- [Narrator] Just because
something is weird or frowned upon doesn't
necessarily mean it's illegal and you'd be surprised by
some of the stuff you can do before the police will
want to get involved. Here are 10 crazy thing you
thought would break the law but are, in fact, completely legal. (upbeat music) Number 10, marrying your cousin. A century ago, it's estimated that 80% of marriages in the western world were among first and second cousins but that's hardly surprising. In a time where people hardly ventured from their home villages your
dating pool was smaller too. Yep, in a world with no dating apps, marrying someone from a different branch of the same family tree just seemed to be the practical thing to do. It was only during the second
half of the 19th century that cousin marriages
became increasingly taboo and many states in America
began banning the custom. Even so, today, first cousin marriages are still allowed without
restrictions in 20 states. Meanwhile in the UK,
it was never outlawed. Since cousin marriages were associated with aristocracy in Europe. In some eastern cultures,
marrying among relatives is not only legal but still
widely accepted and practiced. Still, you would have a
hard time finding someone who thinks marrying your
cousin is a good idea. The reason for this has to do
with the conventional wisdom that procreating within the same gene pool will result in offspring
with birth defects. In actual fact, first cousins
share only 12.5% of DNA which is very little compared to the 50% shared by members of the immediate family. What that means is
there's only 4-7% chance of children born to first cousins suffering from birth defects. That's not much considering
the risk for those who are more distantly related is 3-4% and the odds decrease with distance. Real issues would only arise
if subsequent generations continue to marry their fist cousins, producing offspring with more and more common genetic material. So if you happen to
like one of your cousins go ahead and have kids with them. As long as they like you too, of course. Charles Darwin, Edgar Allen
Poe, Albert Einstein and many members of British and
European royalty have done so. But even with genetic
issues out of the way, it's worth bearing in mind that
in cases of cousin marriages you can't divorce the whole
family if things don't work out. Number nine, owning a tank. Imagine having a fully operational military grade tank parked in your garage which you could take out for a joyride around the neighborhood. For about the price of a normal car you can buy a tank online and operate it on private and public property
in all 50 states of the US, provided you don't try and
overthrow the government. Tank ownership actually falls under the American Second Amendment,
the right to bear arms. Written in the 1700s the
law allows for citizens to carry riffles to defend
the nation from the British. A few centuries later, it
appears that technology has changed but the law
has stayed the same. It's also legal to own and operate ones in other countries like the UK too. All you need is a full drivers license and you can get a provisional
license to drive a tank with someone fully qualified to drive it. That said, if you've got the money and the garage space to spare, you'd be better off getting a sports car. Not only will you have a swanky ride but you won't end up on
a government watch list. Number eight, owning flamethrowers. You would think there
are strict regulations to owning a device that can
shoot flames long distances but it turns out there are no
federal laws or restrictions whatsoever to owning a
flamethrower in the United States. This is because, despite
their capabilities, flamethrowers are considered
tools and not firearms. In fact, there's some sense to this. And there are many peaceful
uses for a flamethrower such as incinerating weeds
and insect hives on farmland, melting away snow and ice on the ground or making pyrotechnic special effects for your amature film project. Fire departments have
long used flamethrowers in their firefighter training too. Getting your hands on
one is no hassle at all. You can buy a flamethrower online with some dealers even
offering Napalm upgrades. And with Elon Musk's Boring Company entering the market with
their own original design, which they insist isn't
actually a flamethrower. Maybe some flamethrowers are
about to become fashionable? Just, ah, just be careful with it, okay? Number seven, faking your own death. Ever wish you could just disappear and run off to some far away land where no one knows your name? Ever want to reinvent yourself
and start your life anew? Here's the good news. Faking your death is technically legal but as enticing as the idea may be it comes with a big caveat. Whilst there are no laws preventing you from faking your death,
there are strict rules against fraud, which
you're almost guaranteed to commit if you pretend to die. That means you can't fake your
death for insurance claims, to escape any legal or
financial obligations you have, to dodge a criminal conviction
or assume a new identity. All of which you would have ended up doing eventually just by playing dead. So instead of living
carefree and glamorously over a new identity, faking your own death would result in a life constantly looking over your shoulder. Seems like coming up with
an elaborate plan to fake your death is a better idea
on paper than in real life. Who would have thought it? Number six, corporal
punishments in schools. The Victorians used to say, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." And while modern psychologists emphatically disagree with that, lawmakers in some parts of the
US don't seem to take issue with schools using violent
disciplinary methods. It wasn't until 1977
that corporal punishment was ruled unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court. And even then, only two states banned the practice in public schools. So from 2013 to 2014 studies reported that about 160,000 kids across America had been the recipients
of corporal punishment. With boys, ethnic minorities and children with disabilities filling
up the statistics. Thankfully as of 2016 corporal punishment in public schools is
only legal in 19 states. Hopefully this shocking
statistic will continue to change as studies have found that juvenile crime has not increased in states
that have banned the practice. Number five, lying to the police. It's a crime to lie under oath and give false testimony in a court, but is lying to the cops always illegal? In the UK it is not a criminal
offense to lie to an officer of the law as long as it's
harmless and inconsequential. This means that if you're not the suspect and what you're saying has no
bearing on their investigation the police can't pursue it. For example, telling a cop
that you witnessed a robbery on your way to the library
when you really witnessed it on your way to the sexual health clinic opposite the library is
not punishable by law. The moment your lie
impacts their investigation or wastes their time it's illegal. So you can't lie your
way out of an arrest, to cover up a crime or just
make hoax reports for fun. So you might want to think twice about telling a tall tale the next time you get pulled over by an officer. Remember, whatever the law might say, honesty is the best policy. Number four, underage drinking. There are plenty of
reasons alcohol consumption comes with an age restriction but it turns out you
don't always have to wait until your 21st birthday to get sloshed. In the UK, the law only forbids minors from being served alcohol in public places such as restaurants, bars and pubs. There are no laws preventing
parents from boozing with their not yet adult kids in the privacy of their own home. Even in the US, where it is mostly illegal to give alcohol to minor,
there are still some loopholes. For instance, kids can have a sip if alcohol is part of a religious right, or under certain exceptional circumstances where the folks give them permission, provided, of course, the booze is served without intention or
effects of causing harm. So I guess you could just create your own religion and give it a go. But as with all these legal loopholes, just because something's legal
doesn't mean you should do it and you should definitely steer clear of drinking sessions with young children. The law's there for a reason, ya know? Number three, firing missiles. If you think being able to
legally own a flamethrower or a tank in the US is a good example of America's lenient gun laws, well, that's nothing compared to being legally able to fire a missile. Yep, you heard that right. In the state of South Carolina, under Section 23-33-20 of
the state Code of Laws, you can get a permit to do just that. But what happens if you were
to launch one without a permit? Surely being irresponsible
with such a dangerous weapon would carry a serious penalty? Nope. It turns out you only
get a slap on the wrist with a fine of less than $100. Like most of USA's gun laws, this has it's origins in the Constitution, drawn up at a time where American settlers were in a state of war with the British. So whilst I can see how
this law came about, you think it would have
been updated by now. Number two, bestiality. America has some complicated laws and this is no more
obvious then when it comes to one of the biggest
social taboos, bestiality. Shockingly, getting down and
dirty with a four legged friend is not illegal under federal law and any regulations or restrictions are largely a matter
for individual states. While most states have passed laws addressing this horrendous practice, there's a surprising number of state where it remains completely legal. And if that's not strange enough, there are some strict rules being imposed on homosexuality in some states
where bestiality is legal. In the state of Texas, for example, it's legal to have sex with an animal but not someone of the same gender. Although in 2003 the Supreme Court ruled that Texas anti-gay laws
was unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable,
the ban on same-sex affection is still on the state law books. As for sexual relations with animals, that's always been legal in Texas. And with no intervention
from central government, it doesn't look like that's
going to change anytime soon. The good news is that as of early 2018, 45 states have put a ban on it. Let's just hope the rest follow suit soon. And number one, cannibalism. If you find yourself
stranded on a desert island and have to resort to killing
someone for nourishment, you will be prosecuted for murder once you make it back to civilization. But what if someone
were to willingly offer you an arm and a leg to be eaten? In that case, you are free to
do so without repercussion. Except maybe from your own conscience. Because as appalling as cannibalism may be there is nothing in the
law of the United States that forbids you from eating
human flesh or organs, so long as the human parts in question were obtained in a way
that did not endanger or cause harm to the human
they were taken from. Now, you may be feeling a tad nauseous at the thought of ingesting something from the body of another human being, thinking you'd rather
starve to death first. But then again, you
don't need to go full-on Hannibal Lecter to partake in cannibalism. There's a fairly new trend of mothers eating the placenta
after the child is born, as it's thought to combat
the post-partum depression and improve breast milk production. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian have jumped on the bandwagon, getting specialists to
dry out their placentas and turn them into pills
which are then taken as supplements in the days
and weeks after childbirth. It's a trend that's never
quite caught on though and doctors say there's no hard evidence to say it's either good or bad. I think most people would
agree it's pretty gross though. (soft music) So are you tempted to make the most of any of these loopholes? Or do you think lawmakers should hurry up and shut this all down? Let me know in the comments
and thanks for watching.
