“Disability Act”: People Share 49 Things That “Just Make Sense” In Countries Around The World

Japan has a law that the product displayed on packaging must be a real representation of the food inside.

This should be law everywhere.

No tipping.

Free menstrual products in schools and colleges (and many public bathrooms.). It’s made a huge difference to not only period poverty, but also the taboo surrounding these products. They are in all toilets and all pupils have easy access to their own provisions (including males taking products home for family members.)

As someone who works in a school in a deprived area, this has made a massive difference to our young people and makes me proud of our country.

Also edited to add free baby boxes too!

Sweden only has gender neutral bathrooms in most public spaces. It’s individual stalls where the walls go all the way from the floor to the roof and they often even have their own sinks, so this is great for privacy and it’s really nice for trans/non-binary people. Also for fathers accompanying their little daughters to the bathroom.

The National Health Service. Even after 14 years of Tory underfunding, it's an absolute marvel. I see the add-ons on bills that some Americans get just for things like holding their baby after they've given birth and it makes me sick,.

4 day work week.

The pfand system were you return bottles to the supermarket and get a small amount of money back.

The “Rettungsgasse”

As soon as a traffic jam forms on the highway, all vehicles must form an emergency lane through which emergency vehicles can pass. Regardless of whether an emergency vehicle is coming or not.

I love the Italian law that requires restaurants to show which menu items have been frozen.

Display the price you have to pay in stores, restaurants,.. instead of a pre-tax price.

Visited Norway recently. The tax taken from the large oil companies there is put into Norway’s renewable energy sector/research. Pretty good I reckon!

Taiwan has a lot of foreign workers, including a lot of Indonesians wearing hijabs. Nobody complains. There are Muslim prayer rooms in airports and railroad stations. People say, Oh, that’s nice. The government provides services in Indonesian, Tagalog, VN, and Thai. Most people appreciate that they are working hard. There are cases of bad examples, of course, but there is no tension or antagonism.

Bike highways. Basically wide bicycle paths between cities or towns that are not next to a major road.

Waiting for Brazil and Korea to say "successfully prosecuting a criminal president".

Furasato Nozei ふるさと納税 - hometown tax program is brilliant. You get to move some of your tax to other parts of Japan (such as rural/farming). In return for this donation (which you’d pay anyway) you get 1/3 of the value as a gift from that prefecture - and you pick your gift from a long list of goods from that region; fresh veggies delivered every week, Wagyu, sushi fish, sake even electronics, cameras, furnitures and hotel rooms. You also get to claim the donation as a deductible only paying tax in the value of the gift. Win win as it moves tax revenue to the poorer areas and you get tax break.

Compulsory voting by pencil and paper, always on Saturday (after 2 weeks of voting booths being open) with ranked choice / preferential ballots, organised by an independent electoral commission that:

1. determines electoral boundaries based on population (with no reference to political consequences),
2. moves heaven & earth to ensure ballots get to everyone in the country (in a language they can read), and
3. counts the votes by hand in front of witnesses representing all the candidates.

Also: completely banning political donations.

It's not exclusive to Netherlands, neighbouring countries to the same. But music halls being supported by the local government as vital spaces for the arts and local community. As opposed to purely commercial ventures that survive only as long as it takes for someone to buy, demolish and build luxury apartments.

The Americans with Disabilities Act. It's one of the few things my country has actually gotten right. Landmark legislation that requires all businesses and governments to make their services accessible to those with disabilities and to not discriminate against them. This is why you'll find Braille menus in McDonald's and why you'll see 200-year old buildings with wheelchair ramps.

Going to the pub and waiting for everything to blow over.

Keeping the streets and every public place clean.