Bottom of the News… Friday, November 8, 2007

Good morning! Well, my fellow Rotarians, it’s a wild week when wacky laws are in the news…

LONDON (AFP) - Queen Elizabeth’s speech in the British parliament last Tuesday may have been routine but at least nobody got bored to death. And that’s a good thing because boredom with the Queen is against the law in the UK!

That’s right and a number of other little known ridiculous laws came to light last week when a British TV station released the results of a survey that asked people their thoughts on the most absurd and ridiculous laws in Britain.

Other rules deemed utterly stupid includes the ability to kill a Scotsman if he is carrying a bow-and-arrow within the city walls of York, northern England. Also, the prohibition of spitting in public is still on the books throughout the UK, as it is in several US cities as well.

So, here are the top 7 most ridiculous British laws…

7. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of amour (three percent)

6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants and even a policeman must oblige even if she asks to use his helmet (four percent)

5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (four percent)

4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day (five percent); this originates from the 17th century when Puritan Oliver Crowmell was determined to eliminate gluttony. Nearly half of those surveyed admitted to breaking this law annually.

3. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (seven percent)

2. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent). This ban has a legitimate reason… anyone who dies in the royal palace is technically entitled to a state funeral. So, if they see you looking sick, they quickly carry you off the premises

1. Most ridiculous law in Britain… In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless unless she is a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent).

So, how about a few examples of stupid US laws…

In Ohio… it is illegal to get a fish drunk!
In Florida… Unmarried women cannot parachute on Sunday
In Alabama… is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle (6 per cent). Did I say Alabama?

And that my friends is the bottom of the news on this November 9, 2007.

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