Top 10 British Stupid Laws – Thou Shalt Not Die

I talked about some strange and funny American laws, one reader commented with some stupid laws from Canada. I am yet to get comment on stupid British laws!

I believe every country has its own share of stupidity in creating laws. :)

justice statueWell, UKTV Gold thought of testing what people think about the stupid law in UK. Their survey gave the following Top Ten stupid Laws in UK:

  1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent)
  2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (seven percent)
  3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent)
  4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day (five percent)
  5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (four percent)
  6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman’s helmet (four percent)
  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 percent)
  8. It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (three percent)
  9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (three percent)
  10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (two percent)

If you come across similar stupid laws from other countries please share them in the comment section.

Thanks.

Incoming search terms for the article:




Comments (0)    Posted in fun stuffs    

Subscribe RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or Trackback from your own site.





No Responses to 'Top 10 British Stupid Laws – Thou Shalt Not Die'

  1. Chris - November 24th, 2007 at 4:54 am

    Try the one where it is illegal to buy anything in a pub using more than a pounds worth of 1p’

  2. WoFat - November 26th, 2007 at 8:48 pm

    In New Orleans there was once a municipal charge: “Being out and about in the open air.” Also: “Systematically looking at vehicles.”

  3. smith - December 4th, 2007 at 3:45 pm

    What do the percentages at the end of each law mean?
    I wonder if the Scots use the fifth one ever

  4. Ouroborus - December 4th, 2007 at 7:56 pm

    #10 could be amusing. “Here, hold these!”

  5. Steve - December 16th, 2007 at 6:35 pm

    Number 9 makes sense, really, it’s just outdated.

  6. My Own Thoughts » Top 10 Stupid British Laws - December 20th, 2007 at 11:16 pm

    [...] And the winner is “Thou shalt not die” (in Parliament). [...]

  7. John Ferguson - January 17th, 2008 at 8:26 am

    Daftest one I ever heard was that it’s a crime to smoke in a pub. How ridiculous can you get?!

  8. Judah - May 1st, 2008 at 9:45 am

    The reason you cant die in parliament, is that if you do they have to give you some kind of special funeral that cost a ton of money. I have heard cases where theyll bring people outside to proclaim them dead.

  9. carla - May 7th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    they are dum but just imagine it if it was you that did that firts dummer

  10. Baby Girl Names - May 9th, 2008 at 9:33 am

    the law from scotland is the best.lol

  11. Arratelap - May 13th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    Hello my friends :) ;)

  12. Rule of thumb - September 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    In the 1400’s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have ‘the rule of thumb’

  13. Chris S - September 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Not so fast, “Rule of thumb,” http://womenshistory.about.com/od/mythsofwomenshistory/a/rule_of_thumb.htm

    Anyway, I’ll be buying all my tropical fish in Liverpool from now on…

  14. harleyblues - November 13th, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    vert interresting!!~ I like the preggie women can pee anywhere lol

    Illegal to fie in the House of Parliment? oh my what if someone has a heartattack?!
    hb~

  15. kay - August 18th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    stupid focking country laws must ov been high off weed befor passing these laws it a proven fact

  16. Tom jorn - February 9th, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    Them laws are actually fake.

  17. Cat - February 18th, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    ^ ^ no these laws are actually real, they are a bit outdated in some cases, but they were never actually repealed There is lots more ridiculous laws, like the one that says it is illegal to call a welsh person english, welsh people are also not allowed to enter the city of chester before sunrise and stay after sunset, and an englishman is allowed to shoot a welsh person inside the walls of chester city with a crossbow aslong as it is after midnight.
    Its just a case of people forgetting to remove laws from the books when they no longer served a purpose

  18. olly - April 13th, 2010 at 9:16 am

    theres a law that states you can kill a black man if he crosses your path, but only with the back of your hand, or the backside of your lower leg

  19. scot - April 15th, 2010 at 7:50 am

    the law in scotland is very true!! but i think its because they have a very friendly nature!!

  20. ailsa - April 16th, 2010 at 4:31 am

    it is illegal to carry hay in the back of a london taxi

  21. Jackie - April 17th, 2010 at 4:29 am

    ^^ It is not illegal to carry hay in the back of a taxi….
    There is still a law that hackney carriage drivers have that states…
    London Hackney Carriages (taxis/cabs) must carry a bale of hay and a sack of oats. Explanation: The London Hackney Carriage Laws covers hackneys in other towns too and have remained unaltered for over 100 years. Firms have been known to manufacture very small bales of hay to carry in a taxi during disputes during local councils (who license the hackneys everywhere except London). Also the vehicle has to be tethered at a taxi rank, and the council have to supply a water trough at said ranks (that could be fun on a Saturday night!). The one about urinating against the back wheel is a Hackney Carriage Law too, and has also been done, on mass, during taxi/council disputes (allegedly).

  22. kalalou - April 18th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    you got that one wrong. its actually that it is law that a london hackney must carry a bale of hay at all times.
    its an outdated law from when all transport was horse-drawn.


Leave a Reply