Fort Lauderdale’s law against feeding the homeless still isn’t America’s dumbest

States of criminality

A 90-year-old Florida man feeding the homeless was arrested under a Fort Lauderdale law which makes it illegal to share food with members of the public. Other laws from the ‘Land of the Free’:
— In Indiana you can be arrested for statutory rape if you are caught driving a car with a passenger under the age of 18 who is not wearing socks and shoes.
— In Ocean City it is illegal to eat while swimming in the sea.
— In New York State it is illegal to walk around on a Sunday with an ice cream cone in your pocket.
— In South Dakota it is illegal to lie down and fall asleep in a cheese factory.
— In Oklahoma it is illegal to make an ‘ugly face’ at a dog.
— In Nebraska it is illegal to sneeze in church. Nebraska, which is landlocked, also has a state law banning whale-hunting.

Arresting numbers

Who was arrested in Britain and surrendered to other EU countries under the EU Arrest Warrant in 2012/13?

Source: Home Office

Source: Home Office

Big deal

How much do payday loan customers borrow? In 2011/12:
— 7.4m to 8.2m loans were active at any one time
— Total borrowed was £2bn to £2.2bn
— Average loan was £265 to £270
— Average interest paid in total on each loan was £25 per £100
— 28% of loans were rolled over
— 18% were repaid late; 14% not repaid
Source: House of Commons Library

Lunchtime briefing

A food manufacturer was reported to be recruiting from Hungary as it could not find enough Britons to work at a new sandwich-making facility in Northamptonshire. How big is the sandwich market?
— Employs 300,000 people
— Supplies 1.69bn sandwiches at an average of £1.66 each
— People in Yorkshire buy the most, and those in the south-west the least
— Favourite flavours: chicken 24%; tuna/prawns 18%, cheese 15%, ham 12%, bacon 10%, egg 8%
Source: British Sandwich Association