The Italian seaside town of Castellammare di Stabia recently announced its intention to ban miniskirts. Mayor Luigi Bobbio said the regulations would help “restore urban decorum and facilitate better civil coexistence”.
In honour of Italian puritanos, here is a sneak peek at our pick of the best banned items.
1. October 2010 – Miniskirts
Castellammare di Stabia bans miniskirts and other revealing clothing.
2. September 2010 – Vuvuzelas
Uefa bans blowing of vuvuzelas at European football matches.
3. May 2010 – Beards
Japanese bureaucrats in Isesaki are instructed to shave.
4. September 2007 – Water
The New Zealand MP Jacqui Dean falls for a hoax calling for a ban on “dihydrogren monoxide”.
5. February 2005 – Low-slung trousers
A “droopy drawers bill” is passed in Virginia state house to outlaw trousers worn so low that underwear is visible.
6. August 2004 – Smiling
Open-mouthed smiling banned in UK passport photos.
7. April 2004 – Gold teeth
The president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, bans oral bling.
8. March 1990 – Broccoli
President George H W Bush bans broccoli from the White House and Air Force One.
9. June 1940 – Ice cream
Benito Mussolini halts sales of ice cream across Italy, describing it as being “too American”.
10. 1989* – Scrabble
Nicolae Ceauşescu, president of Romania, bans the board game, deeming it “too intellectual”.
* – Struggling to source the exact date of this. Do any Staggers followers out there know more about the Great Romanian Scrabble Ban?
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