Crazy laws in your country?

[Alec1382]

It’s against the law to sing off key.

Well that one makes sense! I wish we had something like that.

Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish.

I can see why that may have been a problem at some point. Still bizarre, though.

[Scandinavian]

You are not allowed to cut the grass in your garden on sundays in germany.
Allso, if you fail the theoretical exam 5 or 6 times in the country then you have to go through some pshyciatric tests:P

[Scandinavian]

Found these, dont know if they are real:)

Australia

Although children are not allowed to legally buy cigarettes, they can legally smoke

Only a fully qualified electrician may change your broken light bulb. Otherwise you may receive a fine of $10.

When going outside, cats in the town of Longhorn must wear three bells on their collar to warn of their approach to birds.

Under Australian Communications Authority (ACA) legislation and the Telecommunications Act (1991) a modem may not connect on the first ring. Doing so will invalidate the operator’s ACA permit and may result in a fine.

In Victoria it is illegal to wear “hot pink pants” after 12 noon on a Sunday.

Bermuda

It is illegal to drive over 20 m.p.h.

It is illegal for tourists to hire cars – they may only travel by moped, bus or taxi.

It is illegal to take a suitcase on a public bus.

Women may not wear skirts shorter than 8 inches (20 cm) above the knee

Women may not wear halter neck tops in public places.

Cars may not be more than 67 inches (1.7 m) wide or 169 inches (4.3m) long.

Only 1 car is allowed per household.

You are allowed as many motorbikes as you like – they just have to have an engine under 1500cc.

Bolivia

A woman may legally be a prostitute. However she cannot solicit customers on the street or in any public place.

In Santa Cruz it is illegal for a man to have sex with a woman and her daughter at the same time.

Women may not have more than one glass of wine in a bar or restaurant. This is as wine is thought to weaken them sexually and make it easier for men to take advantage of them. Violators of this law may receive a hefty fine. It may also be a grounds for divorce.

Brazil

In Sorocaba, passionate kissing in public is illegal

Canada

Any debt higher than 25 cents cannot be paid in pennies.

In Toronto, it is illegal to ride a streetcar on a Sunday if you have been eating garlic

In Nova Scotia you may not water your lawn when it is raining.

In Montreal it is illegal to swear in French. There is no such bar to swearing in English.

In Etobicoke you cannot take a bath in water deeper than 3.5 inches before you enter it.

In Ontario the speed limit is 80 kph. However cyclists have the right of way.

Someone wrote in with the following -- In Winnipeg Manitoba Canada it's against the law to put your garbage in someone elses garbage can even with their permission.

Chile

In Valparaiso it is illegal for a man to take as his bride a woman who has committed adultery.

Until just recently, you were not able to get a divorce in Chile. Wealthy couples get around this by having a sympathetic judge dissolve the marriage by claiming that their address does not match the one on the marriage certificate. That changed when a new law went into effect in November of 2004.

China

Drivers who stop at pedestrian crossings may receive a fine or a warning under Article 40 of the Beijing Traffic Laws

In many areas, couples are only allowed 1 child. Couples who break this law may be forcibly sterilised.

In order to go to college you must be “intelligent”.

Denmark

It is illegal to start a car if there is anyone under it.

Restaurants may not charge for water unless it comes with ice and lemon.

If a car is overtaking a horse-drawn carriage and the horse becomes agitated, the driver must pull over and if necessary cover the car from the horse’s view.

Ecuador

A woman may dance in public wearing nothing but a piece of gauze covering her belly button.

Finland

Finnish police do not issue tickets for illegal parking – they just let down the person’s tyres.

To get married, a man and a woman must be able to read.

At one time Donald Duck was banned, as he doesn’t wear any trousers.

France

It is illegal to call a pig Napoleon

It is illegal to kiss on a French railway

It is illegal to sell dolls with alien faces – they must have human faces.

It is illegal to land a flying saucer in a vineyard.

Germany

A pillow is regarded as a “passive weapon”.

All office workers must have a view of the sky, however small.

United Kingdom

It is illegal for Members of Parliament to enter the House of Commons in full armour.

It is illegal to slaughter or dress cattle in the street unless the person doing the slaughtering has recently run over the aforementioned cow.

It is illegal to drive a car without sitting in the front seat

A pregnant woman can legally urinate anywhere including in a policeman’s helmet.

In Liverpool it is illegal for a woman to be topless in public unless she is employed in an exotic fish shop.

Greece

All forms of computer entertainment are banned including consoles, PC games and arcades. A cyber café can be shut down if someone is caught playing chess on one of the computers.

A driver’s license can be revoked if the person appears poorly dressed or unwashed

Guinea

It is illegal to call a baby “Monica”

Iceland

Anyone is allowed to practice medicine in Iceland provided they display the word Scottulaejnir meaning “Quack doctor”

India

Children as young as 15 can be jailed for cheating on exams

Iran

Iranian law suggests that sex play between animals is not recommended – especially when it involves a lioness

It is forbidden to eat snakes on a Sunday

There are more than 100 offences that carry the death penalty

Israel

It is illegal to pick one’s nose on the Sabbath

If a pig owner wishes to kill his pig, he is legally obliged to do it himself.

No person is allowed to dress or undress with the light switched on.

Italy

Men can be arrested for wearing skirts (a bit of a bummer for the Swiss guards at the Vatican)

You can be arrested after paying for your drinks and food in any Italian café if you do not pick up you receipt and take it at least 40 m from the café.

Japan

It is illegal to wear purple unless you are in mourning.

Laos

Women may not show their toes in public

Madagascar

Pregnant women may not wear hats

Malaysia

It is illegal for restaurant owners to substitute a table napkin with toilet paper.

Mexico

In Guadalajara it is illegal to shout offensive words in a public place.

In Guadalajara it is illegal for women who work in Government offices to wear mini skirts or any form of “provocative” clothing

New Zealand

The legal age for drinking is 20. However if you are 18 or over and married, you can drink provided you are with your spouse.

Paraguay

Duelling is legal providing both combatants are blood donors.

A man who catches his wife with someone else in bed is legally permitted to kill his wife and her lover providing he acts immediately.

Peru

The use of chilli sauce and other hot spices in prison food is banned. This is because it is thought that they act as aphrodisiacs, which would be bad with all those pent up prisoners.

Unmarried young men are not permitted to keep female alpacas in their apartments.

Russia

It is illegal to drive a dirty car

Qatar

If an unmarried woman falls pregnant she is banned from using hospitals or calling for any medical assistance. Her only options are to do without healthcare or leave the country

In Doha, if a man surprises a naked Muslim woman while bathing or dressing she must first cover her face, not her body.

San Salvador

Drunk drivers can be executed by a firing squad

Saudi Arabia

It is illegal for women to appear in public without a male relative or guardian present.

Women are not allowed to drive cars

It is illegal for male doctors to examine women and female doctors to examine men.

A woman can divorce her husband if he does not keep her supplied with coffee.

Singapore

Chewing gum on public transport is a crime punishable by a fine or a prison sentence

Spitting, smoking and feeding birds in public are considered civic crimes punishable by instant fines.

Failure to flush a public toilet is punishable by a fine or a prison sentence if caught during random checks by special police.

If you are caught dropping litter more than 3 times, the penalty is to clean the streets on Sundays wearing a bib saying “I am a litterer”. This will then be broadcast on the local news.

Sweden

It is illegal to train a seal to balance a ball on its nose.

Switzerland

Every citizen must have a bomb shelter or access to one.

Syria

A man is forbidden to look at the body of any woman who is not his wife

Thailand

When a man is driving he must always wear a shirt

It is illegal to leave your house if you are not wearing any underwear.

Turkey

All drivers must carry a hygienic body bag suitable for carrying a body up to 18st 12lbs (120 kilos). Failure to do so will result in a fine and possible a 6 month jail sentence.

[pcwzrd13]

Florida, USA:

A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.

Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.

Arkansas, USA:

It’s strictly prohibited to pronounce “Arkansas” incorrectly

Arizona, USA:

Hunting camels is prohibited.

It is illegal to manufacture imitation cocaine.

Fairbanks, Alaska, USA:

It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.

Nome, Alaska, USA:

One may not roam the city with a bow and arrows.

[Scandinavian]

Florida, USA:

A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.

Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.

Arkansas, USA:

It’s strictly prohibited to pronounce “Arkansas” incorrectly

Arizona, USA:

Hunting camels is prohibited.

It is illegal to manufacture imitation cocaine.

Fairbanks, Alaska, USA:

It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.

Nome, Alaska, USA:

One may not roam the city with a bow and arrows.

Land of the free, ey?

[Scandinavian]

You are not allowed to gamble in Norway!
Nor are you allowed to spend money on online-poker (all banks must block this)
No servings of alcohol after 02.00 in nightclubs.
Hate against muslims are very ilegal, but anti-semitism is some how ok... (reverse of the whats in the US)

[elmagicochrisg]

Syria

A man is forbidden to look at the body of any woman who is not his wife

That's why they marry all of them...

Polygamy FTW !!!

[Scandinavian]

Then how do they do operation in hospital? Blindfolded?

[Neohound]

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

Presumably that fee would be waived if it was on a trunk road ?

[Egregore]

I live in Kentucky, so here's some strange laws we have here: (with some of my favorites in red)

• If a person steals a horse, they can be publicly hung by the the horse's owner and no law enforcement officers are allowed to stop you.
• A person can be sent to jail for five years for merely sending a bottle of beer, wine or spirits as a gift to a friend in Kentucky.
• An ordinance in Murray, Ky., says the superintendent of sanitation “shall determine whether a person is small, medium or large.” Why the superintendent should make this determination is left unsaid.
• A Kentucky statute says: “No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she is escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club.” Later, an amendment proposed: “The provisions of this statute shall not apply to any female weighing less than sixty pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds; nor shall it apply to female horses.”
• All nude people in your house must be registered in Kentucky.
• An excerpt from brilliant Kentucky state legislation. “No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she be escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club”. The following important ammendment however is to be considered here: “The provisions of this statuate shall not apply to females weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds,
• Any person who appears on any highway, or upon the street of any city that has no police protection, when clothed only in ordinary bathing garb, shall be fined no less than five dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars.” – KRS 436.140
• Any person who displays, handles or uses any kind of reptile in connection with any religious service or gathering shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100). -KRS 437.060 (Passed 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1267a-1.).
• Each year, the mayor of Danville, Ky., must appoint “three intelligent housekeepers” to the Board of Tax Supervisors.
• Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a policeman’s tie.
• In Danville, Ky., it’s illegal to throw slops or soapsuds in the street.
• In Kentucky, according to an old law, it’s illegal to use any kind of reptile in a religious service. It’s not certain if the law would withstand First Amendment scrutiny today.
• In Kentucky every citizen of is required to take a shower once a year.
• In Kentucky you need a license to walk around nude on your property.
• In Lexington, Kentucky, it’s illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your pocket.
• It is illegal in Kentucky to marry the same man more than 3 times.
• It is illegal to fish with a bow and arrow in Kentucky.
• It is illegal to shoot game out of the window of a moving vehicle, with the exception of a whale
• It’s illegal to fish in the Ohio River in Kentucky without an Indiana Fishing License.
By law, anyone who has been drinking is “sober” until he or she “cannot hold onto the ground.”
• No person owning or controlling a billiard or pool table shall permit, for compensation or reward, any minor under eighteen (18) years of age to play any game on the table, unless such minor shall have first displayed an identification card containing his name, age, photograph, and the signature of his parents or guardian. The minor shall keep such identification card on his person, and it shall be subject to inspection at any time by any peace officer. The person owning or controlling such billiard or pool table shall keep and maintain a registration book in which each minor shall sign. The person owning or controlling such billiard or pool table shall supply a blank identification card to each parent or guardian who makes request for same. Any person who violates this section shall be fined not less than ten ($10) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each offense. -KRS 436.320 (Passed 1893; Amended in 1954, Ky. Acts ch. 232, sec. 1)
• No person shall sell, exchange, offer to sell or exchange, display or possess living baby chicks, ducklings, or other fowl or rabbits which have been dyed or colored; nor dye or color any baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or rabbits; nor sell, exchange, offer to sell or exchange or to give away baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or rabbits, under two months of age in any quantity less than six, except that any rabbit weighing three pounds or more may be sold at an age of six weeks. Any person who violates this section shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500. -KRS 436.600 (Passed 1966 Ky. Acts ch. 215, sec. 5.)
• Owensboro: A woman may not buy a hat without her husband’s permission.
All bees entering Kentucky shall be accompanied by certificates of health, stating that the apiary from which the bees came was free from contagious or infectious disease. -KRS 252.130 (Passed in 1922; Repealed in 1948)