- [Narrator] There are an awful lot of laws out there,
most, supposedly, were created with the intention
of protecting the public good.
However, some laws are just plain dumb
and others are varying shades of stupidity.
Here are 10 of the dumbest things to have ever been banned.
With high population densities, finding adequate
cemetery space in Europe has been
a significant issue for centuries.
The village of Sarpourenx, France has found
a very easy solution.
If you don't have a cemetery plot, and wish to be buried
in the village, you're not allowed to die.
The law is mostly about policing cemetery space,
but the unfortunate phrasing has elicited laughter
from observers.
And it's not helped by the fact the ordinance
also warns that offenders will be severely punished.
Though it's not quite clear as to how that punishment
would be administered.
There are countries which have banned
certain types of movies.
This is hardly unheard of.
However, the city of Manila in the Philippines
has a very specific law.
It has outlawed movies by Claire Danes.
Back in 1998, Danes spent several months in Manila
shooting for the film Brokedown Palace.
She had plenty to say about the experience
such as describing the city as ghastly and weird
and smelling of cockroaches.
The city responded with an ordinance
banning all of her movies from being shown.
The Filipino president even commented that Danes
shouldn't be allowed to return to the country.
Everyone is a critic.
A growing number of countries, including Germany,
Sweden, Japan, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand and Norway,
are legislating what parents can name their children.
The purpose is to protect children from names like
Yeah Detroit, Metallica, Superman, Monkey,
Sex Fruit and Adolf Hitler, as well as a variety
of unpronounceable symbols.
But these countries go much further.
Some have officially approved lists from which
parents must pick.
Creative spellings of approved names
are not automatically permitted.
Names have to indicate whether the child's a boy or a girl
and can't be confused with a traditional last name.
Banning bear wrestling sounds dumber than it actually is.
Multiple states in the US have banned bear wrestling.
First of all, you're probably asking yourself,
who actually does this?
The obvious answer is crazy people.
But the actual answer is horrible people.
Bear wrestling started in Europe and migrated
to the US in the 1800s.
You could find it in a variety of places.
But it became particularly monetized
in traveling sideshows.
Spectators were promised a battle
between a fearless wrestler and a vicious wild animal.
Except, that's not exactly what was delivered.
In order to not make this sport suicidal,
the bear was tamed as much as a bear can be.
More importantly, they pulled its front teeth
and removed its claws.
Animal cruelty wasn't a terribly big issue
in the 1950s and 60s when these laws were enacted,
but this particular performance was exploitative enough
to get the government's attention.
Florence, Italy has outlawed a piece of architecture.
According to a local ordinance,
no building shall include flying buttresses.
Flying buttresses are external supports attached to
large churches by arches.
It's a mainstay of Gothic architecture
developed around the 13th century during the Middle Ages.
But Florence, and indeed, all of Italy,
was never comfortable with Gothic architecture.
They prefer buildings to look more like those
of ancient Greece and Rome so they banned
the architectural element.
You won't find a single one in Florence.
Dorset, UK has a very specific law on the books.
You cannot slap somebody with a dead eel.
Conger cuddling, as it's called, is a local sport
dating back to 1974 and played for charity.
Competitors stand at wood blocks and attempt
to knock opponents off with five foot dead eels
attached to ropes.
An animal rights organization threatened to launch
a national campaign against the sport.
Not because it was cruel to the eels,
as they were already past caring,
but because it insulted the dignity of the dead.
The law says nothing about live eels,
but presumably, that's not permitted either.
This next one is a case of stupidity by omission.
Australia has banned miners from buying
cigarettes and alcohol.
It is also forbidden to supply these items
to miners in any way.
However, there are no laws against miners
actually using these restricted items.
A lot of laws sound dumb because they're archaic.
They may have made sense 100 years ago, but not now.
So, when you hear of elephants being band from beaches
in Granville, France you might think
that there's some history to the law.
There isn't.
The law dates from 2007.
In the previous year, a circus was allowed
to bring its elephants onto the beach
and play in the water.
The problem is that they defecated in the water so much
that public health inspectors had to issue
a public health advisory.
This French law actually bans all circus animals
from walking on the beach.
But you can thank elephants for this law.
The next law really is about history.
In Australia, it's illegal to wear felt shoes,
black clothes and a blackened face in public.
The logic is that no one would look like this
unless they're intending to cause mischief.
This law has some historical precedent in the Anglosphere.
In fact, there was even a time in Britain
when wearing black in public was a capital offence.
You can wear your suit of full plate any number of places,
but don't expect it to be accepted in
the United Kingdom's House of Parliament.
This law dates all the way back to 1313,
when Edward II was in power.
Edward had a low born favorite,
and probably lover, Piers Gaveston.
Gaveston, and the nobles, treated each other
with considerable contempt and the nobles
repeatedly pushed for Gaveston to be exiled.
Sometimes showing up in arms and armor
when they did so.
So, Edward, rather than dealing with the underlying problem,
simply banned the wearing of armor in Parliament.
In 1327, Edward was forced to abdicate
and he conveniently died several months later.
However, this esoteric rule persists to this day.
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