Loony Law 1:
Cabbies in Finland
The Crime: Failed to pay fees for playing music in the cab.
The Law: The cabbie's life is hard enough. But now, the Finnish courts have muscled into make their lives even more miserable. To be allowed to play music in your cab in Finland while you are carrying passengers, you must pay royalties annually. Think this sounds crazy and impossible to enforce? Well, you tell that to taxi driver Lauri Luotonen who found himself in front of a judge who told him to pay 22 Euros per year for each of the two years he had refused to cough up. But let's hope that this law doesn't come to the United States or we will have to listen to the taxi driver rambling on about the government or the gas prices.
Loony Law 2:
Public Display of Videogames
The Crime: To be caught playing videogames in public.
The Law: This law was thought out by the public but it's execution was horrible. The original law was to stop illegal gambling after members of a political party in Greece were filmed having a flutter in an illegal gambling den. The new law also meant that all electronic gaming (even playing chess on the net in the comfort of your own home) became outlawed. The government appeared to find it impossible to tell the difference between Sonic the Hedgehog and an unlawful game of poker. There was uproar all over the European Union and the government amended the law in 2002. However, it was still illegal to play videogames in internet cafes and in 2004, 80 computers were seized from cafes in Greece, and arrests made. The law has now fallen into such ill repute that it has been suspended.
Loony Law 3:
No One Wants to See You Naked
The Crime: Being found naked in your own home.
The Law: Pity anyone who should be so bold as to walk round in their birthday suit while at home. In Singapore, the heartland of uptight laws, being caught in the buff inside your own house is actually illegal because it is considered to be a form of pornography… so keep your (hot) pants on at all times.
