10 Most Ridiculous and Weird Laws in the World

Certain laws serve absolutely no purpose, and these 10 most ridiculous and weird laws in the world are a testament to that. Some actually do have an ulterior motive in that they ameliorate society in a way that is not immediately apparent, but an overwhelming majority are just an opportunity to laugh at the people who devised them.

Firstly, I have to give you a heads-up that most of the laws you read in this article are probably not the most ridiculous that you’ve ever read; you might recall wacky laws that you’re sure you’ve heard of somewhere or the other – except that most of the laws that you see on the internet aren’t really true, or were enforced in the past and aren’t anymore, or simply aren’t verifiable. So let this article also be a lesson to you not to believe everything you read on the internet without at least a vague attempt at debunking it, or checking to see if the information comes from credible sources that you can rely on without being deceived. Without any further ado, I will disprove some myths that I found most frequently during my research, and to my utmost shock, at sources which I believed to be dependable.

According to a vast majority of the internet, it is illegal to flush the toilet after 10 o’clock at night in Switzerland, but that is not true. What is true, however, is that there is a general rental law in Switzerland that is interpreted by landlords in different ways, and whatever rules are set down are usually strictly enforced, and if you happen to have a weird landlord, he or she might impose wacky laws as they see fit. But the toilet-flushing rule is certainly not a general law implemented by the government.

I also found a diverse array of laws apparently enacted in the United Kingdom, but as this helpful article from BBC states, most of them are myths or have now been repealed. If the article doesn’t convince you, this table by the Law Commission hopefully will. The most popular of these fallacies that I persistently came across while traversing the net would have to be that placing a stamp upside down on an envelope is considered an act of treason. Newsflash: it isn’t!

Australia too has had many misconceptions attributed to it, for instance, that only a licensed electrician can legally change a light bulb in Victoria, and that it’s illegal to walk on the right side of the road. News took it upon itself to challenge these myths, and separate, as they say, the “fact from the fiction”.

Some of the laws that we read about that seem utterly ludicrous actually have an understandable basis for their enforcement, if only we attempt to learn about them. They might stem from religious or cultural beliefs that the citizens of that area deem hallowed and sacred, or they might serve to prevent ordinary occurrences that actually prove to be menaces to society in the long run. Take a look at Singapore, which makes an appearance on our list not once, but twice, for its apparently unintelligible rules, but one must bear in mind that Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and is venerated for the outstanding level of discipline of its citizens, and that both these situations must have been brought about at least in part by regulations we declare unnecessary. However, certain states like North Korea are polar opposites and only have weird laws because their honorable leaders are or have been total nut-jobs. For more information, check out our article on the 8 most ridiculous laws in North Korea.

To compile our list of most ridiculous and weird laws in the world, we vigorously scoured the internet for some of the weirdest laws we could find, and confirmed that the laws we found are, in fact, enforced within their respective countries. This long and arduous process brought on the debunking that you experienced above! Now onto the 10 most ridiculous and weird laws in the world:

10. Pick up the trash, but not too early in Sandy Springs, Georgia, USA

The sounds that accompany garbage collection are undesirable at any time, but particularly before 7 a.m. for the residents of this area. Although it is not exactly a separate law, picking up the trash before 7 in the morning is deemed a transgression of the noise ordinance of Sandy Springs. And if you do partake in a breach of this ordinance via premature rubbish collection, you can actually be jailed, as was demonstrated when a sanitation worker spent two weeks in jail. His crime? He just happened to do his job a tad bit too early: at 5 o’clock in the morning to be precise. He was actually sentenced to do more time, but the authorities let him off early.

9. Open a chain restaurant and break the law in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, USA

Ah Carmel-by-the-Sea, the city of natural scenic beauty, dog lovers and Clint Eastwood. Oh and of course, the city with a severe lack of chain businesses, in that it has none. This might not be such a huge loss for billionaire tycoons with chain businesses, for the town has a population of a mere few thousand, but it is still strange all the same. The regulation is actually enforced to allow local restaurants to flourish, thus preventing gigantic chains from profiting over the locals.

8. Don’t step on money in Thailand

Up next on our list of most ridiculous and weird laws in the world is the law number 8 – in Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej was revered by the citizens and was even regarded as divine by some for the entirety of his seventy-year rule before his death in 2016. His face is also on the currency, which makes it forbidden to step on it. This is because of lèse-majesté, a law that states that it is illegal to slander the monarchy, which includes the king, the queen, and the heir to the throne, and putting your foot on the king’s printed face is also considered as besmirching his good name.

7. Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore

This law which ranks 7th on our list of most ridiculous and weird laws in the world was imposed by the man whose regime lasted several decades and who receives the credit for transforming Singapore into the flourishing, urbanized metropolis it is today, Lee Kuan Yew. According to him, chewing gum was a public menace because people often stuck their chewed gum to public utilities when they were done with it, as is also seen in most of the world. Since 2004, however, the law has relaxed to allow therapeutic gum into the country and let it be sold over the counter.

6. Make sure you don’t bring your pet ducks to West Lafayette, Ohio, USA

The punishment for this truly strange law is not as harsh as the rest of our list of the 10 most ridiculous and weird laws in the world. It certainly does not amount to thousands like littering in Singapore does. We don’t know exactly what the maximum punishment could be, but according to the $50 fine dished out to the veteran guilty of owning 12 pet ducks, you needn’t worry about it if you’re truly passionate about keeping a few ducks as pets.

5. Don’t sell clothing on a Sunday in Penn., New Jersey, USA

We are continuing our list of most ridiculous and weird laws in the world with the number 5 – unfortunately, Sunday is a very unprofitable day for all you clothing store owners in New Jersey. According to the New Jersey Statutes Section 40A:64-1, “certain sales” are forbidden, and that includes partaking in “the business of selling clothing or wearing apparel”, and the punishment for doing so might end up making a huge dent on your pocket. For selling any article of clothing on Sunday, you will have to pay a fine of not less than $250, and it gets worse on subsequent offenses, such that you might even end up paying a $5000 fine and spending six months in prison on your fourth offense.

4. Never litter on the streets in Singapore

This little sovereign state takes cleanliness very seriously, and if you do attempt to defile Singapore by carelessly throwing a soft drink can or a candy wrapper, you can be fined up to $2000 (Singapore dollars). It gets much worse if you don’t reform yourself the first time around: you can legally be charged a whopping $10,000 (Singapore dollars) on your third offense. In addition, Singapore is famous for the Corrective Work Orders (CWOs) in which one has to clean up public areas for up to 12 hours. This was first introduced in 1992, and it has been hugely successful in keeping littering to a bare minimum.

3. Don’t hoard more than 50kg of potatoes in Western Australia

All you (Western) Australians aspiring to be potato-hoarders better get out before your dreams are crushed. As the Marketing of Potatoes Act of 1946 Section 22 states, you can’t possess more than 50 kg of potatoes unless you are affiliated with a potato corporation. What provoked the passing of this law, I simply can’t imagine. And for this offense, you can be fined thousands of Aussie dollars, even for the first time!

2. Running out of gas on the Autobahn is a big no-no in Germany

Wait, let me rephrase that: there is no law that says you can’t run out of gas on the Autobahn, but there is a strict law that says that you can’t stop for any reason except in traffic jams, accidents, and emergencies, and running out of fuel is considered avertable, as there are frequent fuel stops along the road. Hence, you are punished for running out of fuel via fines and suspension, and in certain cases of gravity, you may even be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison. Additionally, you can’t drive a vehicle that can’t reach speeds of up to 60km/h, so no bikes on the Autobahn. And now, let’s see the number one on our list of most ridiculous and weird laws in the world.

1. Never handle fish in suspicious circumstances in Great Britain

This outlandish law is part of the Salmon Act of 1986, and is thus contemporary enough for us to give it the number 1 spot on our list of the 10 most ridiculous and weird laws in the world. It is often quoted on compilations of enigmatic legislation around the world, but it was actually passed to get a grip on illegal activities such as fish poaching, as section 32 of the Act makes abundantly clear. Perhaps the actual wording of the act should be altered to end the confusion. Also, much of the Internet states that it applies to salmon only, but in fact the law has been changed to state that it applies to every single fish out there. No fish discrimination is tolerated here.