it's illegal to eat mince pies on christmas day

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%)