Conversation

In 1993, a local politician in Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam, got so bored with city council meetings, which frequently went on till late at night, that he submitted a motion to the council: whenever a meeting goes on past 11 PM, the members of the council are entitled to a "kroket" (a popular deep-fried snack).

To his surprise, the motion passed and was even adopted by other city councils.

The man himself, Jan Peter Balkenende, eventually became the prime minister of the Netherlands.