The world's strangest laws

100 odd laws.

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

HT

[Eddylizard]

In Victoria Australia, only a licensed electrician is allowed to change a lightbulb.

According to one of our maintainence guys at work (not an electrcian) only the trained electricians on staff are allowed to change a light a light bulb or a fuse, or re-wire a plug. Of course he might just want to get out of doing it, but he's pretty accomodating when it comes to other stuff. You can change your own lightbulbs at home though. Of course this is not Australia.

It England, it is illegal for a cab in the City of London to carry rabid dogs or corpses

I would have thought it was illegal anywhere.

It England, it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.

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.

We don't currently have a King - now what are we supposed to do with the bloody thing?
So charge me officer.

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

I always was told it was considered a mark of disrespect to HM (gawd bless her), as is placing the stamp below the start of the address line. I don't think it's illegal, certainly not to the point of treason.

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.

If you don't tell them, how do they know that what they don't know because you didn't tell them is something you didn't want them to know?

In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.

Which head do they cut off (ouch!)

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.

That'll bugger the Hibernian team if the UK archery championships are ever held in York.

In Zion, Illinois, USA, it is still illegal to offer cigars to your pets

In Illinois, USA, it is against the law to give a lighted cigar to a pet.

Well those two go hand in hand I suppose. That smoking beagle controversy prompted swift action.

In Florida it is illegal to have sex with a porcupine.

This is generally considered a bad idea, whether enshrined in law or not.

Hundreds of years ago in Japan anyone who attempted to leave the country was instantly executed.

That must have been a blight on the fishing industry.

Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.

That one is sort of true.

In Birmingham, England, it is illegal for a man and a woman to have sex on church steps after sundwon.

So it's okay in daylight?

[Stoneage Dinosaur]

Quite a lot of these have come up many times before, but it's the first time I've seen this one:

In London, England, wife beating is legal just as long as it is not after 9pm and it doesn't disturb the neighbours.

And this one is so torturously worded it's beautiful:

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

[Hans Off]

What? who is on the seashore? Me, the copper or the dog?

Can I incite a dog to bark if I am on the Beach but the dog is a little way up the road?

Or does the copper have to be standing on the beach when he tells me to desist?

what if he holds a rank other then constable? can I ignore him....

adn...er.....................bzzzzzzzt............ ................

Hans "Ctrl+Alt+delete delete" Off

[Eddylizard]

A very silly law indeed. Have you ever been to Heysham or Morecambe (It's deader than Eric)? Watching someone incite a dog to bark would be the highlight of the year in two of the dullest places on planet Earth.

Okay I've only been to Morecambe once, but I think it was shut.

[Floater]

- In Texas, USA, criminals are still required to give their victims at least 24 hours oral or written notice giving details of the crime they are about to commit.

Does this mean they can't be punished if they do?

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

- 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.

We've been through this before I think. What I have read is that any woman, pregnant or not, can demand that a police constable hides her under his cloak and the law regarding men states that he can urinate against any parked vehicle, not necessarily his own.

- Donald Duck comics were once banned in Finland because he never wore pants.

Debunked by some bloke calling himself snopes.

- In London, England, there is still a law that states London Taxi cabs must carry a bale of hay at all times.

I've heard about this one before, but I don't think anybody has been found guilty of breaking this law for a long time.

- In Denmark it is not illegal for a convicted prisoner to escape from prison. If the escapee is caught he only serves the rest of his sentence.

I don't know about Denmark, but it's definitely the case in Sweden.

- In London, England, it is illegal to impersonate a Chelsea pensioner which once carried the death sentence in the 19th century.

It must be pointed out that a Chelsea pensioner is not just any retired person. It's an armed forces veteran residing in the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

[Andrew of Ware]

In 1999 there was a huge clear out of archaic UK laws (for example until then you could be sentenced to death for committing arson in a naval dockyard) and I imagine a lot of the strange UK laws are now defunct.

As for the other UK ones, most of them appear to be local by-laws which have been superceded by later laws. There are many variations of the York one about murdering a Scotsman. When I lived in York the version I heard was that you could only shoot the Scotsman if he was within the walled city and it was not a Sunday. It may well have been applicable in the thirteenth century (or whenever), but not now.

However, it was Billy Connolly...

[Amigone201]

Fornication is illegal in Illinois.

[OmmeLise]

- 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.

This is a strange law indeed, since a whale does not have bones in it's tail:

- In Denmark it is not illegal for a convicted prisoner to escape from prison. If the escapee is caught he only serves the rest of his sentence.

Surprising, this is true. The privileges that the prisoner have may be taken away, but the scentence will not be extended.

- In Denmark it is illegal to start your car without first checking to see if there are any children asleep underneath it.

I cannot find anything about this in the laws. I don't think its true. If it is, i'm breaking the law on a daily basis!

[Troberg]

I don't know about Denmark, but it's definitely the case in Sweden.

But it will probably screw up any chance of early parole, which is more or less the norm in Sweden. Say, for example, that our criminal gets 6 years (I think 8 or 10 years is the longest sentence handed out). Usually, this means that he'll get out in 3-4 years. By escaping and getting caught, he'll probably have to sit all 6 years.

[Singing in the Drizzle]

- In Washington, USA, it is still an offence to pretend that you have rich parents.

Several years back Washington State went through and did some house cleaning and rewriting so we now have the Revised Code of Washington. So I would guess this law is no longer in forcible though it may still be in some book somewhere.

[Logoboros]

They never say whether these are all laws "on the books", or if some are "laws" that have been inferred through case precedent.

For example, is there a Danish law that states "You must check under your car for children before starting it" or is there just a case in which someone was found liable in court because children asleep under their car were injured when the car was started? If that person was found guilty, then you could say that "the law" in Denmark, but that doesn't mean there's a statute somewhere detailing this specific act.

Likewise with drunken fish thing in the OP. This could just reflect one application of an animal abuse law -- pouring alcohol into a fishtank was in some courtroom judged criminal animal abuse. Doesn't mean you'll find a statute mentioning fish and alcohol in the same clause.

--Logoboros

[VeebleFetzer]

Originally Posted by OmmeLise

This is a strange law indeed, since a whale does not have bones in it's tail:

Even stranger, the "whalebone" used in corsets was actually baleen, found in the whale's mouth.

In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.

there must be a shedload of headless folk walking about... I'm sure the statistics are that , 99% do it, and the other 1% lie about doing it it!


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

why would the firing squad need to be put to death first? ok, ok, I got it!

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.

a) I don't know of many men who have rear wheels,

b) most blokes I know can't even aim for the loo, without missing...

c) I've heard "it" called some things in my years of nursing... but I've never heard it called a "vehicle" before!!

Originally Posted by Amigone201

Fornication is illegal in Illinois.

Sec. 11‑8. Fornication.) (a) Any person who has sexual intercourse with another not his spouse commits fornication if the behavior is open and notorious.

Bolding mine. So I guess I'm ok to fornicate because I'm female? And what about people who aren't married. They are so screwed!

[Simply Madeline]

Originally Posted by Amigone201

Fornication is illegal in Illinois.

You know, between this and the prohibition against giving cigars to my pets, just what the hell am I supposed to do in my free time?

Here's a few strange laws from Louisiana

1.it's illegal to gargle in public places.

2.it's illegal to rob a bank then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistal.

3.Biting someone with your natural teeth is "simple assault" but biting someone with false teeth is "aggravated assault".

4.It's illegal for a woman to drive a car unless her husband is waving a flag in front of it.

5.it's illegal to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant.

[Andrew of Ware]

Originally Posted by klavier

Here's a few strange laws from Louisiana

2.it's illegal to rob a bank then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistal.

But just robbing the bank is legal?

[robbiev]

Originally Posted by klavier

Here's a few strange laws from Louisiana

4.It's illegal for a woman to drive a car unless her husband is waving a flag in front of it.

Interesting. I've seen that one attributed to Memphis, TN on more than one list.

[Andrew of Ware]

Originally Posted by klavier

4.It's illegal for a woman to drive a car unless her husband is waving a flag in front of it.

'Light locomotives' in the UK used to have a speed limit of 4 mph and a man carrying a red flag in front of them. This flag law was abolished in 1878, but even so the speed limit was kept at 4 mph until 1896 when the speed limit was raised to 14 mph.

To celebrate this the London to Brighton Car Rally was started.