And then the government decided that they don’t like certain things like video games, certain names, holidays, haircuts and whatnot. You don’t believe this? Well, try to wear long hair in Iran or name your kid with a weird name in Denmark.
1 China banned game consoles
Most game consoles are made in China and Chinese prisoners are often forced to play World of Warcraft so the government can collect their loot and sell it to other players, which is why it seems so odd that China doesn’t allow the sale of gaming consoles. The ban was done back in 2000, when the government expressed its concern that the country’s youth would waste their time playing games instead of working. Even so, gamers are still permitted to buy non-console games, making the ban notably ineffective –which is probably why it is not extensively enforced.
2 Greece banned video games
In 2002, the Greek government tried to crack down on electric gambling machines, but their legislators wrote the law so broadly that it managed to cover all forms of electronic gaming machines. People were actually arrested for violating the poorly written law by playing an MMO in an internet café. They were actually forced to serve time in prison for playing games. Fortunately, after receiving pressure from the EU and video gamers everywhere, the law was found to be unconstitutional by the end of the year.
3 Russia banned Emo clothing
A lot of people don’t like emo fashion but, apparently in Russia they hate it. The Russian government was trying to stop high suicide rates amongst teens though, so they decided emo fashion were to blame. The government went so far as to dub the style “a threat to national stability” before banning people from wearing emo clothing to public schools or government buildings. But, even though the fashion is banned, the Russian teens can still listen to all the emo music.
4 Iran banned “western” cuts
Middle Eastern governments are prone to ban western fashion, so Iran too joined this trend. In order to better protect their people from the depraved culture of Europe and North America, the government of Iran has banned all hair cuts that are not included in their list of government-approved styles. Banned styles include mullets, ponytails and spikes. Barber shops that fail to follow the law can be shut down and penalized in the years since the law took effect.
5 Saudi Arabia banned Valentine’s Day
Saudi Arabia is another Middle Eastern country that has serious intolerance towards western culture. The country found Valentine’s Day to be in violation of Muslim beliefs. In order to stop people from sending gifts to their Valentine’s, the government orders all florists and gift shops to remove anything red or otherwise considered to be a symbol of romance prior to the holiday. Apparently the ban on the holiday isn’t entirely successful and the country now has a thriving Valentine’s Day black market where lovers can buy red roses and other tokens of romance at around six times their ordinary prices.
6 Denmark banned around 200 baby names
Denmark has some of the strictest child naming guidelines in the entire world. The citizens of the country can only select names on a list approved by the government or they must seek permission from the government for an exception to the rule. Right now, the officially approved names list contains only around 24,000 names.
7 China banned reincarnation
Yes, it does sound bizarre, but it’s even more bizarre and crazy because people can’t actually reincarnate before they get prior consent. The fact that people, especially dead ones can’t control whether they would reincarnate makes this whole thing funny, but still, the country is firm – no reincarnation without prior consent.
8 Australia banned adult film actresses with small breasts
According to the Australian government, people who watch these kinds of movies with female performers who have flat chest, are in fact pedophile. Board who has banned multiple adult films from distribution because, in their opinion, the actress’ smaller breasts made them appear to be under 18. It may sounds bizarre, but Australia just wants to protect child pornography.
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