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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Learning Socially-Acceptable Behavior

There's a new series of public-service announcements that have been popping up around Barcelona lately. They're posted at bus stops and metro stations and are pretty funny. The odd thing is that the ads are about topics that you really shouldn't have to teach people about but what can I say. They sort of remind me of those anti-littering ads with the crying "indian" (now: "Native American") that appeared in the 70s in the U.S. I guess everyone needs to learn everything at some point and if you're doing or not doing the things in these ads well then I hope they're effective.

The ads, which are in either Catalon or Spanish, basically say that in Barcelona everything is possible but not everything is acceptable. This one says that running into people with your bicycle is wrong and has a fine that starts at 30 Euros:


Next is an ad that suggests that you pick up your dog's droppings or you may be fined between 300 and 600 Euros:


In Barcelona it's also a problem if you like to destroy public property. Doing so can cost you between 375 and 2,250 Euros:


Finally, and this is my favorite, urinating in a public place will set you back between 180 and 1,125 Euros:


It's interesting that urinating in the street can cost less than not picking up your dog's droppings but who am I to say what things should or shouldn't cost. So, as a review, if you're going to act in a non-socially-acceptable way, pick your poison based on your budget. Also, if you're caught urinating in a public place, make sure your dog is with you and tell the officer that it was the dog (just like you do at home when you have gas)...

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