Traveling to other countries is always interesting because you get to meet new people, sample new cuisine, see exotic landscapes and architecture, and of course, learn the laws of the land (hopefully not by breaking them). Even in your home country you may find any number of laws on the books to baffle and delight the legal eagle in all of us. If you’ve found yourself shaking your head or laughing out loud at some of the oddball legislation you’ve encountered in your travels, then you’ll no doubt enjoy this listing of some of the world’s most bizarre and outlandish laws.
- It seems that the French are still a bit touchy when it comes to the subject of their most notorious leader; it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon in the country of France. Why pigs and not other domesticated animals? You’ll have to ask them.
- As if taxation laws aren’t complex enough, the UK has a law that makes it illegal to withhold information from a tax collector, but only if it’s something you don’t want him to know (although it’s perfectly legal to suppress information that you would otherwise have no problem sharing). So, say you have a woman in the back room that isn’t your wife…sorry; you’ve got to let the taxman in on the secret if he shows up during the tryst. It’s the law.
- This one is really only relevant if you happen to be a constable at the Tower of London, but maybe more people will apply for the position when they find out that any royal naval ship entering the Port of London owes this officer a barrel of rum. Huzzah!
- Talk about taking the fun out of life; any person caught masturbating in Indonesia is subject to a stiff penalty (pardon the pun) of decapitation (let the “losing your head” jokes ensue).
- There’s a reason people make fun of the southern United States, and this law may be one of them. Kentucky has apparently deemed it illegal to carry a concealed weapon over six feet in length, which of course begs the question of how you would conceal such a weapon on your person (unless there are a lot of giants in Kentucky).
- Leave it to Ohio to come up with a law that involves both alcohol and wildlife. At some point they passed legislation that makes it illegal to get fish drunk. It sort of makes you wonder if some drunken fisherman were pouring their Pabst in the river to try to lower the inhibitions of the fish (for an easier catch). Hey, if it works on women…
- In North Dakota it is still legal to shoot an Indian on horseback, as long as you are in a covered wagon when you do so. No word on whether those from India are included in this legislation, but the law is clearly outdated.
- Alaska has a law stating that it is illegal to wake a bear in order to take its photograph. But honestly, you should be a little more worried about the immediate ramifications of waking a bear than about the legal trouble you’ll be in if you get caught.
About the author: Sarah Danielson writes for Corboy & Demetrio, a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, Illinois.