1. The Law is an ass
Culture counts
|
|
The law is an ass is said when the application of the law is contrary to common sense.
This proverbial expression is of English origin and the ass being referred to here is the English colloquial name for a donkey, not the American 'ass', which we will leave behind us at this point. Donkeys have a, somewhat unjustified, reputation for obstinance and stupidity that has given us the adjective 'asinine'. It is the stupidly rigid application of the law that this phrase calls into question.
It is easy to find reference works and websites that attribute the phrase to Charles Dickens, who put it into print in Oliver Twist, 1838. When Mr. Bumble, the unhappy spouse of a domineering wife, is told in court that "...the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction", replies:
"If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass - a idiot".
In fact, 'the law is an ass' is from a play published by the English dramatist George Chapman in 1654 - Revenge for Honour:
"Ere he shall lose an eye for such a trifle... For doing deeds of nature! I'm ashamed. The law is such an ass."
'Published by' doesn't necessarily mean 'written by'. In 1653, Chapman's play was registered, as The Parricide, or, Revenge for Honor, to fellow playwright Henry Glapthorne. Some scholars contend that the play was the work of neither gentlemen and was written around 1620.
Whoever the author was, we can be sure it wasn't Charles Dickens. However, it was Dickens who brought the phrase to the general public. Oliver Twist was an enormous success when it was first published as a serial and has become one of the world's best selling novels.
Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-law-is-an-ass.html
Culture counts
Read the following article from the BBC
UK chooses 'most ludicrous laws'
Legislation said to prohibit people dying while in the Houses of Parliament has been voted one of the most ludicrous laws in the UK.
Treason laws which reportedly could be used against someone who places a stamp upside down on a letter were also cited by those polled by UKTV Gold.
Nearly 4,000 people picked laws on a list compiled by UKTV Gold researchers.
It examined laws that have never been repealed even though statutes could have rendered them obsolete.
A UKTV Gold spokeswoman said many of the regulations were referenced in the book The Strange Laws of Old England by Nigel Cawthorne.
A total of 27% of those questioned by UKTV Gold thought the law against dying in the Houses of Parliament was the most absurd.
Mr Cawthorne told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that anyone who dies in Parliament is technically entitled to a state funeral and the law is in place to ensure this does not happen.
However, a spokesman for the House of Commons said: "The people who know about these things here say there is no basis for such a law, not to say it does not exist somewhere in writing."
Cannon firing
Other lesser-known laws making the list included one banning eating mince pies on Christmas Day and another from 1313 stating it is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour.
Almost half of those asked confessed to breaking the mince pie law, which was brought in by Oliver Cromwell in the 17th Century.
Last year, the Law Society highlighted a number of bizarre laws still in existence on the statute book in England and Wales.
These included a ban on firing a cannon close to a dwelling house (Met Police Act 1839); a ban on the use of any slide upon ice or snow (Town Police Clauses Act 1847); and the prohibition of driving cattle through the streets of London (Metropolitan Streets Act 1867).
An ongoing cull of obsolete laws by the statute law revision team, has seen 2,000 abolished since 1965.
Dead whales
Among the most ridiculous laws listed by UKTV Gold were:
- It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)
- It could be regarded an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down (7%)
- Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned (5%)
- In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants (4%)
- The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen (3.5%)
- It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (3%)
- It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour (3%)
Do it yourself
Absurd laws from around the world
Probably the reason most of these laws and bans still exist is that no one has got around to changing them. However, they’re totally worth laughing at and leave you imagining where the hell they might have come from. (This has not been verified and is here purely for amusement reasons)