# What activity would you engage in were it legal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868 "2008-04-18T10:44:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/121 "2008-04-21T17:56:04Z")
Clock Tower Sniping. No, not like that. I’d get a large caliber paint ball cannon (I’m thinking something approximately the size of the standard Stinger launcher) and drive through town in an open topped vehicle… and paint the town **green**! Or **purple**. Maybe even **blue**. The goal, of course, would be to hit every clock tower in town, without back-tracking. 😃 Mount a disabled .50 cal machine gun on the top of my car. (AFAIK, this is not illegal, but it would guarantee that any cop that sees it would pull one over.) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/122 "2008-04-21T18:03:55Z")
[QUOTE=nd\_n8] Is that really illegal in the UK? [/QUOTE] Probably comes under a cover-all public indecency law. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/123 "2008-04-21T21:22:27Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] What would you do if there were no law against it? [/QUOTE] Do you mean legal, AND my employer couldn’t fire me for doing it? I think that’s an important stipulation to make. It’s arguable that the main deterrent factor against occasional drug use isn’t the law, which by its nature has never been terribly effective, but employer drug testing as a condition of getting or keeping a job. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/124 "2008-04-21T21:25:10Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] Probably comes under a cover-all public indecency law. [/QUOTE] If I’m not much mistaken, the UK is pretty much as bad as the U.S. when it comes to sanctions against public nudity. It’s not like Germany where clothing optional parks abound. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/125 "2008-04-22T00:32:20Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] Key cars that straddle multiple parking spaces. [/QUOTE] Preach it! ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/126 "2008-04-22T01:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Clock Tower Sniping. No, not like that. I’d get a large caliber paint ball cannon (I’m thinking something approximately the size of the standard Stinger launcher) and drive through town in an open topped vehicle… and paint the town **green**! Or **purple**. Maybe even **blue**. The goal, of course, would be to hit every clock tower in town, without back-tracking. 😃 Mount a disabled .50 cal machine gun on the top of my car. (AFAIK, this is not illegal, but it would guarantee that any cop that sees it would pull one over.) [/QUOTE] I think this might be what you’re looking for: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5eYCdheLw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5eYCdheLw) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/127 "2008-04-22T02:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Well, I was expecting that personal morals would coincide with the law, for the most part. I’m not surprised about the drugs, I suppose (a bit disappointed, though) but the murder and the violence - the only thing preventing it is the word of law? I stand aghast! [/quote] Really, now. If personal morals were that uniform and that strong an influence, we wouldn’t have laws as much as a code of taboos. Besides that…humans as a species were not spawned fully domesticated. Biologically, we’re little different from ancestors who slouched out of caves looking for fresh meat. “Morality” and “Civilization” is just installed on _top_ of that. > [@](#): > > I expected more from people, especially Dopers. You’re setting yourself up for heartbreak, I’m afraid…especially if you really weren’t anticipating a gamut of Dopers who’d like to smoke the occasional joint. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/128 "2008-04-22T02:33:18Z")
[QUOTE=riker1384] I think this might be what you’re looking for: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5eYCdheLw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5eYCdheLw) [/QUOTE] Very cool, thanks for posting that link! How did you come to find out about it? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/129 "2008-04-22T02:46:40Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Clock Tower Sniping. No, not like that. I’d get a large caliber paint ball cannon (I’m thinking something approximately the size of the standard Stinger launcher) and drive through town in an open topped vehicle… and paint the town **green**! Or **purple**. Maybe even **blue**. The goal, of course, would be to hit every clock tower in town, without back-tracking. 😃 Mount a disabled .50 cal machine gun on the top of my car. (AFAIK, this is not illegal, but it would guarantee that any cop that sees it would pull one over.) [/QUOTE] This town has been graped by the grapist! ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/130 "2008-04-22T08:51:39Z")
Fly internationally and domestically come to think of it, with the ease and insouciance I have in catching a cab. In. Travel. Out. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/131 "2008-04-22T09:12:23Z")
In the past I’d have said pot, but that’s contraindicated for me. I like intoxicants just that little bit too much… So I would: Drive too fast. Enter the US without inspection by a CBP officer. Tell police officers that if they really want to see my damn registration, they can look for the sucker themselves. Eat food in the USA that does not involve cheese. It appears to be compulsory that all food has cheese on it. Steal a Learjet for a joyride. That, of course, would be the last thing I ever do. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/132 "2008-04-22T20:55:45Z")
Traveling without proper ID. Since I got my passport when I was 11, I’m going to have to get a new one if I want go nearly anywhere outside the states, and that’s a lot of waiting and paperwork and getting my picture taken that I don’t want to deal with. Nudity- not complete nudity, probably, but going shirtless and bra-less in hot weather. Or around my dorm building. Life would be so much easier at 3 in the morning when my bladder wakes me up if I didn’t have to figure out how to make myself “decent” before going to the bathroom. Drink- more importantly PURCHASE- alcohol- Since I’m not-quite 20 and live in the US. I’m lucky that all of my closest friends are 21 and up, and that my parents will buy me booze for cooking, because half the time I want to make recipes with alcohol in. I wouldn’t drink to get drunk- just a splash of peppermint schnapps in hot cocoa, wine with dinner, that sort of thing. Learn the practicals of driving without a learner’s permit- I have never been taught to drive, and I really would like to know some driving basics without taking the written exam. Illegal, or just highly inadvisable? Bears:Non-existent Pet as Wolves: Dogs. I want to somehow make that non-existent pet. If wolves can be eventually bred in Yorkies, surely a miniature pet bear could be made over time. Probably illegal, certainly questionable, definitely time consuming were it undertaken. But I want one! Use marijuana in some way- smoking seems like a bad idea, because I like my lungs quite a lot, but it would be nice to try once or twice. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/133 "2008-04-22T21:16:05Z")
I’ve never gone to prostitutes. I suppose I might if it were legal – because if it were legal, and policed and regulated as a legal business, I could be at least somewhat more confident the ladies were (1) unexploited, (2) undiseased, and (3) too honest to pick my pocket. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/134 "2008-04-22T22:10:07Z")
I just want to say to everyone here who wants to drive fast, you can do it now, legally. See [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=369540) on High Performance Driver’s Education. As I wrote there, > [@me](#): > > HPDE is an opportunity to learn basic race driving techniques in your own car in a safe, controlled, and non-competitive setting. Classes are usually held on road course race tracks like Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, or Mid-Ohio, although some are run at oval tracks that have road courses in the infield. There are literally dozens of tracks in the U.S. and Canada that host HPDE classes. (I’m afraid I have no information about HPDE outside North America.) > > A course will typically start in a classroom with discussion of basics such as the racing line, threshold braking, weight transfer, etc., as well as safety instruction, such as passing rules and the meaning of the flags that corner workers use to indicate track conditions. > > Students then head out to the track with instructors, usually one-on-one, for a 20- to 30-minute session in which the techniques will be applied. Instructors coach the students from the passenger’s seat of the student’s car, introducing more advanced topics as the student progresses. The day may consist of four or five track sessions and two or three classroom periods. Some schools also offer time on the skid pad, a wet circular track on which you can really learn about car control. You can get started for as little as $150-300 per day (excluding travel expenses). But be forewarned: track driving is very addictive! See the thread for more details about where and how to drive fast, safely and legally. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/135 "2008-04-22T22:30:41Z")
Drugs I’m not in the least bit interested in, but there is one person I know who I would take great satisfaction in putting a bullet in between her eyes. Oh, and public nudity is good, although I’ve been to enough sex clubs/orgies to have pretty much experienced it (even if it’s not FULL public nudity, so to speak). ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/136 "2008-04-23T04:21:14Z")
Not much that I want to do that I don’t already. Pot annoys me, so that’s not on the list. All I can come up with is buy effective medication without a series of annoying appointments with an indifferent doctor. Or knock over a bank. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/137 "2008-04-24T00:32:15Z")
Or in the case of public nudity, not. 😃 So I’ll pick kidnapping. One shock rocker for a perpetual sex slave and I’d be an eternal happy camper. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/138 "2008-04-24T01:17:01Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] Or in the case of public nudity, not. 😃 So I’ll pick kidnapping. One shock rocker for a perpetual sex slave and I’d be an eternal happy camper. [/QUOTE] Come on, spill it! Which shock rocker? (If I get to this person first, we may have to fight for them!) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/139 "2008-04-24T01:26:30Z")
[QUOTE=freekalette] Come on, spill it! Which shock rocker? (If I get to this person first, we may have to fight for them!) 😛 [/QUOTE] Honey, you touch Alice and I’ll add murder to my list. 😛😃 ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868/140 "2008-04-24T02:53:20Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] Honey, you touch Alice and I’ll add murder to my list. 😛😃 [/QUOTE] Heh, no need to kill me! While Mr. Cooper is very attractive, and smart and generally likeable, I already have several celebrity crushes to abduct, so yours is safe. (Dave Navarro, Voltaire, and one Professor Snape, to be precise.) Abduct away!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-activity-would-you-engage-in-were-it-legal/445868.md?page=8)