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8 of the most bizarre laws in the world

Many outdated laws are still legally valid because they haven't been repealed

Samuel Osborne
Friday 11 December 2015 13:18 EST
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Outdated laws are unlikely to be enforced
Outdated laws are unlikely to be enforced (Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

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Many countries have outdated laws which may never be enforced - because lawmakers are often unaware they exist.

Despite this, the laws are still legally valid because they haven't been repealed.

For example MPs in the UK are banned from wearing a full suit of armour in Parliament, according to flytodubai.co.uk. It's also illegal to handle a salmon "in a suspicious manner".

These are some of the most bizarre outdated laws in the world:

  1. In Japan, women are legally obliged to wear bras in buildings with air conditioning.
  2. It is illegal to drag a dead horse down Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada - but on a Sunday.
  3. Only licensed electricians may change a light bulb in Australia.
  4. In France, it is illegal for an individual to name their pig Napoleon, out of respect for Napoleon Bonaparte. It's unclear what the law would make of the pig antagonist Napoleon in George Orwell's Animal Farm.
  5. In the UK, MPs are banned from wearing a full suit of armour in Parliament. It's also illegal to handle a salmon "in a suspicious manner" or import potatoes into England if you have reasonable cause to suspect they are Polish.
  6. In South Korea, traffic police are required by law to report all bribes they receive from motorists.
  7. In the Netherlands, it is illegal to impersonate a blind person - but only at night.
  8. In Mexico, bicycle riders must not lift either foot from the pedals.

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