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“Illegal To Sell Your Eyes”: 55 Laws From All Around The World That Might Sound Fake But Are Actually True
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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#4
Rose the Cook 6 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!
#5
Rick Murray 35 minutes 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.
#8
Rick Murray 30 minutes 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.
#9
Loosey Goosey 5 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.
#13
#17
Rose the Cook 6 hours ago
It is silly to wear high heels to such places anyway since the ground is always uneven and you risk injury.
#21
Petra Peitsch 4 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.
#25
Spencers slave no more 1 hour 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.
#26
Michael Largey 2 hours ago
The environmental protection agencies in most countries forbid me to dance regardless of headwear.
#28
Rick Murray 18 minutes ago
Well... Um... Kind of makes one wonder what happened enough times that this was made a law.
#29
Michael Largey 2 hours ago
Most people in Vatican City are Italian citizens, who have a divorce law.
#30
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
But all it takes is one good man with a kinder egg to stop a criminal with a kinder egg!
#31
Michael Largey 2 hours ago
"The most important factors in real estate are location, location, and location."
#32
Michael Largey 2 hours ago
"The most important factors in real estate are location, location, and location."
#33
Roman Arendt 3 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.
#35
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago (edited)
Good. Should be implemented everywhere. Ensures fines have the same impact.
#37
Loosey Goosey 5 hours ago
This is a myth. No such law exists and even if it did, how would it be enforced?
#38
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
Kids these days with their sandcastles... They are a menace!
#39
Spencers slave no more 41 minutes 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.
#41
Con O Cuinn 1 hour ago
I've seen this before and still think those measurements are ridiculous. I'm not a huge guy, just under 6 foot. But at 80kg with abs, I still need 36" waist jeans. I'd be dangerously underweight to get below 33.5". And it's not like the Japanese are still the same stereotypical small people, younger generations are significantly taller.
#42
#43
SM 4 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.
#44
#46
Ace 5 hours ago
These are getting worse. Twisted round just from the fact that in some countries attempting to escape is a specific offence in itself, for which you can be prosecuted and face an additional sentence; in some countries it is not, but you will lose your chances of getting early release for 'good behaviour'.
#47
Petra Peitsch 4 hours ago
Germany. Monthly 17.50 euros ZDF Rundfunk. Like FCK you guys, I never had a TV or Radio.
#48
Ace 5 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.
#49
Roman Arendt 2 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).
#55
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Margaret Shannon 6 hours ago
In Dyersburg, Tennessee, it is illegal for spouses to kiss one another on a Sunday. I have violated this law.
Loosey Goosey 4 hours ago (edited)
Not entirely unique to England, Wales or Northern Ireland but one thing that may suprise some visitors is the lack of shops which are open on Sunday evenings. Most shops which are bigger than 280 Square metres are only allowed to trade for a maximum of six hours (five in NI) on Sundays and must not trade at all on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday. Scotland doesn't have Sunday trading laws.
Margaret Shannon 6 hours ago
In Dyersburg, Tennessee, it is illegal for spouses to kiss one another on a Sunday. I have violated this law.
Loosey Goosey 4 hours ago (edited)
Not entirely unique to England, Wales or Northern Ireland but one thing that may suprise some visitors is the lack of shops which are open on Sunday evenings. Most shops which are bigger than 280 Square metres are only allowed to trade for a maximum of six hours (five in NI) on Sundays and must not trade at all on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday. Scotland doesn't have Sunday trading laws.
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