Genuinely stupid laws - that still APPLY !!

[Carol Haynes]

This had me rolling about ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7081038.stm

I want to know how Indonesia enforce their law ?

[nudone]

i quite like this one. we should adopt it worldwide.

In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits (5%)

[tomos]

some good ones there allright

[Ralf Maximus]

It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (6%)

"My husband is just CRAZY about tropical fish.  Why he spends all weekend at the pet store sometimes..."

As a personal aside, I find this law deeply disturbing and discriminatory towards the working nude.  I think it's time we organized protest marches and rallies to increase public awareness.  As soon as winter is over.

[app103]

Here is a well known law from my home state of New Jersey, that is enforced, and makes us kind of an odd-ball state:

It is against the law here to pump your own gas.

[Darwin]

This had me rolling about ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7081038.stm

I want to know how Indonesia enforce their law ?

Nice post, Carol. Good to have a morning chuckle (well, it's morning where I am, anyway)!

The Indonesian law is distrubing because it's the kind of statute that in the past (one REALLY hopes that it's ignored in the present) would likely have relied on accuastion - you don't like someone, just start a rumour about their hobbies...

[Darwin]

Here is a well known law from my home state of New Jersey, that is enforced, and makes us kind of an odd-ball state:

It is against the law here to pump your own gas.

We haven't had full-service stations where I am (BC) in years - they disappeared in the early to mid-90's. Are they still around in NJ, or is everyone there breaking this law 

[BigJim]

No one breaks that law in NJ so far as I know. It's a 'make work' thing for (otherwise unemployable) gas attendants. They would come down on you like a ton of bricks if you tried to pump your own. A fate far more serious than dealing with local law enforcement!!

[Ralf Maximus]

It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)

"Senator?  Senator?  *sigh*  We'll count that as a 'Nay'."

[Carol Haynes]

We still have the odd petrol station that is 'service only' - but living in the middle of nowhere if it is raining they are just as likely to stay indoors and let you get on with it. We even have one local station that doesn't take cheques or plastic - so you either pay in cash or they send you a bill at the end of the month

[Carol Haynes]

It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)

"Senator?  Senator?  *sigh*  We'll count that as a 'Nay'."

That was the BBC headline example - but it does make you wonder how it would be enforced? Would your corpse be tried and then sentenced to life in prison, or maybe you get the life penalty (electric chair in reverse).

[cranioscopical]

This had me rolling about ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7081038.stm

Legislation said to prohibit people dying while in the Houses of Parliament

This one doesn't work, obviously. Some of those guys have been dead for years, especially in the Lords.

[Ralf Maximus]

Ah.  That explains the "Mandatory Corpse Reanimation Act of 1978" then.

[cranioscopical]

Here is a well known law from my home state of New Jersey, that is enforced, and makes us kind of an odd-ball state:

It is against the law here to pump your own gas.

And very welcome it was too, the last time I was there in the pouring rain!
It used to be that when we pulled in for gas here, in Ontario, Canada, someone would hurl him/herself at the car and scrub all the windows, check the fluids, replenish the gas and even check tire pressures.  (This was after most of the UK had moved to self-service stations.)  Those were the days, especially when it was 30 below freezing outside!

[cranioscopical]

Ah.  That explains the "Mandatory Corpse Reanimation Act of 1978" then.

It's long been known that members of the House of Commons are always looking for a free bier.

[hamradio]

Reminds me of the Dumb Laws site.

[Deozaan]

Here is a well known law from my home state of New Jersey, that is enforced, and makes us kind of an odd-ball state:

It is against the law here to pump your own gas.

NJ isn't the only state with that law. Oregon is another place where you can't pump your own gas. So weird going there, getting out of your car, then seeing some guy run up to you and ask for your credit cards.

[Ralf Maximus]

And weirder still, you hand them over.

So, any guess why the law still stands?  I had no idea the Full Service Service Station Lobby was so influential.  Or that the good people of NJ were accidentally immolating themselves with such frequency that a law was required.

[Deozaan]

And weirder still, you hand them over.

So, any guess why the law still stands?  I had no idea the Full Service Service Station Lobby was so influential.  Or that the good people of NJ were accidentally immolating themselves with such frequency that a law was required.

I live in Idaho, where we pump our own gasoline. Don't go to Oregon much, and when I do I'm not usually the driver.

As to why it's a law? BigJim gave as good a reason as I can figure:

It's a 'make work' thing for (otherwise unemployable) gas attendants.

[Renegade]

It used to be that when we pulled in for gas here, in Ontario, Canada...

I didn't know that you were a fellow Ontarionianite (or whatever the heck we're called).

It's FINALLY starting to get a bit colder here in Seoul, South Korea.

You'd be surprised at how much you actually miss the cold!

It's kind of funny sometimes here - I hear North Americans complaining about the cold or see them shivering. My first question is always, "So, where you from?" As you might guess, most people are from much further south than Ontario.

Anyways - I'm so totally off topic here... 

Yeah - Laws are stupid! I hate them!

No - Really! I mean it! Don't you think that it's just completely retarded that we need a law to tell us not to kill each other? That truly is completely insane!

But those laws were very amusing. Here's a place where you can lose a few hours laughing: http://www.dumblaws.com/ (Yeah - That's totally vengeance for all those people that keep posting Tower Defence stuff!)

[CWuestefeld]

I bumped into this blog posting today:

All Laws are Stupid, But Some Laws are Stupider Than Others
The votes are in. The Top 10 most stupid British laws:

    1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent)

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

My personal favorites:

    3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent)

    6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants,
    including in a policeman's helmet (four percent)

I'm totally seeking a pregnant clerk in a tropical fish store in Liverpool to date. Are you out there?

http://www.tothepeople.com/2007/11/all-laws-are-stupid-but-some-laws-are.html

[Darwin]

I imagine tropical fish stores are very popular in Liverpool... well, always have a lot of men "eye" shopping (as they say in Korea)!

[Deozaan]

This is (basically) what Carol linked to in the first post.

I bumped into this blog posting today:

All Laws are Stupid, But Some Laws are Stupider Than Others
The votes are in. The Top 10 most stupid British laws:

    1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent)

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

My personal favorites:

    3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent)

    6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants,
    including in a policeman's helmet (four percent)

I'm totally seeking a pregnant clerk in a tropical fish store in Liverpool to date. Are you out there?

http://www.tothepeople.com/2007/11/all-laws-are-stupid-but-some-laws-are.html

[Darwin]

Now how'd I miss those last two lines? 

[app103]

No one breaks that law in NJ so far as I know. It's a 'make work' thing for (otherwise unemployable) gas attendants. They would come down on you like a ton of bricks if you tried to pump your own. A fate far more serious than dealing with local law enforcement!!

The irony in the fact that NJ has that gas pumping law is that we have some of the lowest gas prices in the country. You would think that the fact they have to hire someone to pump it would mean higher prices, but it doesn't.

When the idea to get rid of that law came up, lowering the prices even more was one of the suggested benefits, but it was shown by the prices in other states that this wouldn't be the case and actually the opposite would occur because the insurance rates of gas stations would increase due to the fact that ordinary people pumping gas is considered a greater risk of a mishap.

There was also another argument against repealing that law: Gas pumps are now required to carry a cancer health warning label similar to cigarette packs. So they figure that people that are willing to work in a gas station do so by choice, and therefore they assume the risk of cancer associated with exposure to gasoline and its vapors, willingly. The consumer being forced to pump their own gas wouldn't have such a choice, except to give up driving in order to protect their health.

NJ isn't the only state with that law. Oregon is another place where you can't pump your own gas. So weird going there, getting out of your car, then seeing some guy run up to you and ask for your credit cards.

Incidentally, many gas stations here require you to get out of your car and go inside the convenience store they run to pay first, before the guy outside will pump the gas for you, especially after dark. They don't want attendants to have any cash on their person while working. Less risk of a monetary loss due to some drive-by holdup where the thieves don't feel like getting out of their car and having their faces picked up by cameras as they go inside to hold the place up.