Britain's Strangest Laws
Alex
The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
Guess what Liverpool shops I'd be visiting 
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071106/od_afp/britainlawsoffbeat
LONDON (AFP) - Queen Elizabeth II's speech in the British parliament Tuesday may have been routine but at least nobody got bored to death. That would have been against the law.
Dying in parliament is an offence and is also by far the most absurd law in Britain, according to a survey of nearly 4,000 people by a television channel showing a legal drama series.
And though the lords were clad in their red and white ermine cloaks and ambassadors from around the world wore colourful national costumes, at least nobody turned up in a suit of armour. Illegal.
Other rules deemed utterly stupid included one that permits a pregnant woman to urinate in a policeman's hat and murdering bow-and-arrow-carrying Scotsmen within the city walls of York, northern England.
A law stating that in Liverpool, only a clerk in a tropical fish store is allowed to be publicly topless, was also ridiculous, said a poll of 3,931 people for UKTV Gold television out Tuesday.
Nearly half of those surveyed admitted to breaking the ban on eating mince pies on Christmas Day, which dates back to the 17th century and was originally designed to outlaw gluttony during the rule of the Puritan Oliver Crowmell.
The laws and other regulations were culled from published research into ancient legislation that has never been repealed although subsequent statutes have rendered them obsolete.
Respondents were given a shortlist and asked to vote.
Most ridiculous British law:
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent)
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (seven percent)
3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent)
4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day (five percent)
5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (four percent)
6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (four percent)
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (3.5 percent)
8. It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (three percent)
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (three percent)
10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (two percent)
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071106/od_afp/britainlawsoffbeat
LONDON (AFP) - Queen Elizabeth II's speech in the British parliament Tuesday may have been routine but at least nobody got bored to death. That would have been against the law.
Dying in parliament is an offence and is also by far the most absurd law in Britain, according to a survey of nearly 4,000 people by a television channel showing a legal drama series.
And though the lords were clad in their red and white ermine cloaks and ambassadors from around the world wore colourful national costumes, at least nobody turned up in a suit of armour. Illegal.
Other rules deemed utterly stupid included one that permits a pregnant woman to urinate in a policeman's hat and murdering bow-and-arrow-carrying Scotsmen within the city walls of York, northern England.
A law stating that in Liverpool, only a clerk in a tropical fish store is allowed to be publicly topless, was also ridiculous, said a poll of 3,931 people for UKTV Gold television out Tuesday.
Nearly half of those surveyed admitted to breaking the ban on eating mince pies on Christmas Day, which dates back to the 17th century and was originally designed to outlaw gluttony during the rule of the Puritan Oliver Crowmell.
The laws and other regulations were culled from published research into ancient legislation that has never been repealed although subsequent statutes have rendered them obsolete.
Respondents were given a shortlist and asked to vote.
Most ridiculous British law:
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent)
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (seven percent)
3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent)
4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day (five percent)
5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (four percent)
6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (four percent)
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (3.5 percent)
8. It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (three percent)
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (three percent)
10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (two percent)
Comments
however I see they've removed a few because they might not have been true, which is rather disappointing
It is illegal to stand within one hundred yards of the reigning monarch when not wearing socks
Any boy under the age of 10 may not see a naked mannequin.
If a steam locomotive is driven on roads, a man must walk in front of the vehicle with a red flag during the day and a red lantern at night to warn passersby.
Placing a postage stamp that bears the Queen (or King) upside down is considered treason.
Here
Id hate to think what the precedant for the lady ****ing in the copper's hat was.
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Damn Alex -- your wit is too quick for me.
I'll be in Liverpool on Saturday - I'll have a look round for you HH to see which have the biggest...er... fish ;%
1. It is illegal to bathe without clothes on.
2. It is illegal to dry your dishes with a towel or dishwasher.
3. You can't eat ice cream on Sundays (yet I don't see any of the stores locking up the freezers on Sundays around here :O )
4. Also, you can't whisper "dirty" things in your lover's ear during sex...
That fourth one would probably be struck down if it went to court, since it violates the First Amendment. Whoever wrote these laws was probably smoking something, since it's also legal to smoke marijuana on your own property here...
Is it me, or do I detect a slight sense of apprehension in Dan's post? Could a major scofflaw be on the loose Down Under?
@merseytart
(Not that I possess I bow-and-arrow)
Well in that case they are still charged and with the crime and it is added to their criminal record. Whilst they wont serve jail time or anything, it is still recorded as a conviction - I also believe that MP's spouses are void of recieving a pension if their beloved held a criminal record - hence the poor spouse not only lose their beloved but also their pension.
Yeah, I'm taking the p!ss.
How the hell are male minors in Britain not going to notice a naked mannequin behind the clothes store window?! ?:) Might as well put a blindfold on the child as he is stepping into the store.