iblog

A recent survey conducted by the Television channel UKGold has revealed what people consider to be the UK’s craziest laws, with the most voted being that it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament. Believe it or not, the law does still exist on the statute book - and needless to say, so wrong, on so many levels!

The 3,931 people surveyed had to pick from a list of nominated stupid laws. Included amongst the favourites was the law against sticking a stamp upside down and the very ironic ban against eating mince pies on Christmas day. The entire list can be seen below:

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen’s image upside-down.
3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store.
4. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned.
5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter.
6. In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman’s helmet.
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.
8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing.
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armou.r
10. It is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow.

Most people will be incredulous to note that all of these laws still exist - probably due to simply never being removed from the book (for example, Oliver Cromwell decided the mince pie law in the 17th Century) or because of some niggling pedantic loophole.

I personally had not heard any of them, but they are certainly an amusing read! Maybe this will alert me not to wear a suit of armour on my next tourist trip to London, or alternatively, tempt me to wee in a policeman’s hat when pregnant just because I can…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 1:14 am and is filed under Amusement, Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.