And I thought the US made stupid laws

Ok I guess we are all in the same boat

[bwnbwn]

Sometimes I wonder about the US and some the dumbest laws I have ever seen, well until the UK came up with a doosey of a law.
[foxnews.com...]

I guess we all live on the same planet so we all have people in places that just need to be somewere else. Not make these kind of laws that have no purpose but wate time and money.

[buckworks]

Stupid laws are just part of the game

Distorted, self-serving interpretations of laws are an even bigger part of the game.

auric

... my new word for the day!

[jecasc]

It seems the journalists reporting on this issue had this short guide close at hand:

Short guide to lazy EU journalism:

[kosmopolito.org...]

[lucy24]

From time to time, just ‘write’ (copy/paste) short articles. Don’t include links to your sources.

Good heavens. I'm sure I've come across something closely analogous somewhere else, though I can't for the life of me think where.

[Old_Honky]

In the UK we tend to take some of these European Directives far more seriously that most of the other countries some of which just ignore the ones they don't agree with. A much more civilised attitude than the PC UK which sometimes takes these things far to literally.

Like the packets of peanuts sold on some airlines which are printed with the warning "may contain nuts".

[Marshall]

"may contain nuts"

I think they're referring to the passengers. :)

[lucy24]

"may contain nuts"

I thought it was a subtle crack directed at the snack-food industry.

[lucy24]

###. Too late to edit. Hours later, it occurs to me: Peanuts aren't nuts. They're legumes.

[Old_Honky]

Peanuts aren't nuts. They're legumes.

Fair point, but as far as anyone who has a nut allergy is concerned they are nuts. I wonder what the legal position is, can foodstuffs containing peanuts claim to be nut free?

[lucy24]

Something like half of all "nuts" are not technically nuts at all. You will never find a cashew in the shell. But I think it means that "may contain nuts" on a packet of peanuts is not as silly as it sounds at first glance. Makes the botanists happy, while giving fair warning to the people with allergies.

[norton j radstock]

The research arm of my company has recently come up with a new wonder-product that it will be marketing in the new year -dried water. You simply add water to restore it to its natural state.

Has all the benefits of regular bottled water but a fraction of the weight. It comes packaged in lightweight bio-degradable paper so is much more sustainable than bottled water. It gives greater user control on concentration and volume of water in the final product than pre-prepared products.

The marketing division worked through a number of alternative names -powdered water, dessicated water, dehydrated water but decided to stick with the simplest and most obvious. Market research tells us it will be well received as a new product in the UK.

;-)

[enigma1]

it will be marketing in the new year -dried water.

You can also add in the label "inhaling dried water prevents asphyxiation". It will take them another 3 years to come up with an answer.