Asinine rules from around the world.

[ls99]

Here is an example:

Mind the gap - it could cost you
An Australian man who left his car window partly down on a hot day has been fined for having an unsecured vehicle. Julian Harris was visiting family in Brisbane's north on Sunday when he left two windows down what he thought was "three to four" centimetres to let some of the hot air escape from the parked car on the 34C day. Harris returned to the car about two hours later to discover a $44 fine for an offence he had never heard of. Under Queensland law, if a driver is more than 3m from their car, the vehicle must be "secured" with the engine off, handbrake applied, ignition key removed (if no one over 16 remains in vehicle) and windows up with a gap no more than 5cm.

Sideswipe: January 7: Dodgy pensioners - Sideswipe - NZ Herald News

Edit add: If you go to the bottom of the page at the link, find funny video of rat running down electric moving staircase.

 

[Major Tom]

Then there are the archaic laws that are still on the books from times gone by,

"In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet."

No Cookies | thetelegraph.com.au

 

[Major Tom]

"In Alexandria, Minneapolis, USA, it is against the law for a man to make love to a woman with the smell of sardines on his breath."

 

[braumeister]

in Alabama, you may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

Dumb Laws, Stupid Laws: We have weird laws, strange laws, and just plain crazy laws!

 

[Dawg52]

"In Alexandria, Minneapolis, USA, it is against the law for a man to make love to a woman with the smell of sardines on his breath."

I'm glad that's not a law here.

 

[jon-nyc]

"In Alexandria, Minneapolis, USA, it is against the law for a man to make love to a woman with the smell of sardines on his breath."

See? See? They give women the vote and this is what happens.

 

[freebird5825]

In NY, a fine of $25 can be levied for flirting.

I am in BIG trouble.

 

[Walt34]

Here's a bunch from West Virginia. The legislative history these must be fascinating.

It is legal to beat your wife so long as it is done in public on Sunday, on the courthouse steps.

Firemen may not whistle or flirt at any woman passing a firehouse.

Roadkill may be taken home for supper.

A person may not hold public office if he or she has ever participated in a duel.

For each act of public swearing a person shall be fined one dollar.

When a railroad passes within 1 mile of a community of 100 or more people in it, they must build a station and stop there regularly to pick up and drop off passengers.

It is legal for a male to have sex with an animal as long as it does not exceed 40 lbs.

 

[Calico]

Here's a bunch from West Virginia. The legislative history these must be fascinating.......For each act of public swearing a person shall be fined one dollar......

There goes my ER stash.

 

[robnplunder]

Roadkill may be taken home for supper.

Sounds pretty sane to me. But I am sure some drivers are intentionally making roadkills instead of going to supermarket for meat.

 

[travelover]

......... I am sure some drivers are intentionally making road kills instead of going to supermarket for meat.

And those racoons are quick, too..........

 

[ERD50]

in Alabama, you may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

Dumb Laws, Stupid Laws: We have weird laws, strange laws, and just plain crazy laws!

I've seen these 'dumb laws' published before, and wonder if they are really true. Looking at the disclaimer form that site ...

And now, the disclaimer...
Remember, many of the laws on this site have been verified, but many have been taken from sources which do not include law citations. The laws have been taken from newsgroups, websites, city governments, and visitors to the site. Keep in mind that this is an entertainment site,

I'd like to see the actual references for these. I think some I've seen were intentionally twisted, like "It is illegal to shoot a frog longer than two inches between the hours of 2PM and 3PM on even numbed Sundays within city limits" is just a twist on "It is illegal to fire guns within City limits". So the first is true, but superfluous.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Yep, just as I expected. A bunch of user supplied stuff w/o any reference. Here's one that someone took the time to debunk:

Law Summary

No one may stand on the sidewalk on the 500 block of Illinois Avenue. (Retracted)

« Back to the Laws
About This Law

In light of some new information I received on December 31st, 2009, I have retracted this "dumb law". Read on for more information:

-----

Good evening, Mayor Cole:

I am writing to you this evening in response to a web link that a friend sent me. The website involved indicates that “No one may stand on the sidewalk on the 500 block of Illinois Ave [In Carbondale, Illinois].” I am trying to ascertain whether or not this is true. I have attempted to use the search utility for the Carbondale Revised Code as made available on the Carbondale website, to no avail.

If you are not the person who can properly address this question, I respectfully request that you forward it to the person who can do so.

Respectfully,
Gregg Sperling
Carbondale, IL Resident

-----

It is not true.

Carbondale Revised Code section 17-1-4 addresses the fact that a person or group may not obstruct the flow of pedestrian traffic on a sidewalk (and it goes into more detail), which that website has determined means that a person can't stand on the sidewalk.

A person can certainly stand on the sidewalk, but a person can not stand on the sidewalk with the purpose of not allowing another person to walk past or whatever. Signs are posted to this effect in the 500 block of South Illinois Avenue, as this has been an area where panhandlers and vagrants have often taken camp to beg for money or stop/harass people who are downtown for dinner or business.

Thanks for the inquiry.

BRAD COLE, Mayor

Hard to trust anything on that site.

-ERD50

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

For you bikers out there.

Motorcyclist fined $146 for lifting his leg off footrest

 

[ERhoosier]

I've seen these 'dumb laws' published before, and wonder if they are really true. ......I think some I've seen were intentionally twisted, like "It is illegal to shoot a frog longer than two inches between the hours of 2PM and 3PM on even numbed Sundays within city limits" is just a twist on "It is illegal to fire guns within City limits". So the first is true, but superfluous.

-ERD50

^^^^^

In these discussions of absurd law I've also heard this one:
"In US, half the people are required to pay federal income tax so the other half do not".
While that may roughly reflect the current situation, it expresses a rather "twisted" view of actual US tax law.

51% of Americans Pay No Federal Income Taxes - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

Adding bizarre or inflammatory obfuscatory content, like "...a frog longer than two inches between the hours of 2PM and 3PM on even numbered Sundays" or "...so the other half do not", is a classic way to grab attention.

 

[Major Tom]

I didn't bother checking the ones I posted. I do appreciate the detailed analysis in this forum when it comes to investment talk, but sometimes you gotta cut loose and have a bit of fun without the analysis and fact-checking.

But hey - fact-check away if that's what floats your boat!

 

[robnplunder]

I didn't bother checking the ones I posted. I do appreciate the detailed analysis in this forum when it comes to investment talk, but sometimes you gotta cut loose and have a bit of fun without the analysis and fact-checking.

But hey - fact-check away if that's what floats your boat!

I use my phone to check facts when one of my buddies rattle off what he heard or read from the net. 1/2 of what he says is BS so having a fact checker around is good.

 

[BigNick]

A real-life one: my wife got an automated speeding ticket (here in France), but it was sent to me because the car is in my name. To avoid the penalty points being given to the wrong driver, there's a form you can fill in saying who was driving. So I filled it in and sent it back. Three weeks later, the reply came: "Your request to assign the points to another driver has been denied. Reason: you didn't sent it by registered mail." In other words, we received it, but because you can't prove we received it, we're "protecting your interests" by rejecting it. (Fortunately, there was still time to re-send the request, by registered mail this time, before the fine went up.)

 

[ERD50]

I didn't bother checking the ones I posted. I do appreciate the detailed analysis in this forum when it comes to investment talk, but sometimes you gotta cut loose and have a bit of fun without the analysis and fact-checking.

But hey - fact-check away if that's what floats your boat!

Yeah, but ... if the 'joke' is that these are real laws that are stupid, then for me there is no joke if they are not real laws. It just all falls apart.

If the site was "Hey, let's make up some funny-sounding laws", then have at it, but I doubt I'd find that very amusing, but to each their own.

^^^^^

In these discussions of absurd law I've also heard this one:
"In US, half the people are required to pay federal income tax so the other half do not".
While that may roughly reflect the current situation, it expresses a rather "twisted" view of actual US tax law.

51% of Americans Pay No Federal Income Taxes - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

Adding bizarre or inflammatory obfuscatory content, like "...a frog longer than two inches between the hours of 2PM and 3PM on even numbered Sundays" or "...so the other half do not", is a classic way to grab attention.

I don't see the connection. It is true, as long as you include the "Federal Income Tax" term specifically. There are lots of different taxes, so breaking one major one out specifically doesn't seem 'absurd/twisted' to me.

-ERD50