thursday 13: weird laws around the world

Disclaimer: I refuse to verify the veracity of anything on this list!!

---

1. According to Section 32 of the Salmon Act 1986 (UK), it is illegal to handle salmon “under suspicious circumpstances.”
2. Dueling is legal in Paraguay, if both parties are registered blood donors.
3. A historic city regulation stemmping from Austro-Hungarian times states that one is required to smile at all times, exempting hospitals and funerals. It has never been repealed.
4. There is a legal requirement that Canadian radio stations must play Canadian artits for a minimum of 35% of the time.
5. In Sweden, it’s illegal to dance in a bar or restaurant if the establishment doesn’t have a dance licence. In 2016, the government announced intentions to repeal it, but a restaurant owner was prosecuted for violating the law in 2020.
6. In 1995, Barra do Garças, Brazil passed a law to preserve 5 hectares for sole use as a UFO airport. This was in response to a multitude of sightings in the area.
7. In the Phillipines, it is a crime, punishible by incarceration and/or a fine, to deliberately upset another person.
8. You may not trod upon currency in Thailand. To do so shows disrespect to the king and could result in incarceration. Nor can you insult his image.
9. According to a 1915 Austrian law, it is illegal to use bread to clean floors and wallpaper.
10. In India, a kite is considered an aircraft, thusly making them illegal to fly if you don’t have a permit.
11. An 18th century law makes it illegal for any light to be visible within 5 kilometers of the king’s bedroom within the Palace of Versailles in France. Because of this still on-the-books law, the hometown football club may not have floodlights, which many of its home games are actually played away.
12. In 1924, a law was passed in Arizona that made it illegal for your donkey to sleep in your bathtub after 7 pm.
13. In Maine, it is illegal to bite your landlord. No matter how much they deserve it.