1. In the Netherlands, school finishes at midday on Wednesdays.
2. A widely believed urban legend in South Korea is "fan death," i.e., that sleeping in a closed room containing a running electric fan will kill you.
3. In Bhutan, wearing seatbelts in a car is considered dangerous.
4. In Slovakia, it's custom for boys to pour water over girls and whip them on Easter.
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On Easter Monday in Slovakia, it's tradition for boys to pour water over girls and whip them lightly with braided willow branches that have ribbons attached, in an event called šibačka. (The whipping is usually done lightly and symbolically.)
According to Czech Mate Diary: "If you were one of the first houses the mob visited, you were lucky: The guys are still kind of sober, kind of polite and kind of mellow. You let them into the living room – or better – just a hallway, give them some refreshments, offer them more vodka and let them “spank” you. If they still have their egg baskets, you would also stuff couple of eggs in them and if you are lucky they leave afterwards."
5. Nodding means "no" in Bulgaria.
6. In Norway, graduating high school students attend a russefeiring where they wear colored overalls, rent buses or vans, and party for 17 days straight.
7. Blood type is a huge deal in Japan.
8. A sizeable number of New Zealanders go out in public barefoot.
9. You have to pay for a license to watch TV in Britain.
10. Most people don't drink the tap water in Hong Kong.
11. You have to pay for every ketchup and mayonnaise packet at McDonald's in Italy.
12. Voting is mandatory in Brazil.
13. Many Icelanders believe in the existence of elves.
14. Canada sells milk in bags.
15. At a Dutch birthday party, you congratulate all of the guests, except the person who's having the birthday.
16. Swedes put kebab on their pizza.
17. In India, the car horn is as important as the gas pedal.
18. Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world.
19. In the U.S., over 1 million people flock to Times Square each year to stand in the freezing cold for eight hours just to watch a ball slowly descend.
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