BBC top 10 silly laws

[martyp]

From a recent poll published by the BBC...

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

# 1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)

# 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%)

[ignite]

In Australia, it's legal for kids to smoke but not buy them. I'm not sure if they fixed that one yet.

[liljj07]

wow.... thanks for the post

[martyp]

I was particularly impressed with UK pregnant women being allowed to pee wherever they bloody well choose. So, that means that in Britain a woman has to be pregnant to enjoy the same urinary freedoms as a man.

[Guardian]

lol

Some of these are simply ridiculous, wonder what they were thinking.

[Veronica]

I saw this, and I was just going to post it. But XDDDD

[sandib]

lol these are funny

[martyp]

Originally Posted by Guardian

lol

Some of these are simply ridiculous, wonder what they were thinking.

It's almost like a history lesson to see these old laws in a modern context. The one that truly baffles me is the only law that isn't ridiculous, that in Alabama it's illegal to drive blindfolded. That law actually makes sense, a lot of sense, so much sense that it might even be considered common sense. What happened that it had to be legislated!! :shockingmonkey:

[daniellerae]

wow these are Really Silly!!