9 Things Which Are Still Illegal

1. Gambling in a library

Doesn’t sound like something that happens on a regular basis, does it? But in 1898, UK law was forced to bring in the “Library Offenses Act” banning people from (amongst other things) gambling within a library, on pain of a 40-shilling charge.

2. Wearing armor inside the Houses of Parliament

Implemented during the reign of King Edward II, this law was to stop nobles from using threats of violence (and their intimidating looks) to force through their own agendas in Parliament.

3. Claiming a whale

…at least, as long as it’s within a 3-mile radius of the British shore. All whales, dolphins, sturgeons, and porpoises within that radius belong to the Queen.

4. Bootlegging booze

It is technically still illegal to move beer and spirits between provinces. This is a throwback to the days of the American prohibition, but it is obviously routinely flouted, particularly by college students!

5. Using too many coins

We’ve all been there: trying desperately to offload our change onto some poor shop assistant. But technically in Canadian law, there are legal restrictions on how much you can pay for in just change — if you’re paying in nickels, for example, the limit is five dollars.

6. Putting caffeine in soft drinks

This Canadian law wasn’t overturned until March 2010 — meaning all non-dark soft drinks up until then had basically just been sugar and water. To this day, however, there are restrictions on how much caffeine can go into Canadian soft drinks.

7. Dwarf-tossing and pig-greasing

Neither of which sound real, right? But in 1989, Florida made it illegal for bars to allow or participate in any dwarf-tossing contests, and Minnesota has strictly outlawed games involved the catching and oiling of a pig.

8. Eating people

This one seems logical, yes? Cannibalism = generally frowned upon in most societies. However, Idaho, where this law exists, is the ONLY state to have actually outlawed it as a practice. Although it does allow exceptions if cannibalism is the only means of survival.

9. Kinder Surprise

Little chocolate eggs with a surprise toy inside…what could there be to outlaw? Well, in the US, candies with embedded toys have been banned since 1938, due to concerns about choking hazards. Kinder Surprise is available, however, in the UK and across Europe.