From something everyone does online, to owning some innocuous stationary, we count 10 laws you may have broken without knowing it.
10 – Throwing Out Old Tennant’s Mail,
- You might be one of those good Samaritans that always sends the mail received back to the post office, but you probably don’t bother with the junk mail, right?
- Well as it turns out, in most countries, even if it’s blatant advertising as long as it’s directly addressed to someone you’re not allowed to throw it out and if you do you can get up to 5 years and jail and have to pay up to $250,000.
9 – Making a Profit in Online Sales,
- Most people use eBay and craigslist to buy and sell stuff you don’t want anymore, sometimes you might even profit off of the endeavour, since it was an antique or maybe you just got lucky by swiping something for much less than it was worth.
- Well if you don’t report that earning in your income taxes you’ve broken the law in almost every country out there, but how will they ever know right?
8 – Swearing in Public,
- That’s right citizens of the UK and Australia, it’s illegal to swear in public, freedom of speech isn’t really a thing in those two countries, despite Australia’s renown for profanity.
- But don’t get too haughty Americans, in the state of Virginia people can and have been fined for cussing in public, so if you live there you should also be careful.
7 – Smoking in Public,
- This one applies to a few different states, including California, it’s actually illegal to smoke within 20 feet of a public building and in other states it’s illegal to smoke within 20 feet of any workplace.
- Australia has similar rules, except New South Wales includes the restriction of no smoking within 10 metres of school equipment, even if it’s at 3 in the morning.
6 – Playing Loud Music in Your Car,
- I think we’re all aware of the fact that it’s generally considered illegal to be generally loud and obnoxious at night without going through the right procedures.
- But people don’t seem to realise that this applies to when you’re in your car as well, because your car isn’t nearly as sound proof as you might think.