it's illegal to eat mince pies on christmas day
I just read this article on the BBC News site - people's votes on the most ridiculous laws in the UK and internationally - I think the one about being topless in a tropical fish store in liverpool is the best...The UK's top 10 most ridiculous British laws were listed as:
# 1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)
# 2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down (7%)
# 3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (6%)
# 4. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned (5%)
# 5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter (4%)
# 6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (4%)
# 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%)
# 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 (3%)
# 9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour (3%)
# 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 (2%)
Other bizarre foreign laws voted by those polled included:
# In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk (9%)
# In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation (8%)
# A male doctor in Bahrain can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror (7%)
# In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm (6%)
# It is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama (6%)
# In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on a Sunday could be jailed (6%)
# Women in Vermont must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth (6%)
# In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits (5%)
# In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon (4%)
