The world's strangest laws

[Breogan]

The world's strangest laws

Did you know it's illegal in France to name a pig Napoleon? Or that in Ohio you're not allowed to get a fish drunk? Alex Wade celebrates the spirit of the silly season with a list of the world's most ridiculous laws

Alex Wade

25. It is illegal for a cab in the City of London to carry rabid dogs or corpses.


24. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.


23. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down.


22. In France, it is forbidden to call a pig Napoleon.


21. Under the UK’s Tax Avoidance Schemes Regulations 2006, it is illegal not to tell the taxman anything you don’t want him to know, though you don’t have to tell him anything you don’t mind him knowing.


20. In Alabama, it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle.


19. In Ohio, it is against state law to get a fish drunk.


18. Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London.


17. In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet.


16. In Lancashire, no person is permitted after being asked to stop by a constable on the seashore to incite a dog to bark.


15. In Miami, Florida, it is illegal to skateboard in a police station.


14. In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.


13. In the UK, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.


12. In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.


11. In San Salvador, drunk drivers can be punished by death before a firing squad.


10. In the UK, a man who feels compelled to urinate in public can do so only if he aims for his rear wheel and keeps his right hand on his vehicle.


9. In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on Sundays can be jailed.


8. In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon more than six-feet long.


7. In Chester, Welshmen are banned from entering the city before sunrise and from staying after sunset.


6. In the city of York, it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow.


5. In Boulder, Colorado, it is illegal to kill a bird within the city limits and also to “own” a pet – the town’s citizens, legally speaking, are merely “pet minders”.


4. In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.


3. In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague.


2. In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman’s genitals but is forbidden from looking directly at them during the examination; he may only see their reflection in a mirror.


1. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast is legally the property of the King; the tail, on the other hand, belongs to the Queen - in case she needs the bones for her corset.


With thanks to: Donald Stewart at Faegre & Benson; John Barnett at Burges Salmon; Robert Crossley at Walker Morris; James Odds at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin; and Dan Kieran, author of I Fought The Law (Bantam Press).



The world\'s strangest laws - Times Online

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Breogan

23. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down.

In the city of Xàtiva (Játiva) near here, the official portrait of Felipe V (Philippe d'Anjou) is hanging upside down as a sign of rejection. During the War of Succesion, Valencia was on the side of Archduke Carlos and Xàtiva was burned down to the ashes in 1707 for its resistance against the Borbon, and the Furs (old laws and traditions) abolished.

[Heretik]

17. In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet.

I would like to see this one in practice...

[Chauntecleer]

The strangest law of all is perhaps that of Holocaust Denial being a crime in countries such as Austria and Germany.

[Heretik]

That's democracy for you...

[Monolith]

I believe it's illegal to cross the street walking on hands, in Miami.

[Sigurd]

Worse than any type of legislative text is the case law we are forced to go through in Law School over here in Scotland, especially when it comes to the ambigious crime of "breach of the peace". It is breach of the peace amongst other things for children to play with marbles on a street on a Sunday, for revving your car in a "racist manner" and last but not least to have an Orange Band greet the congregation as it is about to enter the church for mass.

[gazumpiro]

Originally Posted by Breogan

17. In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet.

2. In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman’s genitals but is forbidden from looking directly at them during the examination; he may only see their reflection in a mirror.

Originally Posted by Heretik

I would like to see this one in practice...

Perhaps you can watch, but only via a reflection!

[Savorgnan]

Yeah, the Crime of Holocaust Denial in Germany and, above all, Austria astonished me.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Savorgnan

Yeah, the Crime of Holocaust Denial in Germany and, above all, Austria astonished me.

Especially when there is no clear, official version.

[qmsq]

It's illegal to support any other political ideas than democratic ideas in republic of Bulgaria.This is the demonocracy way of thinking.This is freedom in Bulgaria

[Monolith]

Originally Posted by qmsq

It's illegal to support any other political ideas than democratic ideas in republic of Bulgaria.This is the demonocracy way of thinking.This is freedom in Bulgaria

Indeed. This liberal democracy is present virtually everywhere, and if you dare to go against its mainstream dogmas, you can expect to be considered as non-progressive and even primitive by the majority of the enlightened masses.