奇速英语

你以为是玩笑？不，这些都是真实的奇怪法律！

Laws are present, whether we are aware of them or not, in our day-to-day lives. However, some strange laws seem shocking.

Among many old laws which, for some reason, are not yet repealed, there is the “happy law” still in force today in Milan. To be more specific, it is not actually a law, but a local regulation from Austro-Hungarian times that requires every Milanese citizen to smile. It is unclear if it also applies to people visiting the capital of Lombardy, however, everybody is free to obey the local requirement. As with any law, it has a few exceptions. Obviously, the most understandable exceptions are for people who attend funerals or those at the bedside of a family member suffering from a serious disease. Moreover, exceptions also apply to people working in hospitals and for patients.

Singapore is one of the most developed countries in the world, so you might find it strange that it has “declared war” on a popular substance: chewing gum (口香糖). Since 1995, the date when Singapore adopted the “Anti-chewing Gum Regulation,” the import of any chewing gum has been prohibited. The reason was to promote the cleanliness of the city and to avoid spending large amounts of money on removing the gum from sidewalks. There are a few exceptions where the import of chewing gum is permitted, especially for medical purposes. The offender may face a fine of up to 200,000 Singaporean dollars or might even be imprisoned for a maximum of three years.

The Romanian Civil Code regulates domestic animals (家畜) that have wandered onto another person’s land. They are the property of the latter if the owner does not reclaim them within 30 days. Matters concerning wild animals fall under a different rule. It states that pigeons, rabbits, fish, and other such animals passing over a piece of land belong to the owner of the land as long as they remain there willingly. However, if the passage of the animals was caused by cheating or fireworks, the owner of the land has no rights over them.