AGAINST THE LAW

- Is there any law or rule you disagree with? Why?

- Do you think your country has good laws? Which do you think are good and which are not?
- Would you like to see a law created? What would it be about? Why?
Odd laws around the world
1. Sailors are not allowed to whistle on ships at sea. This is because people used to believe that whistling
would bring high winds and cause danger to the ship.
2. In seventeenth-century Japan, it was against the law for any citizen to leave the country. Anyone who was
found leaving the country or arriving from overseas without permission was sentenced to death.
3. In Russia in the eighteenth century, it was against the law for any man to wear a beard unless he paid a
special tax.
4. In 1949, in Illinois, USA, bird lovers tried to get a law passed that would keep cats on a leash in public.
However, the governor refused to pass the law. He said the problem of cats against birds is as old as time
itself. lf we favor birds then we will have to decide between dogs and cats or even birds and worms.
5. In New York City, dog owners who walk their dogs in public are required by law to clean up after their pet.
Before the law was passed in 1978, over forty million pounds of dog waste were left on the city's streets
each year.
6. It's against the law to drive an automobile or any other motor vehicle except tractors on the island of Sark in
the English Channel. Most of the people there use bicycles for transportation.
7. In Venice, ltaly, many people travel through the canals on gondolas. The law requires gondolas to be painted
black, except those belonging to high government officials.
8. In Salt Lake County, Utah, it’s illegal to walk down the street carrying a violin in a paper bag.
9. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's
helmet.
10. Also in the UK, the head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property
of the King, and the tail of the Queen.
11. In England, it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
12. In Danville, Pennsylvania, all fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.
13. In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk.
14. In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.
15. In Chico, California, the law states that anybody who detonates a nuclear device within the city limits is
liable to a fine of $500.
16. In Texas, it’s illegal to threaten somebody with an UNLOADED gun.
17. In Bahrain, a male doctor can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror.
18. In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm.
19. In Alabama, it is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle.
20. In British Columbia, Canada, it is illegal to kill a Sasquatch or Bigfoot if one is ever found.
21. In Japan, there is no age of consent.
22. In Florida, having sexual intercourse with a porcupine is illegal.
23. In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon.
24. In Indiana, it’s against the law to dress ‘Barbie’ in ‘Ken’s’ clothes.
25. In Oklahoma, it is against the law to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7 PM.

COMPOSITION
THERE SHOULD BE A LAW AGAINST IT!
- What are some things that really bother you? What should be done about them? Describe a law you would like
to see passed.