November 7, 2007
Loopy laws
A little-known law which prohibits people dying while in the Houses of Parliament has been voted the UK's most ludicrous piece of legislation.From the BBC. Other noteworthy contenders:Another law which states it is treason to use a postage stamp upside down was placed in second place by those polled by UKTV Gold.
The most absurd international law was judged to be in the US state of Ohio, where it is illegal to get fish drunk.
# 3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
# 5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter
# 6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
# 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
Posted by David on November 7, 2007 8:37 AM
I think it was in 1964 that Playboy (I just read the articles, OK!!!) reported, among other silly laws, that there was a law dating back to the era of Roger Williams making it legal for a Massachusetts resident to shoot a Rhode Island resident crossing the state line. I don't thik it was explicitly repealed, but doubtless fell with changes in the Constitution of the Commonwealth...
Posted by: teqjack on November 7, 2007 3:02 PM
It makes me want to go to Scotland and knock on some strangers door and make them let me use the john.
Also...I've been to the city of York with Scotsman...but he wasn't carrying a bow and arrow. Close call, that one.
Posted by: Circe on November 8, 2007 1:53 AM
The thing to remember is that most loopy laws were not loopy at the time they were passed. It's usually only with the passage of time that they become goofy.
To use an example: Yorkshire, as I recall is a border county, and there was a strong tradition of raiding on both sides of the border. There was also a tradition of assasination within Scottish politics that need not have stopped at the border. A Scotsman with weapons in an English city at that time would probably be considered to be up to no good and it's likely the city authorities were trying to keep people from hesitating when they shouldn't. There was enough bad blood between the founders of Rhode Island and the magistrates of Massachusetts at the time of Rhode Island's founding that that law makes sense as well.
The other kind of law, repesented by the getting fish drunk law of Ohio, I suspect tends to be the variety of laws passed because somebody *had* made a nuisance of themselves doing precisely that and, when admonished, used a "There's nothing in the law books specifically against it!" type of defense to keep on doing it until the law got passed. (If animal cruelty laws were invoked the response would probably have been: "Well prove it's cruel to get a fish drunk!".
Since it's illegal for women to be topless just about everywhere I suspect that the Liverpool law represents a concession to a fish store to allow it to pull in customers (Or maybe a concession to an employee who was tired of having her blouses ruined?).
OTOH, I'm not going to even *try* to justify laws 5 or 6. The UK must have a *very* interesting attitude towards sanitation. ^_^;
Posted by: Small Pink Mouse on November 10, 2007 11:30 PM
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