Chapter 1
Life inside a single building and deep underground
Chapter 2
The strange towns split by international borders
Chapter 3
Cities built for the departed and the spiritual
Chapter 4
Cities with the world's most extreme rules
Ch 4 · Cities with the world's most extreme rules
schopenhauer Cities with Extreme Rules
Spike those heels, sign your permit, stroll Carmel!
schopenhauer A coal mine fire burning beneath Centralia since 1962 forced the evacuation of almost all residents, leaving a steaming ghost town.
Fun Fact
Svalbard's cats: Longyearbyen's strict ban on cats was bypassed once when someone successfully registered a cat as a "polar fox" to get it past customs.
schopenhauer Known as the "Venice of the North," this Dutch village has no roads, forcing residents to travel entirely by foot, bicycle, or whisper-quiet boats.
Glossary
prohibition (noun)
A law or rule that forbids something. In Longyearbyen, Norway, a 1950 prohibition effectively bans dying due to permafrost preventing decomposition.
A law or rule that forbids something. In Longyearbyen, Norway, a 1950 prohibition effectively bans dying due to permafrost preventing decomposition.
Quiz
What caused the near-total abandonment of the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, in the 1980s?
BETA
schopenhauer Sort bizarre local laws into the right cities to discover how unique global cultures work.
Quiz
How do residents of the roadless village of Giethoorn, Netherlands, primarily travel through their town?
Quiz
How long is the underground coal fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania, expected to continue burning?
Quiz
What is the main environmental hazard that residents of Longyearbyen must carry a rifle to protect themselves against?
Quiz
Who is the sole remaining resident, mayor, and tavern owner of Monowi, Nebraska?
Quiz
What animal is completely banned in Longyearbyen to protect the local Arctic bird population?
Quiz
What must Elsie Eiler do annually to keep the streetlights on in the single-person town of Monowi, Nebraska?