Mushroom-theft is now fairly uncommon in Slovakia, but during the Slovakian Mushroom crisis of 1996, mushrooms were so scarce that on average a single mushroom would change hands over 40 times a day.
Eventually, because of the astronomical cost of mushrooms (and therefore the reluctancy to consume them), and the adeptness of Slovakians at stealing the mushrooms, everyone maintained an almost constant level of mushroom ownership until theft was outlawed in 2002.
It might be worth mentioning that the mushroom crisis of 1996 was caused by an error in the wording of the Slovak constitution after gaining independence from the Czechs in the velvet revolution of 1993. The constitution was supposed to read 'All Slovak citizens shall be free to live their lives with liberty and comfort' but what was actually written was 'All Slovak citizens shall destroy fungi in all its forms'.
The two phrases are only one letter apart in Slovak.
All content copyright Tom Crowley