I loved Turkmenbashi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saparmurat_Niyazov
Niyazov requested that a palace of ice be built near the capital, though Turkmenistan is a desert country with a hot and arid environment. The palace was never built.
After having to quit smoking in 1997 due to his resultant heart surgery, he banned smoking in all public places and ordered all government employees to follow suit. Chewing tobacco on Turkmen soil was later banned as well.
In February 2004 he decreed that men should no longer wear long hair or beards.
He also banned news reporters and anchors from wearing make-up on television, apparently because he believed Turkmen women were already beautiful enough.
Gold teeth were outlawed in Turkmenistan after Niyazov suggested that the populace chew on bones to strengthen their teeth and lessen the rate at which they fall out. He said:
"I watched young dogs when I was young. They were given bones to gnaw to strengthen their teeth. Those of you whose teeth have fallen out did not chew on bones. This is my advice..."
