Did you know that it's illegal to hold salmon under suspicious circumstances? That's per Section 32 of the Salmon Act 1986, meaning salmon are safe from your sick ideas in England and Wales.
It's a little less weird though once you dip into the legalese. Specifically, the law penalizes any person "who receives or disposes of any salmon in circumstances where they believe or could reasonably believe that the salmon has been illegally fished."
The punishment? Two years in prison. You better respect all the salmon you see, okay?
People told us all about other weird laws that are on the books after Redditor Professional_Watch87 asked the online community,
"What’s the weirdest law in you’re country or one you lived in?"
"In Argentina..."
"In Argentina, by law, the seventh son (or daughter, since 1973) of a family will have the President as his godfather, to give him magical protection and prevent him from turning into a werewolf."
ElTole
Traditionally, the president is the godfather of the seventh sons or the seventh daughters. This tradition came from Tsarist Russia and became law in 1974. A similar tradition is attached to the king and queen of the Belgians.
"Delaware was one of the last states..."
"Delaware was one of the last states to ban judicial whipping as a punishment, mostly reserved for spousal/domestic abuse. They didn't want the wife to suffer lost income/separation from the husband's incarceration, but wanted to convey the seriousness more than fines/community service."
tithito
Oh dear. Sounds positively medieval.
"By law..."
"By law the national anthem is played at the start of every movie in cinemas in India. Because of the hyper national atmosphere you're expected to stand up for it too. Beyond farcical."
[deleted]
I wonder if some people have stopped going to see movies because of that.
"It's illegal to drive a car..."
"It's illegal to drive a car in Puerto Rico without a shirt on. I got pulled over by the cops for this a few years ago and got a lecture."
mox44ah
Okay, noted... never go shirtless in Puerto Rico.
"In Finland..."
"In Finland alcohol commersials are not allowed to associate drinks with manliness or strength."
BBird7
Can they associate drinks with femininity and beauty? Just curious.
"The interesting thing is..."
"In my city it is illegal to tie your pet alligator to a parking meter. The interesting thing is that obviously such a thing had to OCCUR before anyone thought to make it illegal."
MeGrendel
Why do I get the feeling this is from Florida? You're from Florida, aren't you?
"It is illegal..."
"It is illegal to let your pig run free in Detroit unless it has a ring in its nose."
[deleted]
So if you like it then you should a put a ring on it.
"It's illegal to get a fish drunk..."
"It's illegal to get a fish drunk where I'm from, and it sucks cause what else is there to do in Ohio."
5-Elements
I have no idea how you even enforce that, but it's hilarious.
"In Oklahoma it is illegal to go whale hunting out of a moving vehicle with a harpoon gun."
[deleted]
Thankful to hear that someone stood up for all those poor Oklahoma whales... wherever they are.
"In France it is forbidden to name a pig Napoleon. And an old law (cancelled in 2013) prohibited women from wearing pants unless they had a horse or a bicycle."
Inakou
How specific. Now imagine if you killed and ate a pig named Napoleon. That would not end well.
Humans have an amazing capacity to weird us out. What in the world inspired some of these laws? There are no actual whales in Oklahoma, right?
Right?
Is everything we know a lie?
Have some other weird laws you know about and would like to share? Tell us more in the comments below!
@GovPressOffice/X
@GabeGwoolley/X
@mikejstarks/Bluesky
@kidringo/Bluesky
@westieworld/Bluesky
@mztee8107/YouTube
@KarenPost-n7/YouTube
@h17636/YouTube