Most of us do our best to stay on the right side of the law. Nobody’s got time for prison, of course, but rules are also there for a reason, right? We have them to keep us safe, resolve disputes, and stop society from descending into chaos.

But the law isn’t always as straightforward as it seems, and some provisions are so bizarre or oddly specific that they read more like punchlines than policy. Throw unexpected legal loopholes into the mix, and things get even more interesting. Fortunately, we don’t need to wade through mountains of case law for examples: lawyers over on Reddit have done the legwork for us, sharing legal loopholes and other surprising technicalities from around the world. Some might have you scratching your head, while others, well, you never know—they might just come in handy someday.

In Denmark, if the sea between Sweden and Denmark freezes and a Swede crosses the ice on foot, you're allowed to beat him/her with a stick until they leave. Best part? It's in ~~our constitution so it's nearly impossible to change it~~ EDIT: Shimfs pointed out in a reply that it's not our constitution but just the Danish Law. I did some quick searching around, and couldn't find a proper source, but I've found the explanation for the law: In the winter of 1658, the sea between Denmark and Sweden (Øresund) froze solid enough for the Swedish army to cross (we've always been fighting, check our history, it's not pretty) and it ended up with Denmark loosing a lot of territory. According to everything I can find on the internet, this was what led the Danish king to make this law.

In the UK the legal age of drinking is 5 as long as there is a guardian present and as long as it is not in a licensed area (pub, club, bar etc) However a beer garden of a pub doesn't count so you can legally have a shot of tequila with with a toddler while watching the teletubies.

Someone you're married to can't testify against you about something you told them, even if they wanted to, so feel free to tell your spouse about that time you did something illegal. However, someone you're married to can choose whether or not they want to testify against you about something they actually saw you doing, so only let your spouse watch you do something illegal if you really trust them.

We all know that laws are there for a reason. Some might even call them the backbone of civil society, with a lawless society looking very different from the world we’re accustomed to living in today. But like the humans who draft them, laws aren’t without their own imperfections. As legal scholar Roger Brownsword puts it , “As a human enterprise, law reflects the imperfections that are all too common in humans.”

It's been suggested that it's possible to commit a felony with impunity in the portion of Yellowstone National Park that sits in Idaho. The national park is a federal enclave and does not fall within the jurisdiction of any of the three states it inhabits (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho). When those states were admitted to the union, they ceded that land to the United States and cannot enforce their laws there. When Congress created the District Court for the District of Wyoming, it decided to place the entirety of Yellowstone Park within that jurisdiction. Here's where things get a little weird. The Vicinage Clause of the Sixth Amendment entitles a defendant to a trial by a jury drawn from the state and district in which the alleged crime occurred. According to the latest U.S. Census, that portion of the park has a population of zero. That is, no one lives in both Idaho and the District of Wyoming. So, if, for example, an individual were to end someone in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, he would be hauled off to Cheyenne for presentment. Once the defendant has been indicted, however, the U.S. Attorney would be powerless to try him unless the defendant waived his right to a jury trial or voluntarily submitted to the jurisdiction of the District of Wyoming. To the best of my knowledge, this has never been tested.

If you ever want to mail something...less than legal, pop it into a USPS First Class Envelope. According to the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, federal law dictates that the only person who can open first class mail is the addressee. This means that the postal service, and any federal agency cannot inspect/search first class mail. TLDR: no one can inspect first class mail. NO ONE!