‘What law in your country would surprise foreigners because it’s legal almost everywhere else?’ – 19 legal anomalies

Unless you’re a legal historian or a lawyer, even the laws of your own country can be surprising. In the UK, some archaic laws have yet to be repealed, although there has been a push to ditch them in recent years, and some of them are truly bizarre – at least in a modern context.

They include –

Mandatory longbow shooting sessions for all Englishmen on Sundays

A law against pretending to be a witch

The strict prohibition of carrying a plank in the street

Obviously, these laws are never enforced, otherwise scores of children would end up behind bars at Halloween, and Eric Sykes would have done serious jail time. Ask your grandma to explain that one.

Over on Reddit’s r/AskTheWorld, Familiar-Arrival-470 asked people –

“What law in your country would surprise foreigners because it’s legal almost everywhere else?”

They added –

“In India, revealing a baby’s sex before birth is illegal. Doctors are not allowed to disclose it during ultrasounds.

This surprises many foreigners because in most of the countries, parents openly find out the baby’s sex and even have gender reveal parties.

The reason for the ban is India’s history of sex-selective abortions, especially favoring male children. This led to a serious gender imbalance in some regions. To combat this, the government introduced the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, which prohibits prenatal sex determination except for medical reasons.

Whether people agree with it or not, the law was meant to address deep-rooted social bias and protect female children.”

Well, that escalated quickly. A lot of people weighed in with their countries legal oddities, and these 19 stood out.

1.

maverick4002
Via

2.

In Nigeria, all baby formula must have a clause saying that breast milk is best or else it can’t be sold.
Dy1ngDaisies

3.

Greece: Women cant abandon their maiden name. if they want, they can take the husband’s name as an addition, but not to replace their own.
HistoryDude1648

4.

Poland:
Scattering the ashes of deceased ones is prohibited and taking urn out of cementery is illegal. Offenders can go to prison for such actions.
Dawidlijevski

5.

Germany: You have to give your kid a proper name and not a name like reightful (pronounced rifle).
OMGitsTK447

6.

It’s illegal for my boss to call my cellphone to talk about work outside my schedule hours.
PortugieseMan

7.

In the UK, it’s illegal to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances. I don’t think people ever get arrested for it though lol.
cryingtoElliotSmith

8.

In Chile, you can’t light fires outdoors in nature, and that includes cigarettes. No smoking in national parks. It surprises many tourists all the time who end up fined, deported, or worse, causing wildfires.
KalzK

9.

So in India, police typically hold a suspect’s hand or arm during arrest rather than using handcuffs, as the Supreme Court has ruled that routine handcuffing violates human dignity and fundamental rights. Handcuffs are legally restricted to exceptional cases involving violent offenders or high escape risks, requiring prior magistrate approval.

So we get gems like these.

EveningAlgae_6617
Via

10.

Iran: Do I need to participate? Women are not allowed to go out without hiding their hair. And no, there is no logic, and it is stupid at all levels.
SpecialistChain_519