These strange laws surprisingly all remain in force in United Kingdom today as they haven’t been replaced or canceled. Disclaimer – this website accepts no responsibility for any trouble you may get into through attempting any of these 🙂
- All beached whales and sturgeons must be offered to the reigning monarch.
- It is illegal to be drunk in the pub. Under section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872, “every person found drunk… on any licensed premises, shall be liable to a penalty”. It is also an offense under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 for the keeper of a public house to permit drunkenness or disorderly conduct on the premises. Furthermore, under the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offense to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk, or to obtain alcohol for consumption by a person who is drunk.
- It is illegal to be drunk and in charge of cattle in England and Wales. Rightly so – a large cow can weigh as much, if not more, than a car.
- It is illegal to activate your burglar alarm without first nominating a key holder who can switch it off in your absence.
- It is illegal to impersonate a police officer or a soldier, even at fancy dress parties or on Halloween.
- Under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, a person cannot keep a pigsty at the front of their property unless it is hidden from public view.
- Despite being sung by billions of people around the world, ‘Happy Birthday’ is actually under copyright if used for commercial purposes – Warner/Chappell own the rights to the song.
- It’s against the law to drive unless you’ve removed ALL the ice from the whole of your windscreen and not just the viewing area. You can also be fined for failing to clear snow from the roof of your vehicle before you drive.
- Knocking on someone’s door and running away is actually illegal under a 1839 law which makes it an offence to disturb any inhabitant by pulling or ringing any doorbell or knocking at any door without lawful excuse.
- It is illegal to order or permit any servant to stand on the sill of any window to clean or paint it.
- In London, it is illegal for a person (knowingly) with the plague to flag down a taxi or try to ride on a bus. This law is also applicable for anyone COVID-19
- It is illegal under the terms of the Prohibition and Inspections Act of 1998 to cause a nuclear explosion.
- It is an offense to beat or shake any carpet, rug out of the window before eight in the morning.
- Until relatively recently, for centuries, women at official Thetford Town Council functions were required to seek the mayor’s permission to take their hats off. However men were trusted to use their own judgment and could discard their head-wear all on their own.
- It is illegal to fire a cannon within 300 yards of a dwelling.
- While it isn’t illegal to deliberately destroy a banknote, under the Currency and Banknotes Act 1928, it is an offense to deface a banknote by printing, stamping or writing on it.
- It is an offense to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances.
- It is against the law to hang your washing across the street in the UK. You can be fined up to £1000.
- You’re not allowed to carry planks along the pavement.
- A pregnant woman can urinate wherever she wants. Even in a policemans helmet!
- It’s an act of treason to put a British stamp upside down