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Humans are curious creatures. Our craving to know and understand is the driving force behind our development as individuals and our success as a species. But we're also dumb.
So when Reddit user Ryyi23 posted this question on the platform: "What oddly specific rules have you seen that are probably only there because someone actually did it in the past?" the replies came flooding in.
From a warning not to fill a water gun with urine to a suggestion to remove a child from a piece of clothing before washing it, continue scrolling and check out some of the funniest ones!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
At my last job, we had a sign on the back door that said "you must walk trash all the way to the dumpster; DO NOT TRAIN THE RACCOONS!!!"
The story behind that is the facility I worked at does dog daycare and training, and Darcy the Human (not to be confused with Darcy the Poodle) didn't like having to walk all the way across the parking lot at the end of the night to take out the trash, and trained about three raccoons to drag the bags to the dumpster because he couldn't be bothered to walk 50ft to it. He got away with it for about a year, and even named them. The manager only found out when she opened the back door to throw out some boxes and saw a bunch of raccoons immediately run up and cart them off.
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#2
If the water between Denmark and Sweden freezes, and the Swedes walk over we (the Danes) are allowed to hit them with sticks.
Nisse Danielsson 3 years ago
It´s a old law, going back centuries when Sweden and Denmark was at war, if Öregrund frooze we could easily invade Denmark.
We managed to get in contact with Ryyi23 and they agreed to have a little chat with us about the inspiration behind the original post. "I had been talking to a friend about water parks and I remembered a sign at a water park that seemed obvious to me. It said 'Don't poop while on the slide.' So I figured there's probably plenty of odd rules and I wanted to know about them," the Redditor told Bored Panda.
"My main takeaway from the answers is that sometimes, common sense isn't common. Things that seem obvious to most people aren't necessarily obvious to everyone. The areas where rules were coming from seemed to be pretty diverse, but many of them involved job sites and there were a good number of answers from medical areas," they explained.
#3
On an AirFrance flight from Morocco to Mauritania, the flight attendant gave the safety brief in French at first. My french is not good but my ears pricked up when I heard the words "feu de camp." I obviously discounted my translation as misunderstanding the brief until she went into the brief in English.
We were given the standard safety brief on all aircraft, but at the end we were specifically reminded that there are to be no cooking or camp fires lit on the plane at any time.
Can you imagine your seat mate getting hungry and deciding to start a fire on an airplane to cook up some snacks?!?!?
#4
We once got a piece of clothing for one of the kids and right on the label, I kid you not, ‘remove child before washing.'
Andy Acceber 3 years ago
An excuse for Aunt Martha. She may NOT attempt to scrub spaghetti sauce out of your t-shirt with club soda while you're sitting at Olive Garden.
#5
In my lease, I had a clause to properly dispose of my used tampons.
I asked why and apparently my landlord had a tenant that caused $50,000 of damage because she threw her used tampons into the cabinet under the sink. She rented the apartment for years and there were 3+ years worth of used, bloody tampons in there.
The, uh, blood caused a bunch of damage akin to water damage to the bathoom. The floor under the cabinet was rotted through. From bloody tampon storage.
The thought of a steamy, gelatinous glorb of blood gooping through the sh**ty linoleum and blooming a bloody Clicker from The Last of Us makes me want to actively die.
Ryyi23 isn't entirely sure how many of these regulations have actually helped. "If the rule is something so obvious that most wouldn't consider doing it in the first place, then the people who decide to disregard it probably don't read the rules anyway," they said. "I think companies might implement odd rules in order to punish anyone else who tries to do it."
At the end of the day, Ryyi23 is happy that some of the posts they've made on Reddit have gotten so much attention and sparked such interesting discussions. "I love learning about people's life experiences and their fun stories. [Sharing them] is a good way to help each other to look at the bright side of life."
#6
In Florida " You may not have sexual relations with a porcupine".
#7
In rehab our cottons swabs were taken away because a guy decided to jam one into his eardrum to get sent to the hospital and get painkillers. Every seemingly dumb rule we had in there had a backstory to it.
#8
‘Absolutely no roller skates in the lab.’ My husband worked for a private lab startup and half the women there did roller derby. The lab was (as many are) a repurposed warehouse with nice smooth concrete floors. One of the women thought it would be fun to skate between machines. She got a lot done but the boss figured osha wouldn’t be too thrilled so the sign went up a few days later. You could still wear your skates in the break room.
#9
“Don’t take (prescription drug) if you're allergic to (same drug).”
The Macomb Law Group acknowledges that warning labels on products can get a little silly but say there is a reason for it: companies continue to produce dangerous products.
"When consumers are hurt because something they purchased does them harm, [the law in many places] says they may be able to file a product liability lawsuit. These cases say that a product was unreasonably dangerous, but the manufacturer sold it anyway," the Macomb Law Group explained.
#10
On a package of precision screwdrivers "Do not insert into penis."
Hilary Rudd 3 years ago
I did have a patient years ago that had a knitting needle up his penis
#12
“Do not fill with urine” on a water gun.
#13
Do not pick up this lawn mower and use it as a hedge trimmer.
According to the lawyers, product liability usually falls into at least one of three categories:
- Manufacturing defects (something wasn’t built to the proper specifications);
- Design defects (the thing was built according to specifications that contained a danger);
- Failure to warn (the manufacturer didn’t disclose an inherent danger in the product).
"Failure to warn is sometimes also called a marketing defect," the Macomb Law Group added. "The theory behind these cases is that, if a manufacturer cannot reasonably make the product safe, it can still be responsible for letting the consumer know about the dangers."
I wonder how many crazy lawsuits hide behind these rules?
#15
My father’s hometown, Marion, Ohio, had a rule that you couldn’t eat a donut while walking backwards. If I remember correctly, it had something to do with attracting police horses to lure them away from the police.
#16
At my company's picnic outing: "Anyone who jumps in the lake will be fired."
#17
"Do not use for drying pets" on the microwave.
Chris Kane 3 years ago
To be fair... in the 50s, Scientist's found out that you can revive a dead frozen hamster in a Microwave.
#18
No rings on ship decks. They can get caught and deglove your finger, which is exactly as horrid as it sounds.
#19
For my fellow scientists: Transferring chemicals by mouth (mouth pipetting) is forbidden.
Wood Carver 3 years ago (edited)
This sounds crazier than it is. Old pipettes were extremely precise but there were no good pumps equally accurate. A long tube was attached to the bulb end and is fine IF the chemical being mouth pipetted does not have harmful fumes.... safer to just outlaw them
#20
Pharmacy worker here. We have to specify to unwrap suppositories BEFORE insertion. Apparently someone thought the foil was part of it.
#21
Remove baby before collapsing stroller.
#22
You're not allowed to bring vuvuzelas into a Metallica concert.
I really just want to know the story.
Clinton Csmith 3 years ago
You, shouldn't be allowed to bring them anywhere. They are horrible!
#24
“Do not put 14 rolls of toilet paper in the toilet” -Walmart 2019
#25
There's a town in Alabama where it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your pocket.
#26
Last year’s company christmas party email specifically stated to bring an extra pair of pants if you will be urinating in the first pair.
#27
Back in the 90s, I used to work in a convenience store in New Jersey. Once a year I’d have to go to the health department and get certified as a food handler. It is in this capacity that I learned that there is a law on the books in the state of New Jersey that you cannot store food under a leaking sewage pipe. You just know health inspector went into a store and said “what the hell?! You can’t store food under leaking sewer pipe!” And the store owner said “cite the statute!”
Lisa Krolasik 3 years ago
I've read restaurant inspection reports. Stuff like this happens, more often it's prepared ready-to-serve food on a shelf under dripping raw meat in a refrigerator.
#28
Used to work in a big name book store. In the office we had a huge sign saying "no boiled eggs allowed in staff office"
#29
Do not dress game (e.g. deer, pheasant) in dormitory kitchens.
I wonder who dragged a deer into the dorm and cut it up for venison...
#30
Please do not add dish detergent to the water fountains.
Airis Malfoy 3 years ago
this one seems like a strange thing my mom would say to me and my cousins at the annual family re-union.
#32
Do not smoke when applying hairspray.
Boaz Krebs 3 years ago
no, it's a good idea: you'll get some big ol firework (maybe without the work part but that doesn't matter) and it's perfect if you're really cold!
#34
I worked at a video rental store and we had a big sign at the front of the store that said “CONTROL YOUR CHILDREN” because kids are an organizational nightmare
Eagle Girl 3 years ago
I worked at a bedding store. Every kids dream to jump on multiple beds. We had a sign that read "If your children jump on the bed we reserve the right to give them candy & soda"
#35
In church, there was a sign above the votive candles that read:
"Light only one candle - $7 each."
Apparently, for $7, someone had lighted all 50 votive candles in the stand.
What do you think ?
Mazer 3 years ago (edited)
Anyone else notice the number 1 after every reply??? Is this a new BP Thing?1
Lawless 3 years ago (edited)
Every comment ends in a 1. Why? Why does it end like that? The end of a comment has a 1. Am I going crazy? Help.
bonnyatlast 3 years ago
When I was dating my now husband he was a choir director at a state MENSA convention. On the brochures it very plainly stated a rule. "Clothing is not an option." Apparently that was needed in print. Must have a great backstory.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Where is the perennial classic from Toyota owners manuals "Do not drink contents of battery."
not your average weirdo 3 years ago
Here’s one: in Arizona animals have vehicle rights. If you ride a horse, you still have to follow all traffic laws!
memyselfandI 3 years ago
Or there’s always the obligatory “don’t use a hairdryer in the bathtub”, “don’t eat dessicant packs”, “don’t eat tide pods”, “don’t eat” most anything other than food, and “this bag of nuts contains nuts”.
Dr. Carlos Dangercat 3 years ago
My lease specified that I'm not allowed to hire anyone to clean the exterior windows and I'm still not sure why....
Fulsome Kitten 3 years ago
In Detroit, It's illegal to let your pig run free unless it has a ring in its nose. Badass.
A.M. Pierre 3 years ago
On flat little FedEx envelopes, it has a warning not to ship blood in it. Yeah. I can't even imagine the horror of the poor delivery person who first discovered the need for that rule.
Ian Smith 3 years ago
They didn't include the toilet pic! That one pretty clearly had someone used to squat toilets misuse a sitter.
Miklós Nagy 3 years ago
There are always a funny story behind these ones, or several sad ones...
Mazer 3 years ago (edited)
Anyone else notice the number 1 after every reply??? Is this a new BP Thing?1
Lawless 3 years ago (edited)
Every comment ends in a 1. Why? Why does it end like that? The end of a comment has a 1. Am I going crazy? Help.
bonnyatlast 3 years ago
When I was dating my now husband he was a choir director at a state MENSA convention. On the brochures it very plainly stated a rule. "Clothing is not an option." Apparently that was needed in print. Must have a great backstory.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Where is the perennial classic from Toyota owners manuals "Do not drink contents of battery."
not your average weirdo 3 years ago
Here’s one: in Arizona animals have vehicle rights. If you ride a horse, you still have to follow all traffic laws!
memyselfandI 3 years ago
Or there’s always the obligatory “don’t use a hairdryer in the bathtub”, “don’t eat dessicant packs”, “don’t eat tide pods”, “don’t eat” most anything other than food, and “this bag of nuts contains nuts”.
Dr. Carlos Dangercat 3 years ago
My lease specified that I'm not allowed to hire anyone to clean the exterior windows and I'm still not sure why....
Fulsome Kitten 3 years ago
In Detroit, It's illegal to let your pig run free unless it has a ring in its nose. Badass.
A.M. Pierre 3 years ago
On flat little FedEx envelopes, it has a warning not to ship blood in it. Yeah. I can't even imagine the horror of the poor delivery person who first discovered the need for that rule.
Ian Smith 3 years ago
They didn't include the toilet pic! That one pretty clearly had someone used to squat toilets misuse a sitter.
Miklós Nagy 3 years ago
There are always a funny story behind these ones, or several sad ones...
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