Ever thought that chewing gum could land you in jail？ Well， in Singapore， it has been completely illegal since 1992. The only exception is nicotine gum， but even smokers can only get it from a pharmacy with a prescription. Chewing gum is legal in New York， of course， but cinema owners there must chisel all gum off the undersides of their auditorium seats every month. Popcorn seem positively pleasant.

你以前有沒有想過吃口香糖也會讓你進(jìn)監(jiān)獄？在新加坡，從1992年起，吃口香糖就是一種違法行為。唯一的例外是尼古丁口香糖，但即使是吸煙者也只能憑處方才能從藥店買到這種口香糖。在紐約，吃口香糖當(dāng)然是合法的，但是電影院的老板們每個月不得不從座椅下面清除粘在上面的口香糖。所以電影院老板更愿意你吃爆米花。

In the remote Arctic town of Longyearbyen， dying is against the law. Actually， this is because it was found that bodies didnt decompose in the permafrost. The graveyard stopped accepting newcomers 70 years ago； so if someone fall serious ill there now， he will be hastily dispatched by plane to the mainland， where he can end his days without getting arrested.

遙遠(yuǎn)的北極城鎮(zhèn)朗伊爾城的法律禁止死亡。事實上，這是因為人們發(fā)現(xiàn)那里都是凍土，尸體不會腐爛。那兒的墓地在70年前就已經(jīng)不再接收任何新成員了。所以如果一個人現(xiàn)在在那兒病入膏肓的話，他將會立即被飛機送回大陸。病人在大陸上可以安全度過最后的日子，而不用被逮捕。

The people of Brunei， Indonesia and Malaysia simply love the durian fruit， which looks a little like a cross between a pineapple and a porcupine. However， many local authorities have completely banned the consumption of this delicacy from buses， subways， hotels and airports.

文萊、印度尼西亞和馬來西亞的人民都很喜歡吃榴蓮，這種水果看起來有點像菠蘿和豪豬的結(jié)合體。但是許多地方政府部門都完全禁止人們在公交車上、地鐵、酒店及機場食用這種水果。據(jù)說榴蓮聞起來有點像豬的糞便、松脂及洋蔥的混合物。

You are forbidden to be fat in Japan. Although their country already has one of the worlds lowest obesity rates （less than 5 per cent， in contrast to the USAs 35 per cent）， that didnt stop Japanese lawmakers from setting a maximum waistline size in 2009. Every man aged 40 and over must not have a waist measuring 80cm or above， every woman， 90cm or above. And it is this country that brings us sumo wrestling…

在日本，法律不允許人們肥胖。日本目前已經(jīng)是世界上肥胖率最低的國家之一（低于5%，而美國卻達(dá)到了35%），雖然如此，日本的立法者還是在2009年制定了一個最大腰圍標(biāo)準(zhǔn)：40歲及40歲以上的男性，其腰圍不能超過80厘米，相應(yīng)年齡的女性則不能超過90厘米。而就是這個國家給我們帶來了相撲表演……

If you ever suffer at the rubber-gloved hands of a suspicious and painfully overzealous British customs officer， dont be tempted to take him to court—no matter how innocent you are. Section 268 of the Customs Laws Consolidation Act 1876 rules that no action can be brought against such an official without one months notice. While Section 272 of the same Act insists that any action must be started within one month of the incident.

如果你被一名戴著橡膠手套、充滿懷疑和過度熱心的英國海關(guān)人員搜查過的話，無論你是多么的無辜，請不要試圖起訴他們?！?876年海關(guān)聯(lián)合法》的第268節(jié)規(guī)定，要提前一個月通知法院，你才有權(quán)向法院提起訴訟。而該法的272節(jié)卻規(guī)定，必須在事件發(fā)生的一個月內(nèi)向法院提起訴訟。

When dining at a restaurant in Denmark， you dont have to pay for your food unless， in your own opinion， you are full at the end of your meal.

在丹麥餐館就餐，你不是必須付錢。除非在用餐后根據(jù)你自己的判斷確定已吃飽，才用付賬。

In Denmark， you legally have to check under your car for children who may be sleeping there before you start the engine. If you forget and run over some catnapping kids you will get thrown in jail. But in Denmark it is not against the law to escape from prison.

在丹麥，你必須依法在發(fā)動引擎之前先檢查車底下有沒有小孩在睡覺。如果你忘了檢查，并且還把正在你車底下睡覺的小孩給碾了，你得進(jìn)監(jiān)獄。但是，在丹麥，從監(jiān)獄里逃跑并不違法。

You must plan your movements very carefully in Switzerland. Flushing the toilet after 10pm in an apartment building is illegal there. The Government curiously considered noise pollution to be more anti-social than olfactory pollution. Not sure we agree with them on that one. Anyway， whether you relieve yourself and leave the flat humming， or you just wait until morning， the choice is completely yours.

在瑞士，你得好好安排自己的日?；顒?。在公寓大樓里，如果在10點以后你還在沖馬桶的話就是違法。和嗅覺污染比起來，當(dāng)?shù)卣J(rèn)為噪音污染對社會的影響更大。在這點上我不一定會同意瑞士政府的觀點。但是無論如何，解決內(nèi)急而讓公寓大樓陷入嗡嗡噪音，或者憋到天亮，選擇權(quán)在你手中。

It is still illegal to leave your house in Thailand if you are not wearing underwear. And you cant drive your car if youre not wearing a shirt， not matter whats going on in your trousers. Nor should you step on any of the nations currency. And dont even think of insulting the king. You could get 15 years in jail.

在泰國，如果沒有穿內(nèi)褲就離開家的話，仍舊會被認(rèn)為犯法。如果不穿襯衫的話，是不能開車的，而你想穿什么褲子倒是沒問題。你也不能用腳去踩泰國的貨幣。別想著侵犯國王，否則你會得到15年的刑期。

If youre on a safari in Kenya and your guide suddenly removes all of his clothes before wandering off towards the wildlife， do resist the temptation to do the same. While its completely legal for Kenyan citizens to streak across the Masai Mara， it is illegal for foreigners to do so.

如果你在肯尼亞的大草原上旅行，導(dǎo)游突然全身脫光，然后大搖大擺地朝野生動物走去，你千萬要忍住，不要跟著導(dǎo)游這樣做。對肯尼亞人來說，這完全是合法的，他們可以全身赤裸在馬賽馬拉大草原上晃蕩，但是外國人也這么做的話，那就是違法。

Its against the law to wear camouflage clothing in Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia. Apparently this is to prevent people from imitating military and other officials， and you could be detained and have your kit confiscated. That is， of course， if they can find you.

在特立尼達(dá)、多巴哥和圣盧西亞，穿迷彩服是違法的。很顯然，這是為了防止人們模仿軍方官員及其他官員。如果你穿迷彩服的話，將會被拘留，并且你的裝備還會被沒收。當(dāng)然，那還得看他們是否找得到你。

According to the brilliantly named ‘The Outer Space Act 1986， the Secretary of State is permitted to use ‘reasonable force to prevent an alien invasion of the UK—as long as the aliens dont possess a licence to invade. In this case， they can operate their ‘space objects in perfect legality.

根據(jù)英國《1986外太空法案》的規(guī)定，如果外星人沒有持有“入侵”證的話，那么國務(wù)大臣就有權(quán)使用“適當(dāng)?shù)牧α俊眮碜柚雇庑侨巳肭钟?。在外星人入侵的情況下，英國可以完全合法使用自己的“太空武器”。

Drinking a lot is sometimes confusing enough. For example， in St Louis you cant drink beer while sitting on a city street， but in Chicago you can be arrested for drinking standing up anywhere in the city. You cannot be served wine in a teacup in Topeka， Kansas； while in Cleveland， no more than one person may drink from a whisky bottle. In Saskatchewan， Canada， it is against the law to drink water in beer parlours.

有時想喝多點還真是一件讓人困惑的事。舉個例子，在美國圣路易斯市，當(dāng)你坐在城市街道上時是不允許喝啤酒的；但在芝加哥，不管是在這個城市的哪個角落，只要你站著喝酒，警察就可以逮捕你；在堪薩斯州的托皮卡，不允許用茶杯來盛酒；而在克利夫蘭，則是不允許拿起威士忌酒瓶直接喝酒；在加拿大薩斯喀徹溫省，在啤酒酒吧里喝水是違法的。