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30 Surprising Laws From All Around The World That Might Sound Fake But Are Actually True
In Italy, a saying goes, “The world is beautiful because it’s full of variety,” even when that variety is just… plain weird.
Specifically, laws can be downright crazy. They’re meant to be a set of rules we all agree on because they just make sense, but sometimes things clearly get out of control. And we’re not just talking about weird laws in the US — despite them making up the majority of our list. You’ll soon realize that making random things illegal is a worldwide habit. Like, who came up with a law forbidding people to ride a cow while drunk in Scotland? Or who’s that party pooper who made playing dominoes in Sevilla illegal? And these are just the tip of the “funny laws” iceberg you’re gonna uncover today.
We’re about to take a look at some of the weirdest laws from around the world that were actually passed by lawmakers. A lot of them are just plain funny, but others are so strange that we can’t even imagine how they came about. And while some of these laws may have been long forgotten over time, they still stand as a testament to the fact that weirdness is alive and well in the world’s legal system — and that sometimes, it’s not even close to being dead.
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Canadian radio stations must play Canadian artists' music as a certain percentage of the total playtime.
It's a bit misleading. Canadian radio stations must play Canadian artists' music as a certain percentage of the total play time. I don't know the current percentage but without this rule, Canadian airwaves would be overrun with US music and those great artists that Powerful Katrinka mentioned probably would never have become known.
it has it's purpose - how is it misleading though?
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I know France has the "Toubon Law," which requires 40% air time in the French language, but I didn't know they had a law about the country of origin of that music. Do you know the name of the law? PS - The Toubon Law is strict as it excludes songs that are mostly in French with a little English thrown in. I think that's one of the reasons why German music often features several English words, while French music rarely does. The other reason is cultural.
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Ah yes, CRTC rules. They’re….complicated. “Artist “ includes things like, producers, writers etc. It’s more about including Canadian content. Again, very convoluted.
Ummm.... Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, K.D. Lang, Alanis Morissett, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Robbie Robertson... are just a few famoumusicians from Canada.
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I remember having Canadian consultants visit my office once (in Illinois) and when they connected to our wifi and fired up their streaming app, they exclaimed how much more music variety became available. This was about 8 years ago though so it may be different now.
They can play others. A certain percentage has to come from Canadian artists.
No—just a certain percentage of music played must be from Canadian artists.
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Yes..it's called CanCon (Canadian Content) regulation, introduced in 1971. Today it's 35% between 6AM and 6PM.
my local public radio station plays a few Canadian shows every night before switching to the BBC. I love As it Happens. and Tom Powers
I think there’s a similar rule with the government funded radio stations (ABC, Triple J) in Australia as well.
Use to be the same in France (but French artists). Not sure if it still is
Not the only country in the world... Belgium too... wondering who copied who.
That's waaaay reductive and a little insulting, Sid. There are tons of way more talented and worthy Canadian musicians. See Powerful Katrinka and Bad Cat's comments
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It's illegal naming your baby something weird in Denmark.
Making international calls is a crime in North Korea.
No driving while wearing flip-flops in Spain.
Flip-flops are also illegal in the UK but only if they prevent you from operating the controls correctly. https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/road-safety/driving-without-shoes-is-it-illegal/
If a child burps during a church service, his or her parents may be arrested in Nebraska.
In Kentucky... a woman cannot marry the same man four times.
It’s against the law to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7 pm in Arizona, USA.
In Baltimore, Maryland, it’s illegal to bring a lion to the movies.
You can't turn off your phone's camera sound in South Korea.
In New Jersey... bullet-proof vests are banned while committing a crime.
Omigosh. Bc whoevers commiting the crime will for sure listen to the laws…
No driving with a child on the hood of your car, Oregon.
It is illegal to bite off another person’s leg in Rhode Island.
Flying a UFO over Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France is illegal.
According to a law in Scotland, you must allow someone into your house if he knocks on your door and needs to use the bathroom.
Sharing your Netflix password is an offense in Tennessee, U.S.A.
In Ohio... it's illegal to sell dyed chickens.
In Ohio it's against the law to kill a housefly within 160 feet of a church without a license. In Cleveland: It's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license. In Marion: You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street.
Nordic bars need a license to allow dancing on their premises.
It's illegal to disrupt a wedding in South Australia.
Note: this post originally had 105 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Canada: It's illegal to remove a band-aid in public. Canada has also banned elephant rides at all of its accredited facilities - this one is recent. Toronto bylaw that prohibits dragging a dead horse down Yonge Street on Sundays. Edit: Source: https://www.slice.ca/35-weird-canadian-laws-you-didnt-know-existed-2/
In the UK, it's illegal to beat a doormat in the street after 8 a.m. It's also illegal to carry a plank of wood down the street. And it's illegal to be drunk in a pub or bar
The drunk in a pub is an old one (well, all of those are!) 'It is an offence for a pub landlord to allow drunkenness in their pub' it comes under Section 12 of the 1872 Licensing Act. It also stipulates that “every person found drunk… on any licensed premises shall be liable to a penalty'. There is far more recent legislation, the 2003 version of the Licensing Act, which states that alcoholic beverages should not be sold to, or on behalf of someone already drunk.
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Germany: It's forbidden to cross brigdes while marching in step. (It can cause bridges to swing and collapse)
Yep. Sets up a resonant frequency. The dumbfuck who designed London's Millennium Bridge forgot about resonant frequencies and it was nearly the River Tay disaster all over again.
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But there's a May-February squirrel hunting season. I guess you can't scare them, but you can blow their brains out with a rifle.
Load More Replies... Albania: it is illegal to be left handed…. I guess I can’t go there without being arrested lol.
In Massachusetts I can order 60 cases of wine a year from another state, but I can't order any amount of distilled spirits from outside the state.
I recently learned that in the majoritx of the US, it is LEGAL to just ignore someone in need of help. That you can not be legally made to give first aid or even call the police. So i might add to this list that in Germany, it is illegal to not give some kind of aid in case of emergency. (if you are firs in scene) You can go to jail for not stopping for an accident. Although if it is night or otherwise suspicious, it is enough to call police.
That depends on the state and in some states it may only be the case in certain cities . Re-check this.
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Whats fkd up is this stuff prolly happend in order for it to become a law...maybe im wrong...jus seems too random
It would be interesting to hear some of these back stories.
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I expected more of North Korea looking at what of a country it is. Also most of those UK laws are old and were just left. I remember some guy breaking as much as he can of those stupid laws in one day
I really need to know the back stories for why most of these things are illegal lol where can I find out
I'm fairly certain it's illegal, at least in the US, to shoot large numbers of people on public (or private) land. Maybe if more people knew this, there would be fewer shootings.
The problem with "laws" are the enforcement. Any "rule" or "law" that has no enforcement or recourse is merely a "strongly suggested commentary". Not to intentionally entice "law-breaking" here, but any of these rules that someone/institution cannot supply a recourse or reasonable penalty for, is someone making them up. Query laws and rules to find out, especially if they fail common sense. Many complexes and HOA's have ridiculous by-laws that serve no purpose but generate revenue for said organizations.
In South Carolina it's illegal to go to church on Sunday without your shotgun
Scary thing about all of these is someone did them - hence the law.
There is a federal law in Canada that all post offices must have a hitching post by the front door. If you look around at any post offices built before the mid-80s, you'll see a post there.
Adopted in ZA, with a CLAUSE: "Servicemen". Any member of the then-apartheid militarily could wait at a bust stop and EVERYONE was encouraged to offer them a lift if you were going in the same direction. Tip: Military servicemen had to be standing in uniform, with rank, basically completely white soldiers and only white people could privately own cars.. sooooo...
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Some of these I can see some possible sense. Like in Nevada closing gates was likely caused by tourists or other people leaving ranch gates open and letting free range cattle out. But for many laws I would love to hear why people felt a need for the law in the first place.
Canada: It's illegal to remove a band-aid in public. Canada has also banned elephant rides at all of its accredited facilities - this one is recent. Toronto bylaw that prohibits dragging a dead horse down Yonge Street on Sundays. Edit: Source: https://www.slice.ca/35-weird-canadian-laws-you-didnt-know-existed-2/
In the UK, it's illegal to beat a doormat in the street after 8 a.m. It's also illegal to carry a plank of wood down the street. And it's illegal to be drunk in a pub or bar
The drunk in a pub is an old one (well, all of those are!) 'It is an offence for a pub landlord to allow drunkenness in their pub' it comes under Section 12 of the 1872 Licensing Act. It also stipulates that “every person found drunk… on any licensed premises shall be liable to a penalty'. There is far more recent legislation, the 2003 version of the Licensing Act, which states that alcoholic beverages should not be sold to, or on behalf of someone already drunk.
Load More Replies... Germany: It's forbidden to cross brigdes while marching in step. (It can cause bridges to swing and collapse)
Yep. Sets up a resonant frequency. The dumbfuck who designed London's Millennium Bridge forgot about resonant frequencies and it was nearly the River Tay disaster all over again.
Load More Replies... But there's a May-February squirrel hunting season. I guess you can't scare them, but you can blow their brains out with a rifle.
Load More Replies... Albania: it is illegal to be left handed…. I guess I can’t go there without being arrested lol.
In Massachusetts I can order 60 cases of wine a year from another state, but I can't order any amount of distilled spirits from outside the state.
I recently learned that in the majoritx of the US, it is LEGAL to just ignore someone in need of help. That you can not be legally made to give first aid or even call the police. So i might add to this list that in Germany, it is illegal to not give some kind of aid in case of emergency. (if you are firs in scene) You can go to jail for not stopping for an accident. Although if it is night or otherwise suspicious, it is enough to call police.
That depends on the state and in some states it may only be the case in certain cities . Re-check this.
Load More Replies... Whats fkd up is this stuff prolly happend in order for it to become a law...maybe im wrong...jus seems too random
It would be interesting to hear some of these back stories.
Load More Replies... I expected more of North Korea looking at what of a country it is. Also most of those UK laws are old and were just left. I remember some guy breaking as much as he can of those stupid laws in one day
I really need to know the back stories for why most of these things are illegal lol where can I find out
I'm fairly certain it's illegal, at least in the US, to shoot large numbers of people on public (or private) land. Maybe if more people knew this, there would be fewer shootings.
The problem with "laws" are the enforcement. Any "rule" or "law" that has no enforcement or recourse is merely a "strongly suggested commentary". Not to intentionally entice "law-breaking" here, but any of these rules that someone/institution cannot supply a recourse or reasonable penalty for, is someone making them up. Query laws and rules to find out, especially if they fail common sense. Many complexes and HOA's have ridiculous by-laws that serve no purpose but generate revenue for said organizations.
In South Carolina it's illegal to go to church on Sunday without your shotgun
Scary thing about all of these is someone did them - hence the law.
There is a federal law in Canada that all post offices must have a hitching post by the front door. If you look around at any post offices built before the mid-80s, you'll see a post there.
Adopted in ZA, with a CLAUSE: "Servicemen". Any member of the then-apartheid militarily could wait at a bust stop and EVERYONE was encouraged to offer them a lift if you were going in the same direction. Tip: Military servicemen had to be standing in uniform, with rank, basically completely white soldiers and only white people could privately own cars.. sooooo...
Load More Replies... Some of these I can see some possible sense. Like in Nevada closing gates was likely caused by tourists or other people leaving ranch gates open and letting free range cattle out. But for many laws I would love to hear why people felt a need for the law in the first place.
