Interesting & Amazing Facts
Legal
Automobiles
More than half the time spent in United States courts is cases that involve automobiles.
Bank Robberies
The people killed most often during bank robberies are the robbers.
Borden, Lizzie
Lizzie Borden was acquitted.
Burglary
Chances that a burglary in the Canada or The USA will be solved: 1 in 7.
Chewing Gum
In Singapore, it is illegal to sell or own chewing gum.
Computer Fraud
The biggest computer fraud was committed by Stanley Mark Rifkin of the USA who swindled a Los Angeles bank out of $10.2million in 1978. He got 8yrs in prison.
Drug Convictions
In the USA, blacks make up approximately 13 percent of drug users. However, they account for 37 percent of those arrested on drug charges, 55 percent of those convicted and 74 percent of all drug offenders sentenced to prison.
Iran
Kennedy, John F.
It was only after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 that the U.S. Congress enacted a law making it a federal crime to specifically kill, kidnap, or assault the President, Vice-President, or President-elect.
Lawsuit
* A man filed a lawsuit against his doctor because he survived longer than what the doctor had predicted.
* A surfer once sued another surfer for "stealing his wave." The case was thrown out because the court was unable to put a price on "pain and suffering" endured by the surfer watching someone else ride "his" wave.
Marijuana
One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today is because cotton growers in the 30s lobbied against hemp farmers -- they saw it as competition. It is not chemically addictive as is nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.
Russia
It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.
Shoplifting
Women shoplift more often than men; the statistics are 4 to 1.
Strange Laws
* In Rumford, Maine, it's against the law to bite your landlord.
* In San Francisco, it's against the law to pick up used confetti and throw it again.
* In Chicago, it's against the law to eat in a place that's on fire.
* It's against the law to drive more than 2.000 sheep down Hollywood Boulevard.
* Brawley, California, passed a resolution banning snow within the city limits.
* In Tennessee, it's illegal to drive a car while you're asleep.
* It's illegal in New Jersey to slurp your soup.
* A Texas law states that when two trains meet at a railroad crossing, each must come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone.
* It's against the law in Kentucky to remarry the same man four times.
* In Marshalltown, Iowa, it's illegal for a horse to eat a fire hydrant.
* It's illegal in Fairbanks, Alaska, for two moose to have sex on city sidewalks.
Swearing An Oath
In the courts of the Roman Empire, instead of swearing oath on a bible, men swore to the truth on their statements while holding their balls. Hence the word 'testify', from 'testicles'.
Suicide
In Britain, failed suicides were hanged in the 19th century.
Wife Beating
In the 1500's Queen Elizabeth I outlawed wife beating after 10:00 p.m.
Women
Up until 1923 in the UK, if a woman committed a crime then her husband was held responsible.