Japan. Although their country already has one of the worlds lowest obesity rates (less than 5 per cent, in contrast to the USAs 35 per cent), that didnt stop Japanese lawmakers from setting a maximum waistline size in 2009. Every man aged 40 and over must not have a waist measuring 80cm or above, every woman, 90cm or above. And it is this country that brings us sumo wrestling…
在日本,法律不允许人们肥胖。日本目前已经是世界上肥胖率最低的国家之一(低于5%,而美国却达到了35%),虽然如此,日本的立法者还是在2009年制定了一个最大腰围标准:40岁及40岁以上的男性,其腰围不能超过80厘米,相应年龄的女性则不能超过90厘米。而就是这个国家给我们带来了相扑表演……
If you ever suffer at the rubber-gloved hands of a suspicious and painfully overzealous British customs officer, dont be tempted to take him to court—no matter how innocent you are. Section 268 of the Customs Laws Consolidation Act 1876 rules that no action can be brought against such an official without one months notice. While Section 272 of the same Act insists that any action must be started within one month of the incident.
如果你被一名戴着橡胶手套、充满怀疑和过度热心的英国海关人员搜查过的话,无论你是多么的无辜,请不要试图起诉他们。《1876年海关联合法》的第268节规定,要提前一个月通知法院,你才有权向法院提起诉讼。而该法的272节却规定,必须在事件发生的一个月内向法院提起诉讼。
When dining at a restaurant in Denmark, you dont have to pay for your food unless, in your own opinion, you are full at the end of your meal.
在丹麦餐馆就餐,你不是必须付钱。除非在用餐后根据你自己的判断确定已吃饱,才用付账。
In Denmark, you legally have to check under your car for children who may be sleeping there before you start the engine. If you forget and run over some catnapping kids you will get thrown in jail. But in Denmark it is not against the law to escape from prison.
在丹麦,你必须依法在发动引擎之前先检查车底下有没有小孩在睡觉。如果你忘了检查,并且还把正在你车底下睡觉的小孩给碾了,你得进监狱。但是,在丹麦,从监狱里逃跑并不违法。
You must plan your movements very carefully in Switzerland. Flushing the toilet after 10pm in an apartment building is illegal there. The Government curiously considered noise pollution to be more anti-social than olfactory pollution. Not sure we agree with them on that one. Anyway, whether you relieve yourself and leave the flat humming, or you just wait until morning, the choice is completely yours.
在瑞士,你得好好安排自己的日常活动。在公寓大楼里,如果在10点以后你还在冲马桶的话就是违法。和嗅觉污染比起来,当地政府认为噪音污染对社会的影响更大。在这点上我不一定会同意瑞士政府的观点。但是无论如何,解决内急而让公寓大楼陷入嗡嗡噪音,或者憋到天亮,选择权在你手中。
It is still illegal to leave your house in Thailand if you are not wearing underwear. And you cant drive your car if youre not wearing a shirt, not matter whats going on in your trousers. Nor should you step on any of the nations currency. And dont even think of insulting the king. You could get 15 years in jail.
在泰国,如果没有穿内裤就离开家的话,仍旧会被认为犯法。如果不穿衬衫的话,是不能开车的,而你想穿什么裤子倒是没问题。你也不能用脚去踩泰国的货币。别想着侵犯国王,否则你会得到15年的刑期。
If youre on a safari in Kenya and your guide suddenly removes all of his clothes before wandering off towards the wildlife, do resist the temptation to do the same. While its completely legal for Kenyan citizens to streak across the Masai Mara, it is illegal for foreigners to do so.
如果你在肯尼亚的大草原上旅行,导游突然全身脱光,然后大摇大摆地朝野生动物走去,你千万要忍住,不要跟着导游这样做。对肯尼亚人来说,这完全是合法的,他们可以全身赤裸在马赛马拉大草原上晃荡,但是外国人也这么做的话,那就是违法。
Its against the law to wear camouflage clothing in Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia. Apparently this is to prevent people from imitating military and other officials, and you could be detained and have your kit confiscated. That is, of course, if they can find you.
在特立尼达、多巴哥和圣卢西亚,穿迷彩服是违法的。很显然,这是为了防止人们模仿军方官员及其他官员。如果你穿迷彩服的话,将会被拘留,并且你的装备还会被没收。当然,那还得看他们是否找得到你。
According to the brilliantly named ‘The Outer Space Act 1986, the Secretary of State is permitted to use ‘reasonable force to prevent an alien invasion of the UK—as long as the aliens dont possess a licence to invade. In this case, they can operate their ‘space objects in perfect legality.
根据英国《1986外太空法案》的规定,如果外星人没有持有“入侵”证的话,那么国务大臣就有权使用“适当的力量”来阻止外星人入侵英国。在外星人入侵的情况下,英国可以完全合法使用自己的“太空武器”。
Drinking a lot is sometimes confusing enough. For example, in St Louis you cant drink beer while sitting on a city street, but in Chicago you can be arrested for drinking standing up anywhere in the city. You cannot be served wine in a teacup in Topeka, Kansas; while in Cleveland, no more than one person may drink from a whisky bottle. In Saskatchewan, Canada, it is against the law to drink water in beer parlours.
有时想喝多点还真是一件让人困惑的事。举个例子,在美国圣路易斯市,当你坐在城市街道上时是不允许喝啤酒的;但在芝加哥,不管是在这个城市的哪个角落,只要你站着喝酒,警察就可以逮捕你;在堪萨斯州的托皮卡,不允许用茶杯来盛酒;而在克利夫兰,则是不允许拿起威士忌酒瓶直接喝酒;在加拿大萨斯喀彻温省,在啤酒酒吧里喝水是违法的。