In what is becoming a seasonal tradition at LFBB, we examine weird and wonderful laws – this time from across the globe. It’s good to know that they are a worldwide phenomenon, and not just restricted to England & Wales!
A massive thank you to Ian’s contacts Joachim and James for their suggestions from Germany and the USA.
We will head to the USA first:
- In Alabama, if you wear a fake moustache in a Church and it makes people laugh, you have technically broken the law.
- Over in Arkansas, pronouncing the state incorrectly has been outlawed. Repeat after me – Ark-an-saw…
- A seasonal one next – in Maine, Christmas decorations must be taken down by January 14th.
Over to Germany now:-
- German law prohibits washing cars at home. It is the car wash or a dirty car- your choice!
- Employers beware – in 2021 a German court held that a man who broke his back falling over on the way from his bed to his home office was commuting and could therefore claim it was a workplace accident.
- In case you’ve ever wondered, going for a swim in the sewer in Germany is illegal. This does give rise to wondering what happened to make it necessary to enshrine this in law – perhaps we’d rather not know…
We’ve found a few gems in other countries too, including:
- Making sandcastles on the beach in Eraclea near Venice is illegal. By doing so you risk a €250 fine because the Italian authorities were concerned you may be obstructing the passage of other beach-goers.
- Unless you have written permission from the train’s operating company, you cannot sing on a train in Scotland.
- There are at least two countries (Brazil and Kenya) in which a city has enforced the wearing of nappies by donkeys and horses. There may be more!
If you are aware of any weird and wonderful laws, bye-laws or regulations we would love to hear from you. You can use your usual contacts by email or by phone 0114 272 9721