Bizarre laws in the UK..

Capt Lightning

Capt Lightning

Well-known Member
Location
Historic Buchan, Scotland
Forget Singapore, the UK has some pretty odd / archaic laws ....

It is still an offence to beat or shake any carpet rug or mat in any street in the Metropolitan Police District, although you are allowed to shake a doormat before 8am.


It is illegal to keep a pigsty in front of your house (Unless duly hidden).

It is illegal to erect a washing line across any street.

It is illegal to sing any profane or obscene song or ballad in any street.


It is illegal to wilfully and wantonly disturb people by ringing their doorbells or knocking at their doors

It is illegal to order or permit any servant to stand on the sill of any window to clean or paint it.


It is illegal to eat Mute Swan unless you’re the Queen of Great Britain.



It is an offense to be intoxicated (drunk) and in charge of a cow in Scotland.

It is illegal under the terms of the Prohibition and Inspections Act of 1998 to cause a nuclear explosion.

You can't seem to get away with anything these days.
 

I googled that swan thing, and found this. (Ah, Britain, what would we do without you)? :D

ETON, United Kingdom — Here is a fun piece of trivia: The Queen owns all the swans in Britain.
Or, more accurately: Any unclaimed mute swan in open waters in England and Wales is hers if she wants it. This was a more valid piece of legislation back in medieval times, when swans were a delicacy reserved for the wealthiest dinner tables.
But Britain often displays a peculiar preference for doing things the way they used to be done then, rather than how they should be done now. The swan law stands, and so does the annual census of all the swans in the River Thames, a centuries-old tradition known as the Swan Upping that takes place the third week in July.
GlobalPost went on a swan upping. It was wild.
 
This is a rich vein worth mining. Just google weird laws and a country.
Here are some Aussie results although some are merely rules/regulations rather than actual laws.


  • In Western Australia, it’s illegal to possess more than 50 kilograms of potatoes
  • In Victoria, the Summary Offences Act 1966 states that it’s an offence to fly a kite or play a game in a public place “to the annoyance of another person.”
  • You cannot swim in Brighton Beach unless you are wearing a neck to knee swimsuit
  • Bars are supposed to have a stable, water and they should feed the horses that come with patrons
  • If you are advertising a reward for finding lost or stolen objects, the advertisement must include a statement that no questions will be asked
  • In the absence of a urinal, you are allowed to urinate on the rear left tire of your vehicle
  • A recently passed law makes it illegal to come closer than one hundred meters from where a carcass of a dead whale is
  • Wearing hot pink pants is illegal after midday on a Sunday
  • In Melbourne, vacuuming your house between 10pm and 7am during weekdays and 10pm and 9am during the weekends is against the law
  • Joking in Australian airports about bombs and terrorist is a sure way to find yourself before a judge
 
Capt Lightning said:
Forget Singapore, the UK has some pretty odd / archaic laws ....

It is illegal to sing any profane or obscene song or ballad in any street.

It is an offense to be intoxicated (drunk) and in charge of a cow in Scotland.

It is illegal under the terms of the Prohibition and Inspections Act of 1998 to cause a nuclear explosion.
Click to expand...

Ah, see, we're not allowed to have any fun any more. Hahaha
 
In the state of Maryland, where I live,

1. It is illegal to take a lion to the movies.

2. It is illegal to use profanity when on a highway or any other public road.

3. It is illegal to bathe in a public fountain within city limits.
 
Why, Pappy, you mean you don't regularly take your lion to the movies?

(I have to wonder what happened that prompted that law to be passed!)
 

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