25 People Explain What’s Weird About Their Country
By hoK leahciM
1. England
After Eastenders (Popular TV soap in the UK) finishes here, the national grid has to actually compensate for the extreme increase in demand for electricity due to everyone going for a cup of tea at the same time.
2. Australia
The Kangaroo and the Emu are on our coat of arms, as they’re the only two Australian animals that can’t take a step backwards.
3. Germany
Germany: You can enter any property as long as you’re following a swarm of bees.
4. Switzerland
Swiss women are among the oldest when they have their first child. If I remember correctly the average is around 30 years of age.
In 1471 a chicken in Basel, Switzerland, was found guilty of laying a brightly colored egg “in defiance of natural law”. It was burned at the stake as “a devil in disguise”
5. South Africa
South Africa: We have 11 official languages and the language used for the motto on our coat of arms isn’t one of them.
6. Norway/Finland
Norway is east, west, north, and south of Finland.
7. Brazil/France
On 6 July 1966, the Administrative Tribunal of Rennes summarized the French government claims that lobsters are like fish, that is, that they swim about in the open sea and therefore, could not be considered part of the continental shelf. Brazil claimed that lobsters are like oysters that they cling to the bottom of the ocean and therefore, were part of the continental shelf. Admiral Paulo Moreira da Silva, Brazil’s Navy expert in the field of oceanography who had been sent to assist the diplomatic committee during the general discussions, argued that for Brazil to accept the French scientific thesis that a lobster would be considered a fish when it “leaps” on the seafloor, then they would have in the same manner to accept the Brazilian premise that when a kangaroo “hops” it would be considered a bird. The question then was so closed in favor of Brazil.
8. Poland
Poland has been invaded or fought for freedom 43 times from 1600 to 1945.
9. Thailand
The full name of Bangkok is:
Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
In English, this means:
The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (unlike Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.
Most Thais call it Krung Thep (City of Angels).
10. Scotland
Our national animal in Scotland is the Unicorn.
11. Canada
Canada has 1/5 of all the freshwater in the world.
12. Denmark
The King (Currently Queen) is literally immune to prosecution. IMMUNE. Under no circumstances can s/he be prosecuted for any crime. In theory, the queen could buy an uzi, enter a kindergarten and shoot everything that moved, and there would be no legal repercussions of any kind.
Source: Danish Constitution, § 13
13. Belgium
French Fries are actually from Belgium.
Belgium also has more comic makers per square kilometer than any other country in the world.
Belgium has one of the lowest proportion of McDonald’s restaurants per inhabitant in the developed world (because we have more independent fast food restaurants who sell french fries “frituur”).
Belgium has approximately 178 beer breweries.
The Belgian Coast Tram is the longest tram line in the world.
Brussels Airport is the world’s biggest selling point of chocolate.
14. Austria
Austria spent a lot of money building an Atom Reactor and after construction was finished it was put to vote if it should be started up. It wasn’t.
15. Kazakhstan
Not my country but, Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium, all other countries have inferior potassium.
Edit: Forgot that Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan also invented toffee and trouser belt
16. Ireland
Chocolate milk was invented in Ireland.
Divorce was legalised in Ireland in 1996. Contraception was only made available without prescription in 1985.
Ireland is the largest exporter of bananas (EDIT: In Europe I believe)
During the 1916 rising, there was a brief cease fire between the Rebels and the British Army to allow the park keeper at Stephen’s Green to feed the ducks.
Happy hour is illegal in Ireland.
There are no moles in Ireland.
The word ‘galore’ comes from the Irish word ‘go leor’, meaning ‘enough’.
17. France
A pig was hanged during 14th century in France for the murder of a child.
Justice.
Oh and French was the official language in England for three centuries.
18. Colombia
1 out of every 3 kidnappings in the world happen in Colombia. Yeah.
19. Saudi Arabia
1. Women aren’t allowed to drive. 2. It’s illegal to buy songs, but legal to download them for free.
20. Netherlands
The Netherlands is the 3rd biggest ($274.9 billion) investor in the USA just behind UK ($486.8 billion) and Japan ($308.3 billion). Not bad for a country that small.
21. Philippines
The Philippines has a vehicle number coding law which prohibits a vehicle from being driven on a certain day based on the number. (For example if your car’s plate number ends in 2 you can’t drive during Mondays.)
22. India
More than one third of the world’s poor live in my country.
23. Trinidad & Tobago
The dances “limbo” and “calypso” were created in T&T. (You hear that Hermes?)
T&T is one of the most important nesting sites of the leatherback turtle.
The books Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe was based on our islands.
Pre-school starts at ages 2.5 (usually).
(To those in Europe who used these regularly) The worlds largest traffic roundabout is located in T&T going around the Queens Park Savannah.
The two largest methanol plants in the world are found in Trinidad.
Pitch Lake in south Trinidad has the world’s largest deposit of asphalt.
We were ranked #10 on CNN’s list of world’s sexiest accents.
24. Singapore
The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in Singapore contains more species of trees than the entire North American continent.
The highest natural point in Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill, which is only 164 metres high (Singapore has a very flat terrain).
The world’s highest man-made waterfall, standing at 30 metres, is located at the Jurong BirdPark.
The largest fountain in the world is located in Singapore at Suntec City. Made of cast bronze, it cost an estimated US$6 million to build in 1997.
25. Chile
We declared war to Japan when they bombed Pearl Harbor and then proceed to forget about it… for 20 years, apparently someone stumbled upon the document and then we declared “peace.”