What’s Surprisingly Illegal? People Shared Their Thoughts.
Laws are strange, don’t you think…?
Some of them make perfect sense…and then there are some that seem to make absolutely no sense at all.
Read on to hear from AskReddit users about things that are surprisingly illegal.
1. In Iceland.
“Where do I start with the Icelandic Naming Laws?
I could go on a long winded rant, but I’d rather just leave it at this: Your name has to have something Icelandic.
Example: John Smith is not allowed. You’d have to change it to Jón, the Icelandic version of the name John. You could also change your last name to (name of father)son. Finally, you could have an Icelandic middle name.
Source on this: I was born in Iceland, and the government told my parents I couldn’t have my name, so they gave me a middle name.”
2. A different world.
“Umm…a woman in Saudi Arabia just got sentenced to 34 years prison because of a mild tweet statement about current political situation in her country.
So, political opinion is hugely illegal there.”
3. It’s illegal!
“It’s illegal to own a rabbit in the Australian state of Queensland, unless you’re a magician.”
4. Ahhh, Missouri.
“In Missouri it’s illegal to wrestle a bear.
So don’t be trying to go rounds with Smokey!”
5. Really?
“Buying stamps at US post offices if you’re under 18.
Most clerks ignore this, but one actually insisted that I could not buy a stamp to send my letter cross country because I didn’t have ID on me saying I was over 18.
So if Little Timmy the Orphan wants to send his postcard to Santa, he’ll need to bring his non-existent parent or a shady guy off the streets or else the kids at the orphanage don’t get any presents.
Easily the stupidest law I’ve encountered.”
6. The middle man.
“Selling cars directly to consumers.
The government, working for the people as always, made it illegal to not use a car dealership.”
7. Public intoxication.
“As a non-American going to the US for the first time, I find it weird you can’t be visibly d**nk in public without being questioned by an officer.
Like, how’d y’all get home after the wee hours?”
8. Still on the books.
“In my small hometown, spitting on the ground.
It was originally used when men chewed tobacco and the spit would stain the sidewalks.
Not enforced anymore.”
9. Safety first.
“In Australia ( except for New South Wales), it is illegal to use your mobile phone to pay at a drive-thru of a fast-food venue (KFC, McDonalds, Red Rooster, etc.), unless you apply the handbrake and switch the engine off BEFORE you touch your phone.
If caught, the penalties are fines worth hundreds of dollars, plus a few demerit points on your licence; which the amount of both varies from state to state.
A lot of Aussie drivers only found out about this in 2019, after Victoria Police responded to a Facebook poll that they had put up asking the following question “When using a fast-food outlet’s drive-thru service, can I use my phone to pay?” in which out of the 51,000 people that voted, 65% said “Yes”.”
10. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania.
“Here’s some odd laws from my state of Pennsylvania:
• in Ridley Park, You are not allowed to walk backwards while eating peanuts in front of Barnstormers Auditorium while a performance is taking place
• It’s illegal to sing while in a bathtub
• No more than 16 females may live under one roof, as it constitutes a brothel
• If you live in Morrisville and you’re a woman, you’ve got to have a permit to wear makeup.”
11. Also in PA…
“• It’s illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outside
• If you have a d**k and you’re in Allentown, don’t even think about getting aroused in public. Tell your little buddy to stay down until y’all get home
• Fortune Telling is illegal
• If you’ve been in a duel, I hope you don’t have plans to run for Governor, because you won’t be able to.
• Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish.”
12. Why not?!?!
“In England, you can’t enter the Parliament wearing a suit of armor.
Even if you don’t have a sword or any kind of weapon.”
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