Top 10 Strangest Things that Have Been Banned in Countries

Some of the bans mentioned in the list have been lifted, but most of them are still existing.
The Top Ten
1 7 Words Banned by the CDC - United States
2 Ballet - Turkmenistan

Saparmurat Niyazov, the president, has forbidden ballet!? What an arse.

3 Time Travel - China

So any research in this field, even mere speculation, is banned too? What's the use of banning it anyway? There is no explainable physical law that can help us go into the past. We can only go into the future, not the other way around.

That makes no sense. They should keep working on it so they can earn a lot of money!

"Yeah, let's ban something that doesn't exist!" Completely logical.

4 Ketchup - France

It's not only ketchup. Anything that has even the slightest connection to the English-speaking world is banned there. Many English words (like e-mail, fast food, blog, etc.) that are used internationally are banned, as they say it could endanger the French language. They claim to have found French equivalents for these words and don't need English terms to describe these concepts.

I wasn't aware of this one. It's weird because ketchup is easy to find, no matter where.

For a country with some of the best cuisine, that's weird.

5 Gaming Consoles - China
6 Chewing Gum - Singapore

I have a friend from Singapore, and he told me people apparently played too many pranks involving gum. I guess I wouldn't be welcome there because I love pranking! He also mentioned that prank calls are illegal. Damn, that's one strict government.

Don't ever throw your chewed gum on the ground! I honestly think it's littering, and it's annoying when you step on it. Throw it in the trash.

They banned it because they want to keep the country REALLY clean.

7 Emo Culture - Russia

I guess My Chemical Romance's albums aren't going to sell well in Russia.

One of the very few good things that the Russian government has done.

Russia doesn't want people to be sad, so they try to make them happier.

8 Jasmine - China

I don't need to stay away from those flowers. They are not dangerous or poisonous. I would not get in trouble for having them in my hands.

9 Yellow Clothing - Malaysia

Yellow clothing isn't the only item that is banned in Malaysia. The Cat in the Hat (a PlayStation 2 video game) is also banned in Malaysia due to copyright issues with Discovery Communications.

I've been to Malaysia, and there were a number of fellow Brits on the plane wearing yellow. One was even wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants onesie. I'd hate to think what happened to them.

I can't wear chains in Malaysia? That sucks.

10 Valentine's Day - Saudi Arabia

I'm in a relationship and I celebrate Valentine's Day, but I still think it is pointless.

The Contenders
11 Winnie the Pooh - China

Chinese internet users had used images of him to represent (Baozi) Xi Jinping, so he banned him and blocked all images of Winnie the Pooh.

They banned Winnie the Pooh because some guy said their president looks like Pooh.

12 Masturbation - Indonesia

And there are children who chain-smoke in Indonesia, so they need to fix their laws.

13 Cell Phones - Cuba
14 Women's Driving - Saudi Arabia

Wow. That's offensive. Why do men still overpower women in some places?

I'm a man, and I think this is very wrong. Women deserve their rights.

15 Trolling - New Zealand

I honestly didn't know that, and I'm not sure how they define it.

16 Jeans - North Korea

Makes sense. North Korea hates the U.S.

Banned for being "too American."

17 Baby Walkers - Canada
18 Having More Than One Child per Family - China

Actually, it's having more than one birth in a family in China. You can still have twins!

I think they changed it to a two-child policy.

19 Prank Calls - Singapore
20 Marijuana - United States
21 Roblox - China
22 Kinder Surprise - United States
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