Loony Laws

Apparently there has been a survey in the UK of the most ridiculous laws still on the statute books. What crazy laws! (from news.bbc.co.uk)

The UK's top 10 most ridiculous British laws were listed as:

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%) (so what would the punishment be?)

2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down (7%)

3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (6%)

4. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned(5%)

5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter (4%)

6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (4%)

7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen (3.5%)

8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (3%)

9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour

10. It is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (2%)


The top 10 bizarre foreign laws as voted by those polled:

1. In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk (9%)

2. In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation (8%)

3. A male doctor in Bahrain can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror (7%)

4. In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm (6%)

5. It is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama (6%)

6. In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on a Sunday could be jailed (6%)

7. Women in Vermont must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth (6%)

8. In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits (5%)

9. There is no age of consent in Japan (5%)

10. In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon (4%)

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Mallanox : "My mother was Irish and my father was an alien. I was an only child and I dress funny."

RE: Loony Laws

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Putting the "Con" in Condor....Ooooo... shiny red button!

But Mickey Mouse is scary and dangerous!

While these are a fun read, some of them set off my BS detector (I'm sorry but whales don't have bones in their tails). I just did a quick Google search and the bit that says... "There is no age of consent in Japan" is wrong.

A quick search reveals that by the Japanese Constitution, the Age of Consent is 13 but each Prefecture can regulate its own age of consent so the actual Age of Consent ranges from 13 to 18 depending on where you are in Japan. Most places also have an additional law that makes it illegal for an adult (age 20 and up in Japan) to have sex with anyone under the age of 17.

I'll have to check snopes.com to see if any of these "laws" show up there.

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Cheers,
Tim

The smiling in Milan one is setting off my BS detector a lot.

But the thing is they're all completely plausable and a lot are based on cultural mores (for example - the examining a woman's genitals in a mirror - that actually happened in England, Australia & the US during the Victorian era).

I can also see the Blindfold one being passed after some jackass successfully argued in court that it wasn't illegal to do so....

Silly laws passed because of even sillier people.

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"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart

I recall reading about the whale tail one before, in a book I had while I was in my teens. That said that the reason was for the whalebones to be used in the queen's corsets, but that the relevant bones were only in the head.

I looked at the lawguru link, and it's odd, but the UK laws in there all make perfect sense to me - must be because I'm so used to them.

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Mallanox : "My mother was Irish and my father was an alien. I was an only child and I dress funny."

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Putting the "Con" in Condor....Ooooo... shiny red button!

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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

re:Canadian Laws

Comic books which depict any illegal acts are banned.

I remember reading a newspaper article many years ago where the Police Chief (of Kingston, Ontario) stated that technically comics broke the law because they weren't allowed to show illegal acts but no one paid any attention to them (the comics) or it (the law) - take your pick.

I think this may have been true at one point in the US as well. That's why so many comic villains try to take over the world - it isn't illegal.

It is illegal for clear or non-dark sodas to contain caffeine.

That might be why Mountain Dew in Canada has no caffeine. I have seen the real stuff recently but it is labeled as "Dew Fuel" here. I think I prefered the non-caffiene version actually.

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Cheers,
Tim