The Quiz: In 1981, surströmming (sour herring) was the focus of a German eviction trial. Why was the person evicted?
A They habituously ate surströmming in their apartment
B They threw a raucous Surströmming Day party
C They poured the surströmming brine in the stairwells
For some reason, a German renter poured surströmming brine in the stairwells of their apartment building. They were subsequently evicted without notice. When taken to court, the landlord’s lawyer simply opened a can of surströmming in the courtroom and won the case. The judge declared ‘that the disgusting smell of the fish brine far exceeded the degree that fellow tenants in the building could be expected to tolerate.’
The correct answer to this quiz is They poured the surströmming brine in the stairwells.