Interesting Facts

A Norwegian city, Trondheim, has banned adverts that show semi-naked models, male or female, in public spaces. (The new policy says: “No advertising that conveys a false image of the model/models’ appearance and contributes to a negative body image will be permitted. As a minimum, advertisements in which body shapes have been retouched should be marked as such.” This is seemingly an attempt to reduce the impact such adverts could have on people with body image issues. It reminds me of the "Beach Ready" controversy on London Underground.)

October 5th Shoppers in England will have to pay 5p for a plastic bag from today.

An  £11,000-a-year private school in London has banned its pupils from watching TV or surfing the internet - even when they are at home. (With a strict no-tech policy, London Acorn School has banned all smartphones, computers, iPads etc., in the hope that the children will learn from the natural world instead. The school, for pupils aged 3 to 18, has also banned television for under-12s, with older pupils being allowed to watch "restricted programmes".  What? No Dr Who?)

 Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city, is planning to ban all cars from its centre over the next 20 years. ( Their new urban development scheme, “Green Network”, will see all vehicles banned in the city centre by 2034. Instead people will move about the port city, either via  public transport, on foot or by bicycle. Gives a whole new meaning to "on your bike".)

A school in Middlesborough, in the UK, has drawn up a list of banned words and phrases. (The head teacher, Carol Walker, has drawn up the list to promote standard English in order to improve the job chances of the pupils at the school. Here's the list and the suggested alternatives:- I done that. - I have done that. / I did that. I seen that. - I have seen that. / I saw that. Yous - You lot come her. I dunno - I don't know. It's nowt - It's nothing Letta / Butta etc. - letter - butter etc. Your - Your late should be you're late. Werk / shert etc - work / shirt etc. E was sat there - He was sitting there. Dropping the "th" - "School finishes at free fifteen," should be, "School finishes at three fifteen." Gizit ere - Please give it to me. or Please give me the ... Yes, as anyone who visits my sessions regularly knows, some people in the UK really do talk like this.)

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has banned 1,600 words it deems to be obscene. (The words and phrases banned include 1,109 English words and another 568 in Pakistan’s national Urdu language, which in itself is interesting - do Pakistani people prefer swearing in English? (I know they do in Wales.) Now, I realise that there is a ban list on the forum, but it's limited to indecent language, and there certainly aren't 1,600 words on the list! In addition my list doesn't include everyday words like “idiot” (try imbecile) or “barf" (try throw up - I'd like to see them ban throw and up).) Here's a list of the banned words - Parental Advisory.

According to research commissioned by Santander Insurance. 20% of people in the UK want Trick or Treating to be banned at Halloween. (50% want it to be mandatory for parents to accompany children and 43% would support a ban on people wearing masks obscuring the face over Halloween. 31% would like to see a curb on people wearing hooded tops. And 38 % would back the introduction of curfews for groups of youths at this time of year. I'd back a curfew for groups of kids at any time of year! They should be at home, doing their homework.)

For 47 years Tom Jones has been banned from the tiny Welsh village of Fochriw (careful how you say that). (His crime? Allegedly stealing a chicken. Len Davies, 80, who was there at the time said, "There was a fight and then the chicken had gone. Tom got the blame – but nobody really knows." The ban has now been lifted, but it's a great mystery. Who stole the chicken?) Full story here: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/130945/Welsh-village-ban-lifted-for-Tom-Jones-/

In the UK, the offence of indecent or racist chanting at a designated football match under the Football Offences Act 1991 can be punished by a fine of up to £1,000 and can also lead to a football banning order. (A football banning order prevents the subject from attending domestic matches. They must also attend a designated police station and surrender their passport when a control period starts and collect it only when the match of tournament is over. I'm not sure if they are enforceable if you abuse the ref though.)

Smoking will be banned in police interview rooms in England when the new law takes effect on July 1st this year. (I wonder if this will constitute torture?)

France imposed a ban on smoking in public places. The land of the Gauloise has seen the writing on the wall. The "clope" is dead, long live nicotine chewing gum.