Top 15 Strange Bans by Governments Around the World

A lot is being expected from the governments of countries, from taking care of safety of its citizens to development of infrastructure and generation of employment opportunities. However, there have been instances where the governments have acted like parents to its citizens and decided what name to keep, what to eat, what to wear and how to live your life. Some of these bans are understandable as they define the fear of the government while several others are absolutely illogical.

Here we have collected 15 instances in which the governments have imposed some really weird bans and citizens have no other option than to follow them:

1Video games banned in Greece

The Greek government wanted to bring an end to online gambling and for this purpose, it banned all the electronic games which run on computers, portable consoles or mobile phones. Since the Greek government couldn’t recognize the difference between online gambling and other video games, many tourists paid heavy fines or served in prison because of having games on their mobile phones.

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2Chewing gum banned in Singapore

The Singapore government banned chewing gum in 2004 as it was posing a problem in maintaining cleanliness. Some people used to stick chewing gums in key holes, mailboxes and elevator buttons. It not only made cleaning difficult but also increased the cost of cleaning by damaging the cleaning equipment. However, an exception has been made and chewing gum can be purchased for medical purposes only.

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3Time travel is banned in China

China has banned all the movies and TV serials related to time traveling as the government is of the opinion that it disrespects their glorious history. This happened when a good number of Chinese serial makers were already showing time travel in their serials because it was liked by public.

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4Baby walkers banned in Canada

Baby walkers were banned in Canada in 2004 as the health data collected by the Health Canada from 16 hospitals all over the country revealed that 1900 kids between the age bracket of 9 and 14 months suffered injuries due to baby walker during the years 1990-2002. The injuries included flipping over, falling down from stairs, reaching objects which may be harmful for kids, etc.

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5Blue Jeans banned in North Korea

North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un is known for imposing some weird bans in the country and one such ban is imposed on the blue jeans. Wearing blue jeans and getting piercing done on the skin is banned in order to save the North Koreans from coming under the influence of Western culture.

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