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Crap
About Unusual Laws & Customs
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The following
are all of the Weekly Droppings that have appeared on
Mindless Crap, dating back to the first one posted on
October 1, 2000.
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It was a widespread custom in the early 1700s for guests
at a funeral to receive nice presents from the survivors
of the deceased, including rings, spoons and gloves. |
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During the Middle Ages menstruating women weren't
allowed to go to church or handle meat and other foods. |
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The Tang dynasty empress Wu Hou, who ruled from 683 to
785 A.D., insisted that all visiting dignitaries perform
oral sex on her to pay her homage. |
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It is illegal to own a dog in Reykjavik, Iceland. |
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Among the ancient Egyptians, it was common practice to
preserve the dead's body in a huge crock of honey. |
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The official legal difference between a fruit and
vegetable was decided by the United States Supreme Court
in 1893. According to the ruling, any plant or
part of a plant generally eaten as part of the main
course of a meal is a vegetable. Any plant or part
of a plant generally eaten as an appetizer, a dessert,
or out of hand is a fruit. |
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In 15th century Venice, the government ordered
prostitutes to go topless. |
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Impotence is grounds for divorce in 24 states in the
United States. |
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Tablecloths
were originally meant to serve as towels with which
guests could wipe their hands and faces after dinner. |
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It was common in the 1400s in Venice to
encourage young men to seek prostitutes in order to
guard against homosexuality. |
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Thinking that
it spread disease, King Henry VI banned kissing in
England in 1439. |
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In ancient
Japan public contests were held to see who in a town
could break wind the loudest and longest. Winners
were awarded prizes and received great acclaim. |
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An
eighteenth-century prostitute could be spared
punishment if she was willing to join the opera. |
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| In
some parts of Java, couples may have sex in the
fields to promote crop growth. |
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| In
1765, the year of the Stamp Act - when every pack of
playing cards was being taxed one shilling - a deck of
cards could be used for class admission at the
University of Pennsylvania. |
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| In
1929, the U.S.S.R. decreed a week consisted of five
days. In 1932, they changed a week to be six
days. By 1940, the original seven-day week had
been restored. |
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| The
Puritans had such an obsessive fear of masturbation
that almost any means were used to curtail the
practice. For instance, some doctors recommended
covering the penis with plaster of Paris. |
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| The
first anti-lynching law in the United States was
passed in Georgia in 1893, but it only made the
violation punishable by four years in prison. |
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| In
1649, Massachusetts's Puritan government ruled the
following: "Any childe over 16 who shall CURSE or
SMITE their natural FATHER or MOTHER, or act in a
STUBBORNE or REBELLIOUS manner shall be put to
death." |
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| The
Code of Hammurabi made it forbidden to randomly
mistreat slaves. However, the code also stated
that slaves were to be branded on the forehead and
forbidden to hide or mask the mark. |
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| People
say "Bless you" when you sneeze because of
the influenza epidemics that raged during the Middle
Ages. Sneezing was usually the first sign the
victim had contracted the bug. Friends and
family would mutter, "God bless you," before
getting a safe distance away. |
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| As
artists and traders in medieval cities began to form
organizations, they instituted tough initiation
ceremonies. For example, journeymen in Bergen,
Norway, were shoved down a chimney, thrown three times
into the sea, and soundly whipped. |
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| In
the 17th century, no citizen of Japan was allowed to
leave the country on penalty of death. |
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| For
hundreds of years, the people of Poona, India, have
disposed of their dead by carrying the corpses to the
top of a tower and letting the vultures eat them. |
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| The
Kwoma of New Guinea consider it proper for the girl to
make sexual advances rather than the boy in order to
help the men avoid upsetting the girl's parents. |
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| Wedding
cake was originally thrown at the bride and groom, instead
of eaten by them. |
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| In
ancient Greece the custom of allowing a condemned man
to end his own life by poison was extended only to full
citizens. Condemned slaves were instead beaten to death. |
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| In
the 1800s, the Chinese believed that strangling a man
was less sever a punishment than beheading because the
body would not be permanently disfigured. |
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| In
Florida, having sexual relations with a porcupine is
illegal. |
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| From
1836 to 1896, the Red Flag Act in England required that
any self-propelled vehicle be preceded by a man carrying
a red flag by day and a red lantern by night.
In effect, this limited the speed to four miles per
hour and retarded the development of all self-propelled
vehicles, including the automobile. |
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| In
1850, Michigan's state constitution included the following
line: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
unless for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated
in this state." This inadvertently legalized
slavery as an appropriate punishment for crime.
It wasn't until 1963 that the grammar was fixed to outlaw
slavery. The change required shifting the comma
following "servitude" to the position after
"slavery." |
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| New
York City's administrative code still requires that
hitching posts be located in front of City Hall so that
reporters can tie their horses. |
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| In
the Andes, time is sometimes measured by how long it
takes to chew a quid of coca leaf. |
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| According
to legend, when Burmese women are making beer, they
need to avoid having sex or the beer will be bitter. |
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| In
Las Vegas, it's against the law to pawn your dentures. |
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| The
dragons and other monsters that graced the bows of the
Viking ships were so fierce-looking that a law was passed
in Iceland ordering the skipper of any Viking ship to
remove the figurehead before entering port. |
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| Women
wear engagement and wedding rings on the third finger
of the left hand because an ancient belief held that
a delicate nerve runs directly from that finger to the
heart. |
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| The
original purpose of a coffin was not to protect the
body from prowling animals or grave robbers. It was
invented to keep the dearly departed from coming back
to haunt survivors. |
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| City
Ordinance number 352 in Pacific Grove, CA makes it a
misdemeanor to kill or threaten a butterfly. |
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| According
to Hammurabi's Code, the penalty for medical malpractice
was to cut off the doctor's hands. |
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| When
the X-ray was discovered, a law in New Jersey was written
forbidding the use of "X-ray opera glasses." |
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| In
1853, Illinois passed a law that required any black
entering the state and staying more than ten days to
pay a fine of $50. If he could not pay, the person
could be sold into slavery for a period commensurate
with the fine. |
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| It
was proposed in the Rhode Island legislature in the
1970s that there be a $2 tax on every act of sexual
intercourse. |
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| Early
in 1975, the U.S. Senate actually voted on the following:
"A
motion to table a motion to reconsider a vote to table
an appeal of a ruling that a point of order was not
in order against a motion to table another point of
order against a motion to bring to a vote the motion
to call up the resolution that would institute a rules
change."
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The original purpose of the coffin was to prevent
the dearly departed from coming back and haunting the
survivors. |
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| In
Thailand, the left hand is considered unclean, so you
should not eat with it.
Also, pointing with one finger is considered
rude and is only done when pointing to objects or animals,
never humans. |
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| Dueling
is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered
blood donors. |
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| In
Sweden, when leaving someone's home, wait until you
get to the doorway to step outside before putting on
your coat. To do so earlier suggests you are eager to
leave. |
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| Every
citizen of Kentucky is required by law to take a bath
once a year. |
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| In
South Korea, Green Giant canned sweet corn is advertised
as a topping for ice cream. |
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In
Canada, if a debt is higher than 25 cents, it is illegal
to pay it with pennies. |
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| In
early Yorkshire,
England, a plate holding wedding cake was thrown out
of the window as the bride returned to her parent's
home after the wedding. If the plate broke, she would
enjoy a happy future with her husband. If the plate
remained intact, her future was bleak. |
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| In
Breton, AL there is a law against riding down the street
in a motorboat. |
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In
ancient times, any Japanese who tried to leave his homeland
was put to death. |
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| Federal
law forbids recycling used eyeglasses in the United
States. |
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| During
the time of Peter the Great, any Russian who wore a
beard was required to pay a special tax. |
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| In
Atlanta, GA, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone
pole or street lamp. |
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| Grasping
your ears is a sign of repentance or sincerity in India. |
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| Impotence
is grounds for divorce in 24 states in the United States. |
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| Federal
law forbids recycling used eyeglasses in the United
States. |
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| In
South Korea, Green Giant canned sweet corn is advertised
as a topping for ice cream. |
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| Apparently
there's a law stating that if a Kurtatchi woman of the
Soloman Islands unintentionally reveals her genitals,
it can be expected and will be understood if any nearby
man sexually assaults her. |
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| Dueling
is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered
blood donors. |
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| It
was proposed
in the Rhode Island legislature in the 1970s that there
be a $2 tax on every act of sexual intercourse. |
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| In
ancient Rome, people found guilty of murdering their
fathers were executed in a bizarre manner. The
punishment was to be put in a sack with a rooster, a
viper, and a dog, then drowned along with all three
animals. |
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| In
Colombia,
if a Goajiro woman is successful in tripping a man during
a ceremonial dance, he's required to have intercourse
with her. |
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| When
gentlemen
in medieval Japan wished to seal an agreement, they
urinated together, crisscrossing their streams of urine. |
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| During
the time of
Peter the Great, any Russian who wore a beard was required
to pay a special tax. |
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Early
in 1975, the
U.S. Senate actually voted on the following:
"A motion to table a motion to reconsider a vote
to table an appeal of a ruling that a point of order
was not in order against a motion to table another point
of order against a motion to bring to a vote the motion
to call up the resolution that would institute a rules
change." |
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| It's
illegal
in Newcastle, WY to have sex in a butcher shop's meat
freezer. |
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| It
is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona. |
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| In
ancient Rome it was considered a sign of leadership
to be born with a hooked nose. |
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| In
July 1981, a tortoise was sentenced to death for murder.
Tribal elders in Kyuasini, a village in Kenya, formally
condemned the tortoise because they suspected it of
causing the death of six people, apparently through
magic. However, because none of the villagers was prepared
to risk the tortoise's wrath by carrying out the execution,
it was instead chained to a tree. The tortoise was later
freed after the government promised an official inquiry
into the deaths. |
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| In
Turkey during the 16th and 17th centuries, anyone caught
drinking coffee was put to death. |
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| An
Athens legislator named Solon passed a law in the 6th
century that let fathers sell their fornicating daughters
into slavery. |
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| Among
primitive people the soul normally is said to escape
through the mouth or nose.
In the Celebes, when a person is very sick, his friends
will often attach fish hooks in certain places. If the
soul tries to escape, it gets hooked. |
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| At
one time in India, a fiance was required to deflower
his future bride if she died before the wedding. The
girl could not be cremated until this ritual was carried
out in front of the village priest. |
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| It
was the law in Scotland in 1288 that for each year known
as "lepe yeare" any maiden lady could ask
the man she liked to be her husband. If he refused and
didn't have a good excuse he would be "mulcted
of ye sum of one pound or less" (essentially, he
would owe her a dollar). France enacted a similar law
a year later. |
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| At
one time, there
was a law in India that forbade lower-caste people from
casting their shadows on a member of the Brahman (the
upper class). |
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| In
the kingdom of Bhutan, all citizens officially become
one year older on New Year’s Day. |
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| Citizens
of Monaco are prohibited from gambling in Monte Carlo,
but they're exempt from taxation. |
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| It's
illegal
to have sex on a parked motorcycle in London. |
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| In
1659, the General Court of Massachusetts ordered that
anybody caught feasting or laying off from work, or
in any other way goofing off on any other day other
than Christmas, would be fined five shillings for each
such offense. |
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| Up
until the early 20th century, New Jersey and Wisconsin
had laws allowing the castration of epileptics. |
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| Belgium
is the only country that has never imposed censorship
for adult films. |
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