Crazy laws around the world

SOME wise man once said that laws are made to be broken. This shouldn’t be the case as laws are meant to be followed to bring order in society.

However, sometimes some laws are really ridiculous and so bizarre that when they are followed, one wonders why they were not broken or changed!

Here we have put together some pretty weird laws from around the world that make little sense — both to lawmakers and lawbreakers. We are pretty sure that many of them must have been changed by now and we don’t doubt that some of them are just urban legends, but still they are interesting enough to share with you.

So enjoy reading about these ridiculous rules, but don’t try to take them too seriously as laws keeps changing all the time. Well, some of these should!

It’s a weird world

• In Bermuda, up until 1948, all private cars were banned.

• At one time it was against the law to slam car doors in Switzerland.

• In Canada, by law, one out of every five songs on the radio must be sung by a Canadian.

• In Germany, it is illegal to stop on an autobahn (expressway). It is also illegal to run out of gas on an autobahn.

• In Victoria, Australia, only a licensed electrician is allowed to change a light bulb.

• In Victoria Australia it is forbidden to wear pink hot pants after mid-day on a Sunday.

• In Thailand it is illegal to step on money because it has the image of the king on it and stepping on it signifies disrespect.

• In Portugal, it’s against the law to pee in the ocean.

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• Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.

• In Paraguay, duelling is legal just as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

• In Milan, Italy, there is a law that requires citizens to smile at all times or risk a hefty fine. The only exceptions are visiting hospitals and funerals.

• Until 1984 Belgians were made to choose their children’s names from a list of 1500 drawn up in the days of Napoleon.

• In Romania, in 1935, Mickey Mouse was banned because the authorities thought that the sight of a 10ft high rodent on screen would terrify the nation's children.

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

• In Turkey, it is illegal for a man above 80 years to become a pilot.

• In France, it is against the law to sell an E.T doll. They have a law forbidding the sale of dolls that do not have human faces.

• In July 2013 a law was passed in China that states it is illegal for adult children to not visit their parents “often” in China. They are also required to attend to their parent’s spiritual needs.

• In France, it is stated as illegal to marry a dead person.

Only in the USA

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

• In Providence, Rhode Island, it is illegal for shop owners to sell toothpaste and toothbrushes to the same customer on a Sunday.

• In Maryland, it is illegal for radio stations to play Randy Newman's song ‘Short people’.

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

• In Washington, it is an offence to pretend that you have rich parents.

• In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry and ice cream cone in your pocket.

• In Louisiana, if you bite someone with your own teeth it is classed as ‘Simple assault’ but if you bite someone with your dentures it is classed as ‘aggravated assault’.

• In Massachusetts, it is illegal for mourners to eat no more than three sandwiches at a wake (a vigil beside someone who has died).

• In Indiana, USA, during the 1950s, all Robin Hood films were banned because authorities thought that robbing the rich to give to the poor was an act of communism.

• In Arizona, when being attacked by a criminal or burglar you may only defend yourself with a weapon that is the same as is being used against yourself.

• In Salt Lake County, Utah, it’s illegal to walk down the street carrying a violin in a paper bag.

• In California, women cannot drive in a house coat.

• In California, police can arrest you if you shoot any animal from a moving vehicle except a whale.

• In Alaska, it is illegal to wake a sleeping bear to take its photograph.

• In California it is illegal for a vehicle without a driver to exceed 60 miles per hour.

• In Tennessee, you are breaking the law if you drive while sleeping.

• In New York, the penalty for jumping off a building is: Death.

• In Danville, Pennsylvania, all fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.

• In Florida, it is illegal to fart in a public place after 6pm on Thursdays.

• In Indiana, it’s against the law to dress Barbie in Ken’s clothes.

• In Michigan, it is illegal to chain an alligator to a fire hydrant.

• In International Falls, Minnesota, you can be fined if you let your dog chase a cat up a telegraph pole.

• In Texas, if you are going to commit a crime, you legally have to give 24 hours notice to the police.

• In California, it is illegal to keep a child from playing in puddles of water.

• In Chicago, it is illegal for anyone to eat in a place that is on fire.

• In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.

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

• In New York City it is illegal to honk your horn. If you do, you’re at risk of paying $350 fine.

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

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

• In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to tie a dollar bill to a string on the ground and pull it away when someone tries to pick it up.

• In Colorado it is illegal to collect rainwater. Apparently farmers and landowners are being punished for this.

Interestingly English

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

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

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

• 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.

• In Britain, in 1888, a law was passed which stated that every cyclist had to constantly ring the bell on his bicycle non-stop while the machine was moving.

• In England, in 1865, a law was passed stating that any self-propelled carriage on an English highway had to have a crew of three, one of whom had to walk in front of the carriage with a red flag to warn horse drawn vehicles of its approach.

• In Britain, it is illegal to import potatoes into England or Wales if you have reasonable cause to believe that they are Polish.

Long, long ago…

• In ancient Sparta, men were required by law to eat at least two pounds of meat every day. This was supposed to make them brave.

• In Rome, 2,000 years ago, Julius Caesar banned chariots from the centre of Rome to ease congestion.

Animal injunctions

• In Basle, Switzerland, in 1471, a cockerel was found guilty in a court of law for laying an egg “In defiance of natural law”. The bird was then burnt at the stake as a “Devil in disguise”.

• In Stelvio, Italy, in 1519, a court issued a warrant for the arrest of a gang of moles that had severely damaged crops. The moles were summoned to court but when they failed to appear they were sentenced to exile.

• In Munster, in 1670, the courts banished a plague of fleas from the city, prohibiting them from returning for ten years.

• In Seville, Spain, in 1983, an Alsatian dog was arrested for snatching handbags from shoppers.

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

• 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’.

• 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!

• In Oklahoma, USA, it is illegal to make faces at a dog, a crime that could result in a prison sentence.

• In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, it is an offence to take a lion into a cinema.

• In Miami, Florida, USA, it is illegal for anyone to imitate an animal.

• In International Falls, Minnesota, USA, it is against the law for a dog to chase a cat up a telegraph pole and dog owners can be fined for this.

• The bloodhound is the only animal in the world whose evidence is admissible in court.

• In Iceland it was once against the law to own a pet dog.

• In Australia, it’s illegal to name any animal you plan to eat.

• In Oklahoma, it is against the law to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7pm.

• In Texas, it is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.

• In Boulder, Colorado, it is illegal to kill a bird within the city limit.

• In British Columbia, it is illegal to kill a Sasquatch or Bigfoot if one is ever found.

• In Missouri it is illegal to drive with an un-caged bear