If you've ever dreamed about being an astronaut, it isn't all spacewalks and big-blue-ball views. There's intense training, repeated rejection, rigorous medical exams, and psychological evaluations, to name but a few. Then there's the cruel irony of being told you're not allowed to celebrate your success with a cold beer while putting your feet up and running a watchful gaze over the Earth. In fact, there are many things you're not permitted to do in space, and by extension, the International Space Station (ISS), and they range from the obvious to the oddly specific. They're not all put in place because of safety concerns, either. Politics and plain old practicality are the source of some of them.
The ISS has been continuously occupied for over two decades, and if you look up at the night sky at certain times and under certain conditions, you might catch sight of it. It orbits Earth 16 times a day and passes over 90% of the planet's population. The vast majority of us won't even notice or might even pass it off as an airplane or satellite. However, if you do catch it, instead of filling your heart with wonder about how amazing it must be up there with all that peace and tranquility, spare a thought for the poor astronauts who must follow a rigid set of rules and regulations -- many of which you probably never realized. Here are five activities that are big no-nos on the ISS.