Strange laws, also called weird laws, dumb laws, futile laws, unusual laws, unnecessary laws, legal oddities, or legal curiosities, are

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

that are perceived to be useless, humorous or obsolete, or are no longer applicable (in regard to current culture or modern law). A number of books and websites purport to list dumb laws. These are in many cases based on misunderstandings, exaggerations or outright fabrications.

Veracity

Laws presented as "dumb laws", "strange laws", or "weird laws", are laws that are perceived by the speaker to be useless, no longer applicable (in regard to current culture or modern law), or humorous. A large number of hoax or exaggerated dumb laws are circulated on the internet and in the print media.For example, among others. Several books have been written and numerous

listicles In journalism and blogging, a listicle is an article that is structured as a list, which is often fleshed out with additional text relating to each item. A typical listicle will have a title describing a specific number of items contained within, a ...

exist on the internet purporting to list "dumb laws" in various jurisdictions. The "dumb laws" are also often circulated via e-mail

chain letter A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefini ...

Examples

Some purported strange laws do not exist, no longer exist, or were never passed, while others are actually in effect, although they are often exaggerated or misrepresented in popular culture. Sometimes similar laws, such as a

prohibition of dying Prohibition of dying is a political social phenomenon and taboo in which a law is passed stating that it is illegal to die, usually specifically in a certain political division or in a specific building. The earliest case of prohibition of death ...

(typically in certain buildings and local areas), really exist in some places, but are mere urban legends in other places. Some compilers confuse the circumstances in which a defendant was convicted under a more general statute, such as a noise ordinance or disorderly conduct, as the text of the law itself. Others may fabricate a purported law as a

copyright trap Fictitious or fake entries are deliberately incorrect entries in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and directories, added by the editors as copyright traps to reveal subsequent plagiarism or copyright infringement. There ...

European Union

A lot of purportedly strange laws within

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

do not actually exist, or are wildly exaggerated; these are referred to as Euromyths. ;Misrepresented * Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2257/94, sometimes referred to in the media as the 'bendy banana law': the alleged ban on curved

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s is a long-standing, famous, and stereotypical claim that is used in headlines to typify the Euromyth. Amongst other issues of acceptable quality and standards, the regulation does actually specify minimum dimensions. It also states that bananas shall be free from deformation or abnormal curvature. However, the provisions relating to shape apply fully only to bananas sold as ''Extra'' class; slight defects of shape (but not size) are permitted in ''Class I'' and ''Class II'' bananas. However, a proposal banning straight bananas and other misshapen fruits was brought before the European Parliament in 2008 and defeated.

United Kingdom

In March 2013, the

Law Commission (England and Wales) In England and Wales the Law Commission () is an independent law commission set up by Parliament by the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reforms. The organisation is headed by a Chai ...

, which is tasked with abolishing obsolete and unnecessary laws to reform the legal system, published an informal document answering some frequently asked questions about the veracity of some alleged "legal oddities" or "legal curiosities". ;False *The Law Commission wrote that there is no law making it "legal to shoot a Welshman with a longbow on Sunday in the Cathedral Close in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

; or inside the city walls of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

after midnight; or a Scotsman within the city walls of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, other than on a Sunday." These three related urban legends frequently show up in lists of strange laws, but there is no historical basis for them other than an alleged 1403 ordinance of the city of Chester, which supposedly imposed a curfew on Welshmen in the city in response to the

Glyndŵr Rising Glyndŵr, also spelled Glyndwr, may refer to: * Owain Glyndŵr – Medieval Welsh prince and leader ** Glyndŵr rebellion – 15th century Welsh uprising * Glyndŵr (district) – District of Wales (1974–1996) ** Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr ( ...

. The Law Commission stated: "It is illegal to shoot a Welsh or Scottish (or any other) person regardless of the day, location or choice of weaponry". In 2016,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

claimed these three laws were "of course" and "obviously" not applicable in modern times (neither confirming nor denying whether such laws actually exist or have ever existed), although a 2006 BBC News article mentioned the two alleged anti-Welsh laws amongst a number of "strange-but-true laws" without giving any hint as to their modern non-applicability. ;True *On the other hand, the Commission confirmed it is illegal to wear a suit of armour in the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

according to the 1313 Statute forbidding Bearing of Armour. *

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

's law code really did contain the law, "If a man unintentionally kills another man by letting a tree fall on him, the tree shall be given to the kinsmen of the slain". *

Salmon Act 1986 The Salmon Act 1986 (c. 62) is a United Kingdom act of Parliament which outlines legislation that covers legal and illegal matter within the salmon farming and fishing industries. Among the provisions in the act, it makes it illegal to "handle s ...

, Section 32: "Handling Salmon in Suspicious Circumstances".

United States

;Misrepresented *Supposedly, there is a law stating that one cannot fish while riding on the back of a camel in Idaho. A 1917 legal provision in the "Fish and Game rules" did ban riding on any animal while fishing, whatever that animal might be; this restriction was later removed, so it is no longer true. ;False *Supposedly, a law in Iowa limits the length of a kiss to five minutes. The law does not appear in the Iowa Legislature, but circulates online. *That "

sorority houses North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas in which fraternity and sorority members live and work together. In addition to serving as housing, fraternity and sorority housing may also serve to ...

are illegal since more than a certain number of single females living together constitutes a brothel" has been debunked as fake. *A myth that it is illegal to hunt camels in Arizona is loosely inspired by the true story of the United States Camel Corps, which tested the use of camels in the Southwest United States. ;Never passed * Indiana Pi Bill – in 1897 the Indiana General Assembly considered legislating mathematics. ;True *In Wisconsin,

lutefisk ''Lutefisk'' ( Norwegian, in Northern and parts of Central Norway, in Southern Norway; ; ; literally " lye fish") is dried whitefish, usually cod, but sometimes ling or burbot, cured in lye. It is made from aged stockfish (air-dri ...

is specifically exempted from being considered a "toxic substance" under an employees' right to know law. *

Silly String Silly String (generically known as aerosol string) is a toy of flexible, sometimes brightly colored, plastic String (structure), string propelled as a stream of liquid from an aerosol can. The solvent in the string quickly evaporates in mid-air, ...

ban on

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The ban was put in place in 2004 due to cleanup costs exceeding .

Other countries

;False Supposedly, it is illegal to be fat in Japan. That is untrue, but citizens between 45 and 74 must have their waists measured and might be given medical guidance if their waist exceeds a certain measure. ;True *In

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

it is illegal to dress in

camouflage clothing Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

. *

Chewing gum sales ban in Singapore The sale of chewing gum in Singapore has been illegal since 1992. Some motivations for the ban included stopping the placement of used chewing gum in inappropriate and costly places, such as the sensors of subway doors, inside lock cylinders, an ...