Our society might tell us to follow laws that we don't necessarily agree with. While we could delve into all the messed up rules and regulations on the books, there are some out there that are so ridiculous that it's amazing someone had the audacity to think them up.
Redditor MaxienLai is responsible for today's burning question: "What are some of the dumbest laws that exists in your country?"
"One lemonade company..."
Giphy
One lemonade company had to up the sugar in one of their products, cause it was called "Die Limo" (german word for lemonade) and in order to call something "lemonade" in Germany you have to have at least a certain percent of sugar in it. German logic at its finest.
"In Montreal..."
In Montreal, Canada, there's a municipal regulation that says you can't build or store a nuclear weapon within city limits. The fine is $100.
"Not so much a single law..."
Not so much a single law as the unintended effects of how two laws interact.
- It's illegal to dig up a specimen of an endangered plant species (sensible).
- Sometimes the authorities need to hold controlled burns to prevent uncontrolled wildfires (sensible).
- Want to rescue endangered species plant specimens growing in a place slated for a controlled burn area? Scrooged.
"In Pennsylvania..."
In Pennsylvania, there's a state law that you can't buy a car on Sunday.
Also, it's illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator at night.
"Not passed yet..."
Not passed yet, but in order to reduce the consumption of beer, some lawmakers want to make it illegal for the sale of COLD BEER in MEXICO CITY.
"I can enlist..."
I can enlist, train, and see combat in the armed forces, fly home and still not be old enough to legally have a beer while talking about it.
"Dressing up like a member of the armed forces..."
Dressing up like a member of the armed forces is illegal and punished by a 0.00036$ 0.28$ in today's money fine, however soldiers take it to mean that wearing camouflage is illegal which they use as an excuse to beat up civilians.
"In the Netherlands..."
In the Netherlands it's forbidden to insult a foreign head of state. The only exception is if we are at war with that nation. The only foreign leader assholy enough to charge someone over this law was Erdogan.
"In Connecticut..."
In Connecticut, the law states that for a pickle to be considered as such, it must be able to bounce.
Otherwise, it's just a salty cucumber that's "unfit for human consumption." Thanks CT!
"I know it's a thing here..."
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The "cannot collect rainwater" laws baffle me. I know it's a thing here in Canada, probable elsewhere?
"Civilians..."
Civilians cannot wear camo patterns in Barbados. Even if it's pink camo it's illegal and the police can request that you take off the offending garment. If customs find camo clothes in you belongings when you enter the country they will confiscate it.
"Oh there are a BUNCH..."
Oh there are a BUNCH of super dumb laws in the US, and in specific states:
California: It is a $500 fine to detonate a nuclear device
Hawaii: it is illegal to stick a penny in your ear.
Alabama: Sticking an ice cream cone in your back pocket is illegal.
The entire USA: You can vote, join the army, and are required to pay your taxes when you turn 18. You are not allowed to drink, rent a car, purchase a pistol (or rifle in certain states), or in some states, smoke, for another three years.
Also the entire USA: Except for Maryland and California, it is legal to own and use a flamethrower. There is no background check for this.
California YET AGAIN: It is illegal to attempt to ride a bicycle underwater.
The Entire USA: The National Firearms act has very specific requirements for what is considered an "NFA" firearm that requires a tax stamp. Here's a helpful guide
And many... many other laws...
"It's illegal..."
It's illegal to kill a whale in Nebraska. IN NEBRASKA! Where are you going to get a whale in Nebraska?!
"In Korea..."
In Korea, the libel laws are so broad that you can be sued for telling the truth, even if you have demonstrable proof that you are telling the truth. The only way to get out of this is if you can prove that your telling of the truth is "for the good of the country".
I'm not Korean, but I live here, and I can tell you the most common way this affects the non-Korean community is when we are looking for jobs. We will get approached by a company, and start asking around in online forums to see if anyone has worked there before and if they have a good reputation.
No one will ever respond, because... well, if you are found to have ever said anything bad about a company, no matter how much proof you have of it, they will sue you for defamation.
There are also cases where rapists (yes, actual rapists) have sued their victims for naming them because it "defames" them. This has actually been a factor in the Korean MeToo movement, because victims cannot name their abusers or harassers without threat of being sued (which is something that has happened).
DQ: What's the dumbest law on the books in your area?
@topherflorence captured highlights from the thread that received over three thousand retweets for its zaniness alone.
Can you follow?
The bread crumbs company endeavored to stir excitement for the brand by encouraging participation with the following tweet:
"Taking our first steps on the www!! tell us your favorite crouton recipes! #croutons #yum"
Harmless, right?
But somewhere along the way, the brand mixed business with politics. @religiousgames noticed that Carl's Croutons issued a one-word directive: vote.
The Twitter user asked, "What does it mean?"
Did the Carl's Croutons account manager get his social media account wires crossed? Possibly. But then we're not sure.
@topherflorence responded by saying, "lol that wasn't me i would posted something way dumber."
The following tweet from Carl's Croutons attempted damage control:
"Carl's Crutons [sic] regrets the inappropriate tweet from earlier and we sincerely apologize to the people of The Republic of Malta."
So how did Carl's Croutons insult the Republic of Malta?
@Bestorb shed some light on why the Southern European island country may have been insulted by sharing a YouTube clip of episode 1008, "Final Justice," from Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Did it have something to do with the country's dominant population of women?
The thread spun off in all different directions.
There were many takeaways from the esoteric thread, but the one directive really stood out.
There's still an unanswered question.
So who is Carl's Croutons anyway? Nobody knows. Just vote.
Facebook user Betsy Reyes busted her dog Princess who was out moonlighting as a stray in order to play on the sympathies of strangers. It seems Princess likes to wander off to her favorite hangout, the local McDonald's, and work the drive through lane like a pro.
And that's what she did right up until Reyes busted her scam. Reyes, who lives in Oklahoma City, took to Facebook and outed Princess in the most hysterical way, saying:
"If you see my dog @ the McDonald's on shields, quit feeding her fat ass bc she don't know how to act & be leaving the house all the time to go walking to McDonald's at night. She's not even a stray dog. She's just a gold diggin ass bitch that be acting like she's a stray so people will feel bad for her & feed her burgers."
Lots of scammers out there.
It's an adorable story, but maybe get the dog a collar with identification?
Not everyone thought the story was cute.
Of course, when a girl's gotta eat, a girl's gotta eat.
Let's hope Princess has learned her lesson and stays home.
H/T: Huffington Post, Mashable
Twitter user @Rich_Cooper stated:
"Dear feminists. You either get equality or chivalry. You can't have both."
One user responded:
"I'll take equality. I don't need special treatment."
Cooper's rhetorical question did not go over so well. Both women and men expressed their disdain for his message.
One male user observed that chivalry was irrelevant and treating everyone with kindness and respect was compulsory.
"What people care about is caring, empathic [sic], considerate, thoughtful people, NOT whether THEIR door is held for them or THEIR meal is paid for them."
"Are there gender stereotypes in het[erosexual] dating? Sure. But that's separate from being a warm, giving, caring, grounded person."
Some women got right down to the point.
The notion of chivalry and equality are mutually exclusive and not a lot of people thought it was a major priority for feminists.
Common courtesy is not chivalry.
This user pointed out the fact that chivalry stems from a history of men outdoing other men. The concept had very little to do with women.
"Chivalry is a medieval concept of men dressing to impress other men. It has little to do with equality."
"Some men were on top, other men were beneath them. Historically, women were rarely invited into the process."
Neil Bradley described the outdated concept of chivalry as one that implies men being superior to women in a September 8, 2017, article for Medium publications.
"Examples: opening the door for a woman, paying for a woman's meal, gesturing for a woman to go first. The justification is either that women are not physically as strong (to open the door), able to provide (pay for their own meal), or are more deserving of compassion than men (allowing women to go first)."
Bradley also added that he wants to treat others the way he wants to be treated and asked if that approach should be motivated by chivalry or equality.
"If the genders are to be considered equal and treated equally, how a man treats a woman will essentially be the same as how a man treats a man."
"The obligation to open the door, pay for the meal, and let women go first vanishes. Men do not do this to other men, therefore why do it for women?"
His final take was that the two concepts can't co-exist. Either one is chivalrous or treats everyone as equals.
At the end of the day, people were happy to show chivalry the door.
H/T - GettyImages, Twitter, Indy100, Medium