Any weird/unusual laws

[Eidenn]

The Top Ten Most Unusual Laws Of Eidenn

10. Due to a law that dates back to Henrietta Jane's tenth year of rule, you are given a several-hundred-sen-chip find should you be found unable to sing a "A Peanut Sat On A Railroad Track" for an indefinite period of time, until the current monarch has specified or until he/she is satisfied.

09. Should someone be singing, dancing, or otherwise cavorting on their balcony and disturbing the peace, the public is fully within their rights to walk up behind that person and give them a push over the rail.

08. Anyone found to have taken less than four full years of speech class and four additional years of acting classes are forced to repeat their lessons until fully learned. The two courses may be taken during the same four years.

07. Couples or moresomes found to be disturbing others with the sounds of their sexual activity will have audio/visual recordings of their sex-acts released to the public.

06. Anyone found dressing as a "magical humanoid creature," for any reason save those events specifically cleared by Eidenn's government, will be surgically altered to resemble that animal - in clearly-falsified fashion, such as intentionally displaying stitches - and cast out of the country. Criminals who would enjoy this are classified as criminally insane and quietly disappeared.

05. Wasting food is literally illegal, and will result in a fine; wasting food as a proprietor of a restaurant will result in a larger fine; failing to hand your leftovers out to the Consumer Recycling Project results in jailtime and/or time served in the agricultural fields.

04. Should you be sexually unsatisfied by your spouse for over a year, you are entitled to a fully-covered vacation at one of Eidenn's fine government spa/hotel/brothels, the cost of which will be taxed to your spouse for however long it takes, irregardless of whether or not the two of you break up before it's fully paid.

03. People of Rank 5 our above within Eidenn's governmental system are literally given a license to kill; it takes two years of training since reach Rank 5, and encompasses a number of assassination, combat, and cleanup techniques. Completion often advances the individual a rank after said license is first put into use.

02. All citizens of Eidenn must have their bodies cremated upon their death, although storage of the ashes are left for them and their family to decide.

1. [REDUCTED]

[San Guillermo]

All citizens born in the kingdom must have a dual-name: The first of English or biblical origin, the other of Spanish origin. (enacted 1840, repealed since 1940 but has been commonplace since)

It is illegal to kill the national animal (iguana) yet it is considered a delicacy in Riverian cuisine, regularly on the menu in many top restaurants.

Cars older than 10 years and are less than 25 mpg need to be certified by the Ministry of Transportation to own (due to our new environmental laws).

It is illegal to wear Crocs in public.

All drinking bottles must be glass-based, even water bottles.

In San Guillermo's coastal communities, it is illegal not to own a water vehicle.

Billboards are illegal, except electronic ones that have a minimum of seven advertisements in its storage, each displayed for max one minute.

Although not a law, it is frowned upon to wear both red and green on Revolution Day as red symbolizes the old Villanueves Regime and green the Monarchy.

[New Othman]

Leaking a celebrity sex tape to the press is punishable by being paraded naked through the streets and forced to have a television camera crew present during all sex acts (including masturbation) for a month.

Foreigners can only marry a New Othmanian citizen if they agree to stay permanently in New Othman and apply for New Othmanian citizenship. "Mail-order brides" in the old sense are very much illegal.

No bank accounts may be opened by any private persons except for the account holders. All banks have been nationalized, so that they may run on a non-profit basis and not impose interest rates (one of the few Islamic precepts still enforced in this secular state). All mortgages are issued by the State banks. Private credit unions are illegal. Credit cards are illegal, but debit cards issued by the State banks are legal. Pay-day lenders are also banned. ATM fees are illegal and all ATMs are operated out of State banks.

You can marry someone at 14, but the State prefers at least one half of the couple in such cases to be considerably older and financially independent. Child prostitution is illegal, but that term only applies to under 14. All sex before 14 is statutory rape.

It is illegal to be a dominatrix in New Othman. It is also illegal to hire or solicit one. The penalty is a steep fine and having one's name published in the paper. If one is a civil servant, it could also impede or slow the progress of one's career in such cases.

Paparazzi are not only illegal, but if convicted they are sentenced to 1 year of hard labor and barred for life from using a camera.

It is required by law for a man to wear a fez on all national holidays. Of course, there is nothing that requires him anything else.

[Provisional America]

The Republican Front is the only legal party...for now. All Communists, radical feminists, fundamentalists, and other such undesirables have been deported to the penal colonies in DC and Manhattan.

Certain businesses double as Party-affiliated clubs to service the needs of Republican Front members and Militiamen.

Service in the Militia is voluntary, but does tend to give one a lot of power.

Taking unsolicited photographs of the Commandant or his followers is a very serious crime. You can land in jail for up to six months. All press journalists must be authorized ahead of time.

Portraits of the Commandant must be displayed in all government offices...even the local police and fire stations.

All candidates for Congress must be Republican Front members.

Student loans are illegal and all such lending firms have been shut down. All college education is free....for Republican Front members and Militiamen and their families.

Sex education must include adult movies as at least 50% of its curriculum. The rest of it must be hands-on. Each teacher, regardless of specialty, must take turns teaching sex ed.

Prenuptial agreements are mandatory when getting married. They must follow a precise formula intended to be fair, and there are court-appointed lawyers who have no connection to either party who draw up the agreement (for a fee, of course).

Neckties are illegal, except for clip-ons and bolo ties.

[Free Garza]

Support for the old regime is illegal. Religious courts are illegal. Appeals to canon law are illegal. Religious marriages are allowed, but civil marriage licenses are still required and divorce is legal.

Anyone caught displaying a photo of a counterrevolutionary during a protest is executed on the spot.

Anyone caught looting the treasury is shot for treason as well as embezzlement. Anyone caught looting during a natural disaster is executed.

Anyone caught not participating in the Revolution Day orgies is consigned to a penal battalion or a labor brigade, since Revolution Day is a national holiday and debauchery is the order of the day. Refusal is a sign of disloyalty.

Anyone caught running an abortion clinic or joining a feminist organization is shot.

All professions must register with a Syndicate and all those practice those professions must receive a Syndicate license. The only exceptions are those careers in the government.

Gay marriage and polygamy are legal, but it is taking time for people (except Santerians and Sephardic Jews) to get used to taking advantage of the latter law. The former, however, is a lot more common.

It is illegal for a Jehovah's Witness to enter the country, and anyone who converts is stripped of his or her citizenship and exiled for life.

Anyone who runs a child sex ring is executed.

To prevent wives from financially ruining their husbands for revenge, adultery is not grounds for divorce and no one can access joint-banking accounts without spousal consent. Nor can wives kick their husbands out of the house. The penalty is six months of community service and a heavy fine.

Failure to satisfy one's spouse is grounds for annulment, however. It is also punishable by a fine and placement on the marriage blacklist, meaning that one cannot remarry for six years.

In polygamous marriages, the extra spouse is considered legally wed to both spouses, not just one. He or she is also considered a parent to all children from the marriage.

In divorce cases, arbitration is mandatory and property is split as fairly as possible, with no lawyers involved to confuse the issue. No one loses their shirt or is financially raped. All custody is joint.

It is legal to engage in duels.

It is illegal to deface money or pictures of the President.

It is illegal to insult Shakira, the President's favorite singer.

It is perfectly legal, however, to insult Cristina Aguilera, the President's least favorite singer.

It is not only legal to marry your first cousin, it is quite common and the President, Anibal Guzman Mensch, has been married to his first cousin for 14 years.

Joining the Free Garzan Revolutionary Party automatically gives you the option of joining the Party Militia, not to mention a bank account worth 100,000 garzans (don't get too excited...that's about $25,000). But no women are allowed to join the Party, though they can join the auxiliary arm, the Revolutionary Matrons and Maidens League.

It is illegal to have a vasectomy or tubal ligation until one has had a minimum of 2 children, and one must prove a medical reason for getting it. It is illegal to use birth control pills until one has turned 30. It is illegal to use a condom that has spermicide. In fact, spermicide has been outlawed altogether. Condoms may only be used in situations that carry a high risk of HIV or STD infection.

[Verdeguay]

Tabloids are banned because they invade people's private lives, and racism is banned as well. Also only 2 companies are allowed to produce beauty products to save citizens from torture of advertisements.

Racism is indirectly banned in Verdeguay, as well. The Constitution says that "It is forbidden to preach class struggle or hatred among Verdeguayans."

[Callisdrun]

During the past half century or so, Callisdrun has been in the process of reforming laws considered outdated or not sensible. Examples:

Divorce law: Until a few decades ago, it was completely legal for a wife to divorce her husband for any reason, including a whim. Joint property was kept by the wife. This was changed to a more modern and fair system, splitting property equally in most cases.

Abortion law: Until recently, there wasn't any. Lately, restrictions have been placed on abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy, limiting its use to situations of medical necessity. This includes not only the life and health of the mother, but also physical and mental disabilities. It is considered a better option than the pre-abortion practice of infanticide/abandonment of newborns considered "weak."

Rape laws: Recently changed to carry a standard life sentence. Previous sentence was being strapped to a wooden post or cross-beam and giving the victim any weapon or implement she chose to inflict whatever she pleased on the convict.

Wal-Mart is illegal in Callisdrun.

It is also illegal for female moroii to marry into the royal family. This is a holdover from when it would have been seen as a bad thing for a moroii to inherit the throne.

Dueling is completely legal in Callisdrun, provided written contracts and witnesses.

Massage Parlors are not allowed in the Red Light District in the capital city, Callisdrin, so as not to confuse tourists, who might be accustomed to using the term as a euphemism for a brothel in their home countries.

Tax evasion of a large enough degree has sometimes been considered treason. Treason is the only crime in Callisdrun to carry the death penalty, though it is not a mandatory sentence.

Callisdrunians may not have duel citizenship. If they take citizenship in another nation, their Callisdrunian citizenship is revoked.

[Verdeguay]

Wal-Mart is illegal in Callisdrun.

Why? I'm not criticizing your country or anything, I'm honestly curious.

[2nd PLT]

In 2ND PLT
It is Illegal to not own an assault weapon
It is Illegal to enter public unarmed without the intent to get a weapon
It is Illegal for Businesses to Franchise
Banks are Illegal

[Callisdrun]

Wal-Mart is illegal in Callisdrun.

Why? I'm not criticizing your country or anything, I'm honestly curious.

Because it was decided that Wal-Marts were ugly, tacky and bad for local business. Target stores are similarly banned, not from the whole country, but from many municipalities.

[Rykarian Territories]

Communism is illegal.

lolwut.

[Callisdrun]

Communism is illegal.

lolwut.

How? It seems like enforcement of that would be difficult.

[New Olwe]

Okay, I've got some for New Olwe:

The definition of "treason" has been expanded to include acts of censorship/infringement of the right to free speech and expression, white-collar crime (our socialist economic model is sacrosanct), and crimes against the environment or nature (yes, smoking and littering are punishable by death). Executions for treason are carried out by professional torturers, who are instructed to keep the subject alive as long as possible. The longest execution in New Olwe's history lasted two months and twenty-nine days.

Although dueling is legal, using a gun or other ranged weapon in a duel is illegal due to the dishonorable cowardice of shooting someone from a distance without giving them a fair chance to fight back. Swords, knives, axes, blunt objects or fists are the only permissible weapons in a duel.

Using magic in a duel is also illegal, since not everybody in New Olwe has the gift and magic may provide an unfair advantage to one participant (also, wands constitute ranged weapons).

Once a duel is agreed upon by both combatants, the duelist with the lowest annual income gets to choose where, when and with which weapons the duel will be fought... this is to prevent a rich person from winning a duel by forfeit via impossible-to-afford parameters.

Because the government does not see how marriage is any of its business, divorces can be legally finalized simply by packing a suitcase and stating "I'm leaving you".

Incest is legal, but birth control must be used if with a blood relative. If a pregnancy does result from incest, it must be reported to the authorities so that an abortion can be performed.

It is legal -- and encouraged -- for common citizens to break cell phones that are being used in movie theaters.

Drinking, using drugs, or texting while driving is punishable by indentured servitude to the automobile manufacturing industry -- as a crash test dummy.

[Jalanat]

Communism is illegal.

lolwut.

I wouldn't want to live in your country. XD

[Verdeguay]

Communism is illegal.

In Verdeguay, too. I wouldn't call that a "weird" law so much as an "unjust" one (I'm not a communist, myself, but I don't think any ideology should be illegal).

[Callisdrun]

Also, in Callisdrunian cities, the public buses have the right of way. If a car is blocking their stop, swerves in front of them, is blocking part of an intersection where a section of road has been painted "KEEP CLEAR" due to a bus's wide turning arc, it is entirely legal for the bus to hit them and continue on.

There are no speed limits on the highways, but things like tailgating, failure to use turn signals, etc. are punishable by enormous fines and temporary impounding of one's vehicle. The fines increase with an individual's income.

[United Europe1233]

In Europe...

we have no laws...

[Rejistania]

It is legal -- and encouraged -- for common citizens to break cell phones that are being used in movie theaters.

I like that law very much

[Jalanat]

In Europe...

we have no laws...

and in soviet russia...this is getting old.

[L3 Communications]

Okay, I've got some for New Olwe:

The definition of "treason" has been expanded to include acts of censorship/infringement of the right to free speech and expression, white-collar crime (our socialist economic model is sacrosanct), and crimes against the environment or nature (yes, smoking and littering are punishable by death). Executions for treason are carried out by professional torturers, who are instructed to keep the subject alive as long as possible. The longest execution in New Olwe's history lasted two months and twenty-nine days.

Sounds like a certain communist nation....

[Nueva Salvador]

If you are involved in a traffic accident, and it is determined you caused it by using a cell phone, the judge may stipulate that your license plate # and cell phone # match for a time. That way, if you keep driving like an idiot...people can get on you about it. This has yet to be enacted by any court, but the possibility is there.

[Daemonicai]

If you see three Irishmen walking down a street on Sunday morning, you are allowed to shoot the middle one with a bow and arrow. (This was an ancient law that was never bothered to be abolished)

If you do not salute the telescreen in your house five times a day, it results in a fine (Telescreens are two-way things, you see the speeches, news and propaganda videos and such on them, and your actions are recorded by the AI computer grid)

[Jalanat]

Okay, I've got some for New Olwe:

The definition of "treason" has been expanded to include acts of censorship/infringement of the right to free speech and expression, white-collar crime (our socialist economic model is sacrosanct), and crimes against the environment or nature (yes, smoking and littering are punishable by death). Executions for treason are carried out by professional torturers, who are instructed to keep the subject alive as long as possible. The longest execution in New Olwe's history lasted two months and twenty-nine days.

Sounds like a certain communist nation....

you take that back! if it is socialistic and you get killed for littering it is obviously an eco-socialistic country, it doesn't HAVE to be communistic.

[New Olwe]

you take that back! if it is socialistic and you get killed for littering it is obviously an eco-socialistic country, it doesn't HAVE to be communistic.

Jalanat's right. We're actually fairly strongly against communism here. But a lot of people make the mistake of lumping communists and socialists together, so we'll forgive the ignorance of L3 Communications.

[Dekerin Domains]

Whereas we Dekerins are neither capitalist nor socialist per se. We're mercantilist, although we have some capitalist, and yes, socialist features to our economic model. Having rejected feudalism, Chancellor Eupas and others in the government have studied the strengths and weaknesses of various systems. Raw capitalism struck us as grasping and dishonorable, even anarchic at times, which conflicted with our principles of personal courage, honesty, and patriotism. It was best to simply have a few positive aspects of capitalism, while restricting the less desirable traits. Socialism, at least in the Marxian form, seemed something best confined to a few sectors of the economy (such as health care).

And, of course, we have maintained our anti-usury laws. There's no sense in allowing predatory financial practices such as interest rates, to impoverish all over again a people emerging from the grinding poverty of the feudal system.

As for unusual laws...well, we just touched on that. Usury is illegal. Foreign missionaries are banned. We are a one-party-state, though that's not so unusual, I suppose. The penalties for crimes like parental neglect are severe (public floggings and such). And the way that we treat our in-laws (with sexual favors and such) is abnormally close...but then, we don't have a tradition of hating in-laws, and we want to keep it that way. The frequency of floggings and capital punishment may be a bit unusual, but that's because we don't use imprisonment. It seems a waste of resources, both human and financial. Our justice system is about actual justice and deterrence, not about removing people from society. That is an alien concept to us. Nor is it about rehabilitation, since fear rehabilitates people nicely anyway.

We may adopt harsh anti-littering laws soon, though probably public floggings instead of death. It certainly seems to work for New Olwe.

We don't have family names, though aristocrats have estate names attached to their personal names. We are very accepting of homosexuality and bisexuality in both sexes. Despite the social dominance of males, we don't have a double standard about sex. There is no concept of "fidelity" or "infidelity" in Dekerin society. There aren't even words for them in the Dekerin language, or for adultery. All marriages are inherently open, and polygamy is very normal, as is concubinage. So the only laws regarding sex ban pedophilia, rape, bestiality, and neglect of children.

It is perfectly legal to kill someone who calls you a coward. Such a term is an insult that no honorable Dekerin would ever tolerate. Failure to kill someone for using it is tantamount to admitting one's cowardice. One would be disgraced for the rest of one's life and utterly shunned.

It is not technically illegal, but it is strongly taboo to consume dairy products made from other species. However, we are considering the use of soy so as to have something to offer foreigners who are used to dairy foods. Besides, soybeans seem like a useful new crop.