Strange Laws
 

THE WORLD'S STRANGEST LAWS
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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
Did you know that in France it is forbidden to call your pig Napoleon?

(Kham/Reuters)

Did you know that in France it is forbidden to call your pig Napoleon?
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 England, 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.

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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle2251280.ece

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1,234

Fabulous! I particularly like that it is illegal to flag down a taxi whilst one is infected with the plague :)

A disproportionate number of those laws seem to be in Blighty.

What always gets me about these is that at some point somebody had to write these laws and people had to agree them. Which suggests they were tackling problems of the day. Now...Weshmen in Coventry? I can see how that might have been a problem when the Welsh were the enemy...likewise a Scotsman in the city of York holding a bow and arrow.

Even the Napolean thing has some basis in sense. But:

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


What led up to that law being instituted? Was there a problem at some point with people getting fish drunk?

You have to get the fish drunk, remember the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.

another one


Did you know that in Lee County, Alabama it's illegal to sell peanuts after sundown on a Wednesday? However, in the same county, it's not illegal to drive the wrong way on a one-way street, as long as you have a lantern attached to the car

I always wonder about the actual laws behind these wacky law lists. For example, what if in Lee County, Alabama, the law is actually something like, "All street vendors must vacate the area after sundown to prevent driving hazards"--which would technically mean that it would be illegal to sell your peanuts (or anything else) after sundown on a Wednesday (or any other day.) Or in Ohio, maybe it's really just that animal abuse is illegal, which happens to include administering dangerous drugs (alcohol) to all animals (including fish.)

No legislation, IMO, is stranger than hate crime legislation.
"Your suffering/life is worth more "justice" (really vengeance, which the law is NEVER supposed to be) than theirs because of your melanin or sexual preference".
The most xenophobic laws in the world and a travesty.

Round here it is illegal to tie your alligator to a fire hydrant.

Speaking of Alabama, on another forum, we drifted to talk of vibrators, and someone from Alabama said they are illegal, and can not be sold there. Never mind the whole government in your bedroom debate, never mind the idea that they know what they are doing, and don't need any help. You see, I live in Illinois. Fireworks are illegal in Illinois. Whenever we go on vacation, when you cross the state line of Indiana, Wisconsin, or Missouri, you see huge yellow, and red tents selling fireworks. That's how I picture Alabama, completely circled by yellow, and red tents full of marital aids.

illegal in MS. also.

In Pennsylvania, it's legal to sell fireworks, but illegal for PA residents to buy them. Yes, they still buy them. No, no one cares.

In Virginia, it's illegal for an unmarried, unrelated man and woman to live together. Whoops, glad we moved!

Ha Ha!!! In Colorado that's how they make you married through common law. One of many evil, evil, ways.....
Or if they make a major purchase together and both sign the receipt. (you are then automatically married through common law)

Bad side effects:
My friend lived with a woman for a year...they split up. She proved they had been living together for more than 48 hours....and got alimony. AAAh!
:greenface

BUMP - This was emailed to me. Some are funny others maddening.

I call BS. EVERYONE and EVERYTHING in Ohio is drunk.

See?

Amen. It's the only way to survive in The Heart Of It All aka The Middle Of Nowhere.

Ahh yes, and you KNOW this area!

(Suddenly craving Wooden Shoe chicken again.)

Holy hell, get out! You know about The Wooden Shoe, in Minster Ohio????