Die In Parliament And You're Under Arrest, Other Stupid Laws

Queen Elizabeth II's speech in the British parliament Tuesday may have been routine but at least nobody got bored to death. That would have been against the law.

Yes, dying in parliament is against the law and is also by far one of the most absurd in Britain, according to a survey of nearly 4,000 people by a television channel.

Other rules deemed utterly stupid included one that permits a pregnant woman to urinate in a policeman's hat and murdering bow-and-arrow-carrying Scotsmen within the city walls of York, northern England.

Another law states that in Liverpool, only a clerk in a tropical fish store is allowed to be publicly topless.

Nearly half of those surveyed admitted to breaking the ban on eating mince pies on Christmas Day, which dates back to the 17th century.

The laws were collected from published research into ancient legislation that has never been repealed even though they are now obsolete.

Other ridiculous British laws:

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down.
3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store.
4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day.
5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter.
6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet.
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen.
8. It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing.
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour.
10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow.

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