Ridiculous Asheville law gets mention in French advert

At the end of July, the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau launched its new advertising campaign in nine key markets in its effort to attract tourists to Western North Carolina.

Guess they weren't counting on France to help them out.

OUIBUS, a bus travel service in France, mentions Asheville and a silly law the city still has on the books in a new advertisement.

The 30-second advertisement titled "Les Interdits Ridicules : L'éternuement" means "The Forbidden Ridiculous : Sneezing."

It opens with an older woman sneezing on a street that is clearly not in Asheville.

A man then says in French, "Ridiculous as it sounds, in Asheville, North Carolina, sneezing in public is actually against the law."

It's true.

Along with other humorous old laws that are still on the books in North Carolina — for example, did you know a marriage can be annulled in North Carolina on the grounds that one of the partners is physically unable to engage in sexual activity? — it is technically illegal to sneeze on Asheville city streets.

Judging by allergy season in the mountains, though, the odd law is one that no one enforces anymore. (God bless them.)

The ad goes on to say, "Stranger still, in France it's against the law to take a bus from Lyon to Marseille. Well, not anymore, with OUIBUS."

Watch the ad for yourself below.

De rien.

Check out the Byrd on Biz Blog.