26Dog king
In the 6th century a Swedish king – to demonstrate his low opinion of the Danes – sent a small dog to Denmark and officially made it their king. Appointing dogs to rule the conquered became a tradition in Scandinavia. They were given thrones and mansions and routinely signed paw-print decrees.
27. According to Romani Gypsies tradition, if a boy/man who is single kidnaps a girl and is able to keep the girl hostage for 3-5 days, then he has legally all the rights to get married to the girl.
28. A tradition of High Wycombe in the United Kingdom, involves its Mayor being weighed annually in public on a specially erected scale, and their weight compared with the previous year. If it has increased, it means they have been indulging in too much good living at taxpayers' expense, and the crowd jeers and boos.
29. The original US Constitution set no term limits on the President. George Washington voluntarily retired from office after two terms, establishing an informal two-term limit. This custom lasted for nearly 150 years until Franklin D. Roosevelt broke the tradition.
30. The custom of wearing a hat greatly diminished when cars with little headroom were created.
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31Maasai tribe
In a weird and bizarre tradition in Africa, people of the Maasai tribe (ethnic African group found in Kenya and Tanzania) spit on one another while greeting their friends.
32. For more than 175 years, an average quarter million people from all over India travel to the city of Hyderabad for an annual medical ritual. There they swallow a 3cm live fish dipped in a secret herbal medicine with the hope of permanently curing Asthma and other breathing disorders.
33. In the Yanomami tribe from Brazil and Venezuela, tradition forbids keeping any body part of the deceased. Therefore the body of the dead is burned. Then the remaining bones are crushed and mixed with the ashes and divided amongst the family to be eaten by all.
34. Muslim and Hindu villagers in the district of Solapur, Maharashtra, West India, have been throwing babies off a 50ft temple for over 500 years. The babies land and bounce on a bed-sheet held taut by men below. The ritual is considered to bring good health and good luck to the children.
35. Polterabend is a German wedding custom in which the night before the wedding, wedding couple’s friends break porcelain dishes in front of the bride's house to bring luck to the couple. Then the couple has to clean up the mess together.
