Weird Laws That Are Somehow Still on the Books

Every country has laws so specific, so old, or so weird that they read like Onion articles. Many are obsolete leftovers. Some are genuinely in force. Here are twelve real ones you'll either laugh at or silently respect.

1. Singapore: Chewing Gum Ban

Since 1992, the sale and import of chewing gum has been banned in Singapore. PM Lee Kuan Yew introduced it after vandals stuck gum to MRT subway door sensors. Medical gum (nicotine, dental) is legal. Bringing in commercial quantities: serious fine. Our Banned or Legal Worldwide quiz covers this and dozens more.

2. Denmark: Check Under Your Car Before Driving

Before starting the engine, Danish drivers are legally required to check under the vehicle for children or sleeping people. This is an actual traffic code provision, not folklore.

3. Switzerland: No Pet Solo Ownership

Under the Animal Protection Ordinance, social species like guinea pigs, parakeets, and goldfish must be kept in pairs or groups. Swiss officials will intervene if you have a lone social animal. The law is real and enforced.

4. Japan: The Waistline Law (Metabo Law)

Introduced in 2008, it requires companies and local governments to measure the waistlines of Japanese citizens aged 40 to 74 during annual checkups. Men over 85 cm, women over 90 cm get mandatory counseling. Designed to reduce obesity-related healthcare costs.

5. Germany: Don't Run Out of Gas on the Autobahn

It's illegal to run out of fuel on the Autobahn because stopping unnecessarily is considered avoidable. Fine up to 70 euros.

Most "weird laws" floating around social media are fake or heavily distorted. The genuinely weird ones usually have a specific, slightly boring reason — sensor damage, animal welfare, actuarial statistics.

6. Italy: You Must Feed Stray Cats

Rome has a 1988 ordinance treating colonies of stray cats as "bioheritage" of the city. Residents and caretakers (gattare — cat ladies) have legal protection to feed and care for strays. Torre Argentina, where Caesar was killed, is a protected feline sanctuary.

7. Thailand: Don't Step on Money

Thai banknotes bear the image of the King. Lèse-majesté laws make stepping on, defacing, or otherwise disrespecting money illegal — punishable by up to 15 years per offense in some cases. Our Thailand Deep Dive quiz covers more cultural rules.

8. UK: No Dying in Parliament

Widely quoted "most absurd" British law, and partially real. Technically, anyone dying in the Palace of Westminster is entitled to a state funeral — a budgetary headache — so it has been informally discouraged. No one has ever been prosecuted for dying in Parliament. The 'law' is a UK quiz-show confection.

9. Scandinavian Public Transparency: Salaries Published

In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, everyone's tax return is publicly accessible. Search by name and you can see their income. This isn't a weird law so much as a cultural default — radical financial transparency. Our Sweden Deep Dive quiz and Norway Deep Dive quiz cover the culture.

10. Samoa: Forgetting Your Anniversary Is a Criminal Offense

Widely circulated online, but this is false. Samoa has no such law. Included here as an example of how fake laws circulate as "weird but real." Our Real or Fake Law quiz is specifically built to separate the real from the internet fabrications.

11. France: You Can Marry a Dead Person

Posthumous marriage (mariage posthume) has been legal in France since WWI. President Mitterrand famously presided over several. Living partner applies to the President of France for permission; ceremony conducted; deceased spouse does not inherit. Used mostly for surviving fiancés of those killed in tragedies.

12. Bolivia: Married Women Can't Drink in Restaurants

This is widely cited but largely mythologized. Historical ordinances in some Bolivian cities restricted married women's public drinking, but the laws have been dead letter for decades.

The US Patchwork

Individual US states have a wealth of "zombie laws." Still officially on the books but effectively dead:

• Kansas: Shooting rabbits from a motorboat illegal
• Alabama: Bear-wrestling matches banned (this is real and enforced)
• Connecticut: Pickles must bounce to be legally sold (real 1948 ruling)
• Ohio: Fish may not be given beer (listed in some compilations — disputed)
• Florida: Car doors must be closed while driving past a state-designated manatee zone

Why These Laws Stay

Legislatures don't do housecleaning. Once a law is passed, it stays until explicitly repealed. Many "weird laws" are actual provisions that addressed a specific problem in 1874 and never got cleaned up. They're mostly harmless — but they fuel endless trivia nights.

Test your own ability to separate real from fabricated. Our Real or Fake Law quiz is specifically designed to catch social-media exaggerations. Our Legal or Illegal quiz tests cross-border variation. Both are a good reminder that reality is almost always weirder — and more specific — than the meme.