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It’s easy to think of the law as something very serious and perfectly rational. After all, it’s handled by important institutions and meant to keep society running in order. But as it turns out, it’s not always as sensible as it seems.
We’ve gathered some truly unusual laws from around the world, and let’s just say they’re not what you’d expect. We had a hard time wrapping our heads around quite a few of them. Scroll down to check out the list and upvote the ones that surprised you the most!
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#2
Loosey Goosey 19 hours ago
Not just in Scotland. Right to roam exists all over the UK, but there are less restrictions in Scotland. Trespassing isn't a criminal offence in the UK.
#4
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 22 hours ago (edited)
Good. Should be implemented everywhere. Ensures fines have the same impact.
#5
#8
Rose the Cook 20 hours ago
It is silly to wear high heels to such places anyway since the ground is always uneven and you risk injury.
#9
liam newton-harding 5 hours ago
This is a law meant to ward off inconsiderate tourists? Want to sit, and eat you snack? Go to a cafe, sit on a park bench.
#10
Petra Peitsch 19 hours ago
I was born there, and lived till my mid '20s, and never ever heard about this "law". Although, Ceausescu and his wife Elena were a special kind of dipshíts. Their years spent in school didn't even add up to a primary school education. Together. So, it may be legit.
#11
Rick Murray 15 hours ago
France is weird about a lot of medical things, but DNA tests in general. If I wanted to do one, like for ancestry or whatever, I'd need to order one from the UK (which I think is technically unlawful but a law that's pretty hard to police...) and send it back to the UK for processing. Genealogists were hoping an exemption could be made, but the Senate ruled to keep them unlawful outside of legal medical reasons. I think France might be the last country in the EU that doesn't permit home testing.
#13
Andrew Keir 10 hours ago
Makes as much sense as forcing the woman to change her name - but not the man.
#15
Michael Largey 17 hours ago (edited)
Texas is not too big on anyone seeing anything too clearly.
#18
Roman Arendt 17 hours ago
This among many more human rights violations is the reason the accession negotiations with the EU are on hold for more than a decade now. I sincerely hope you and your fellow Turks will be able and willing enough to oust pseudo-Sultan Erdogan and his cronies out of office the next chance you get.
#19
#20
Andrew Keir 9 hours ago
I'm beginning to suspect that elements in the Finnish legal system have taken their eyes off the ball. I'll leave the final pun to any Panda who's still reading my random remarks...
#22
Michael Largey 17 hours ago
The environmental protection agencies in most countries forbid me to dance regardless of headwear.
#25
Elladine DesIsles 17 hours ago
Here in Toronto, it is illegal to feed any wild birds or animals (including pigeons; we have a great many here) on both public and private property. There is an exception for backyard bird feeders provided that they are only accessible to songbirds, and spilled seed must be promptly cleaned up. It is a city bylaw so violations are not actually criminal, but the fines can be hundreds of dollars.
#26
Rick Murray 14 hours ago
Well... Um... Kind of makes one wonder what happened enough times that this was made a law.
#27
#28
StrangeOne 14 hours ago
Now I know why the Filipinos at my work have expressed how appalled they are that divorce is acceptable in North America, and common. Quite frankly, I think divorce is a good thing to have.
#30
Loosey Goosey 19 hours ago
You have to have a TV licence in the UK as well. £180 a year. The money goes to funding the BBC. 🙄
#31
Keith Evans 18 hours ago
It was illegal in the Australian state of Western Australia to possess, transport, or sell more than 50 kg of potatoes. Enacted under the Marketing of Potatoes Act 1946, police had the power to stop and search vehicles for unregulated "spud smuggling". However, this law was officially repealed in May 2021
#32
Roman Arendt 17 hours ago
Because if it were to come to disputes, it would be much easier for the courts to decide based on the "Bienenrecht" (§§ 961 ff. BGB) than based on the extremely complicated german "Bereicherungsrecht" (§§ 812 ff. BGB) or our torts laws respectively. But that might tell us we should simplify the latter (every law student would be very grateful).
#33
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 22 hours ago
Kids these days with their sandcastles... They are a menace!
#34
Rose the Cook 21 hours ago
Don't know about being against the law but my mother insisted it "wasn't proper" to wash male and female underwear in the same load or hang them both on the line at the same time. As far as I know she had never been to Minnesota!
#35
Petra Peitsch 19 hours ago
In Germany is also not illegal. However, if you break any laws through it, it will add to your original punishment.If caught ever again, of course ...
#36
Spencers slave no more 16 hours ago
It absolutely is not illegal in Samoa to forget your wife's birthday. Married women all over Bolivia can drink as much wine as they want. On the island of Capri, "noisy" footwear is banned only in the old town due to acoustics, not the entire island. Chewing gum is not illegal in Singapore BUT there are extremely strict and/or prohibitive laws pertaining to gum.
#37
Ace 20 hours ago
Mostly true apart from the toilet thing, already mentioned higher up. Oh, and elevators too. It's possible that individual apartment buildings could have rules about their use, but it is absolutely not a law. And no, the noise things are not "systematically enforced", but some Swiss neighbours may not be reticent about calling the police if you're making a disturbance.
#39
Loosey Goosey 19 hours ago
This is a myth. No such law exists and even if it did, how would it be enforced?
#40
SM 19 hours ago (edited)
Laws almost never get repealed, that is the reason you can find so many crazy laws still on the books. The people making laws don't want to take time out for this. Instead two things mainly happen with such laws. One is that they stop enforcing them. And the other is they pass a law or such that "overrides" the other law. For instance, Trump couldn't get the votes to repeal the law that say that the auto manufactures have to pay a fine for not meeting the clean air acts. Instead they passed a law to change the fine to zero. And another thing this administration is doing is now enforcing hundreds of years old laws that were "suppressed" by a recent law (right to have an abortion) when the supreme Court reversed its ruling on that.
#42
Spencers slave no more 15 hours ago
This isn't true. Throwing snowballs at traffic is an offence, but ordinary snowball fights in parks, gardens etc are considered normal winter activities.
#44
#47
Spencers slave no more 15 hours ago
Winnie the Pooh was never banned in Poland. He was, however, rejected as the town mascot by councilors in Tuszyn, Poland, because he doesn't wear pants.
#48
Rali Meyer 1 hour ago
I am insulted by the fact that I could be sent to jail when insulting somone
#50
Rick Murray 15 hours ago (edited)
It's bollocks. The origin of the myth is down to the first two publishers renaming Napoleon in Animal Farm to be César (so keeping the spirit while rejecting a pig being named Napoleon). This was purely a personal decision by the editor and companies involved. Since 1981 the text has been translated correctly. It is not, and never has been, a law - never mind "quite a famous" one.
#52
Rali Meyer 1 hour ago
really? when I was in Sao Paulo in the 90s I could walk faster than moving traffic because there were so many cars. My mate went to the shop and caught up with us later, 300 meters on
#53
#55
Ace 20 hours ago
No. they have hard shoulders just like most other places, which, also like most other places, are for emergency use only. A flat tyre would obviously be accepted as such, just like a mechanical breakdown. Running out of fuel is your own fault and you may be fined for doing so.
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Margaret Shannon 21 hours ago
In Dyersburg, Tennessee, it is illegal for spouses to kiss one another on a Sunday. I have violated this law.
Rika 11 hours ago
In France, you can marry your deceased partner if the court rules they would have consented to it. The law came to be during war times in order to allow pregnant women to be legally widowed rather than unmarried if their man got called to war before the wedding and d*ed there. It's still in use today, about 30 times a year (spouses of cops, firefighters or people who d*ed in an accident before the actual wedding day)
Margaret Shannon 21 hours ago
In Dyersburg, Tennessee, it is illegal for spouses to kiss one another on a Sunday. I have violated this law.
Rika 11 hours ago
In France, you can marry your deceased partner if the court rules they would have consented to it. The law came to be during war times in order to allow pregnant women to be legally widowed rather than unmarried if their man got called to war before the wedding and d*ed there. It's still in use today, about 30 times a year (spouses of cops, firefighters or people who d*ed in an accident before the actual wedding day)
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