9 Things Banned in the US

[Ritch]

In the UK it's illegal to reverse out of your driveway onto a main road. Not enforced however.

 

[Ken Gargett]

30 minutes ago, Ritch said:

In the UK it's illegal to reverse out of your driveway onto a main road. Not enforced however.

 

i'll bet it would be if there was an accident. 

my fave english driving story was after a cricket game, we'd stayed way way longer than perhaps we should as the english really do do sporting hospitality magnificently. a couple of cars taking us back to london set off around midnight, or a bit later. we got back. one of my best mates who was also over playing did not. or at least was hours late. turns out the team we were playing (it may have had links to a university but it would be poor form to expose anything) had a "game" which they played at a nearby very large roundabout.

it was 'how many times can you drive around the roundabout backwards without stopping or being pulled over'. naturally, in those days, it also tended to involve drinking. drinking lots. 

my mate - now a highly respected QC - decided he would give the record a crack with a carload of pissed cricketers all giving him appropriate encouragement. the record was 21 (it was a very large roundabout).

so off he went. once, twice, so far so good. backwards. 

7, 8, 9...

14, 15, getting closer. and fortunately no traffic had turned up. 

18, 19, 20 BANG. 

seems a elderly gentlemen going home (at an hour far too late for an elderly gentleman) had ventured onto the roundabout in a perfectly legal manner as no traffic coming. he was not expecting anyone going backwards. moment's later, flashing lights. unbelievably bad luck. a cop car just happened to turn up only a minute or so after the accident.

fortunately for my mate, they had not seen the accident. both parties told to stay in their cars. they spoke to the old guy. then they came over and said, and i am not making this up, 'here are the old guy's details. we've got your number plate and name (it was a rented car, of course). just for the insurance. allow us to take care of it. this old guy is three sheets to the wind. he must have drunk a skinful as he swears blind that you guys were going backwards. sorry about this. we'll take him down to the station and book him. you guys can be on your way."

never has my mate departed a scene so quickly. he was never game to go back and give the record a crack. 

[BrightonCorgi]

12 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

any idea why tonka beans are banned? no issue with them here. 

From what I found on the web, "The tonka bean's distinct flavor is thanks to coumarin, a chemical compound that has been banned in the United States since 1954 because it can cause liver problems in high concentrations."

[Grateful13]

10.  Comedy that is actually funny or edgy. 

Banned by the PC police. 

[Ken Gargett]

11 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

From what I found on the web, "The tonka bean's distinct flavor is thanks to coumarin, a chemical compound that has been banned in the United States since 1954 because it can cause liver problems in high concentrations."

thanks. did not know that. no issue with it here. yet. 

[BrightonCorgi]

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

thanks. did not know that. no issue with it here. yet. 

I only know about tonka beans as I bought some in Montreal and read up on them when I got home.  Had no idea what they were, but thought they looked interesting.

[scap99]

We can get and carry brass knuckles in Texas now. ?