Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Craziest Things That Are Somehow Legal In Certain Countries

Person in handcuffs
niu niu/Unsplash

Reddit user fittingpenguin asked: 'What’s the craziest yet still legal thing in your country?'

As foreigners who travel, it's easy to be overcome by culture shock while taking in the sights of different countries.

But we may behave in ways that are completely normal for us back home but are not acceptable in the places we're visiting.


Which makes sense.

There are rules and restrictions we should be aware of before we arrive in a foreign country.

Redditor fittingpenguin solicited input from strangers online to weigh in on conflicting international rules by asking:

"What’s the craziest yet still legal thing in your country?

You probably didn't know these were actual rules.

No Complaining

"A direct ancestor/descendant or spouse of an individual cannot file a theft complaint against that individual except if it's essential documents, like an ID."

– ObjectiveMountain900

Who's The Baby Daddy?

"I always thought the paternity test one was worse for France. Your not allowed to perform one even if you've good suspicion the child may not be yours and you could be liable to child support for another person's kid."

– SoloWingPixy88

Bees Take The Lead

"In Germany, you are allowed to enter private property to follow your honey bee swarm if the swarm is escaping and looking for a new hive."

– lizaahunn

"this is actually the case in lots of countries, where I am they can legally enter your yard to come to get them."

– WRA1THLORD

Things get very specific and downright shocking.

Gotta Be Pitch-Perfect

"In Belgium, anybody can sing or play an instrument in the Streets. In the city of Leuven however, you can be fined if you play your instrument off-key."

– Zuid-Dietscher

"To be fair to Leuven, with all the students running around doing it, I don't blame them."

– Blasmere

Careful The Things You Say

"Someone can be found guilty of defamation even if what that person said or wrote is 100 percent true."

– EHonda92m

" Japan. e.g. if you expose someone for having an affair, that person can sue you for defamation. I suppose it's an expectation of privacy. The only exception is if it's in the "public interest" to know this information."

– TheOvy

Everyone's Playground

"You can freely walk, bike or ski in the nature on any private property. As long as it's not counted as a breach of domestic peace or you are not ruining their crop field or something. For example, even though you see a sign 'private property' in the forest. You are free to go pick mushrooms and berries there. Or you can even fish there freely (only with basic worm fishing rod though) if there's a lake on the property. You can even set up a tent on someone's private property for a short time (1-2 nights) as long as you aren't littering or disturbing anyone for example being noisy or on the way. The country is Finland, and these things are in the Finnish constitution as 'every man's/everyone's rights.'"

– RamuPamu1

What happens if you break the law? There doesn't seem to be consequences here.

Prison Break

"I don't know if it's really crazy, I personally think it's good and reasonable, but here in germany it's not punishable to escape from prison."

"Of course in reality they might charge you with other things like property damage or assault etc. if you damage something or someone on the way out but the act of breaking out itself can't prolong your sentence because the need to be free is a fundamental human desire."

– PetrosiliusZwackel

The Warden's Story

"I watched a doc on European prisons some years back and in a Croatian prison they talked to the warden. He told a story about a man who escaped. A week or so after the escape the prison received a package containing the man’s prison uniform."

"Since he had committed no crimes while escaping (just walked out the doors) and while an escapee, the only thing they could have charged him with was stealing his prison uniform. But since he returned it, there was nothing to charge and he just had to finish out his original sentence."

– CornyCornheiser

Leaving Civilly Is Not A Crime

"Basically, the normal rules of society apply. If you punch a guard to get past them, that's still a crime. If they leave you unattended with the door open or you sneak out under a lorry, that isn't a crime. They can still catch you and return you, but you can't be charged with attempted or successful escape, just any crimes committed in the process."

– Death_God_Ryuk

It's The Soldiers' Call

"Also Germany, soldiers are allowed to disobey orders if they think it violates human dignity. There are other nations with similar rules or even obligations regarding human rights and violation of geneva convention, but protecting even their own dignity is unique (I think)"

– f_cysco

This doesn't have legal consequences but slurping noodles at the dinner table is perfectly acceptable in Japan.

As a matter of fact, the Japanese encourage it.

The Japanese believe that eating noodles while they're piping hot is the best way to enjoy them.

Also, what is perceived as rude etiquette in other countries is actually a sign of validation that the cook prepared the dish well.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

bride and groom cutting wedding cake
Wedding Dreamz on Unsplash

People Who Smashed Wedding Cake In Their Spouse's Face Reveal How Their Relationship Is Going Now

According to The Knot wedding resource magazine and website, smashing cake into the face of a spouse after tying the knot is a tradition tied to medieval England. To celebrate the marriage, the bride would toss a piece of piece of cake over her shoulder for good luck.

This evolved into newlyweds feeding a piece of cake to one another, then taking frosting or a small bit of cake and rubbing it gently onto each other's faces—usually the cheek or tip of the nose.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of U.S. Army veteran who criticized Donald Trump
@btnewsroom/TikTok

U.S. Army Vet Goes Viral With Blistering Speech Ripping Trump For Deploying Troops To L.A.

A U.S. Army veteran went viral after she spoke out to encourage other current and former military members to publicly condemn President Donald Trump for using them as "pawns" to suit his own ends after he deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles amid ongoing protests against his administration's immigration raids.

Trump has activated over 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines, despite opposition from city and state leaders. He has painted a bleak picture of Los Angeles—claims that Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom say are wildly exaggerated.

Keep ReadingShow less
Barack and Michelle Obama
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Obamas Just Shared A Rare Family Photo With Their Adult Daughters To Celebrate Sasha's Birthday

Former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama warmed hearts when they shared the same photo to their respective social media accounts, showing them with their adult daughters, Sasha and Malia, to commemorate Sasha's 24th birthday.

Sasha Obama was born in June 2001, nearly eight years before the family moved into the White House at the start of her father's first term in January 2009. She and her older sister, Malia, now 26, spent their formative years in the presidential residence, growing up there throughout their father’s two terms, until the family departed in 2017.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Joe Biden
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Trump Dragged After Hilariously Flubbing Insult About Biden's Mental Acuity

The term malaphor means when two or more colloquial phrases or idioms get confused and combined to create something nonsensical. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), malaphors are a common symptom of frontotemporal dementia or other cognitive impairments.

So when a person seeks to accuse someone of being unintelligent, their use of malaphors is ironic and possibly very telling—narcissists will always accuse others of their own faults and failures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Christy Walton; Donald Trump
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

MAGA Now Calling For Walmart Boycott After Heiress Funds Ad Promoting Anti-Trump Protests

MAGA fans are boycotting Walmart after Christy Walton, one of the retail giant's heirs, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times promoting the “No Kings” protests planned against President Donald Trump's military parade.

Walton, who is worth an estimated $19.3 billion and ranks among the wealthiest women in the U.S., urged critics of Trump to "mobilize" against the parade—echoing a similar message she shared in a New York Times ad back in March.

Keep ReadingShow less