Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Things Are Moral Yet Illegal

People Break Down Which Things Are Moral Yet Illegal
Rizkyta Putri on Unsplash

Despite people's good intentions, there are things that are perceived as being completely innocent but are actually against the law.


An example of this is retrieving items from the garbage bin–which is primarily used for depositing trash, not meant to help one's cause.

There are other protocols in place meant to help people, and if you're not aware of them and act accordingly, you could find yourself being in violation of rules you had no previous idea about.

Curious to hear more examples of this, Redditor Dr_vinci asked:

"What is moral but illegal?"

These don't hurt people per se, but it throws a wrench in the system.

Doctor's View Of Medicare

"As an American doctor who takes Medicare, I am not allowed to waive fees for procedures or charge a patient less than what our officially set rates are, even if they don’t have insurance. I’m also not allowed to ask a doctor from a different practice what a certain insurance company pays them for a service, as this has been deemed 'anti-trust.'”

– bryantuga

This Stings

"Donating unused insulin to those in need."

– Destroyette

School Lunches

"Cafeteria workers at schools feeding children that don't have money."

– P1nk33

Wasting Is Better Than Charity

"Grabbing thrown out food from a groceries shop's dumpster."

– Clouddancerr

Recyclables In Japan

"In Japan? Recycling someone's garbage without permission. Touching their garbage at all. You could use a discarded couch and save it from the garbage dump, but be arrested for it."

– InvisibleMe21

Garbage Handling in Germany

"Strictly speaking in Germany too. The garbage is the can's owners property until it is picked up, at that point it becomes the waste management company's property. It's not a free-for-all once it's at the curb."

"If there's something you want from the garbage, just ask the owners. Usually you can have it."

– HermitAndHound

The world of retail had plenty of people scratching their heads.

Closing Out The Store

"I was store manager during the closing of a retail store. I was given permission to set my own prices (within limits) but they didn’t say I couldn’t layer employee discount on top. So my employees were getting $500 items for like $40, and all floor models and displays were 'damaged out' and just went home with people for free."

– Sh**tingmytrewes

Dumpster Diving

"Grabbing thrown out clothes from clothing stores/furniture/appliances, brand new stuff that just didn’t sell or was out of season. Truly wasteful and probably a terrible. My mom used to drive behind strip malls with me as a kid and we’d find all sorts of good stuff, Pier 1 Imports used to have some good stuff, so did Burlington Coat Factory."

– All_Usernames_Tooken

Damaging The Goods

"I worked retail and was instructed to damage the clothes before bagging and trashing. I pretended to damage, bagged them, damaged the top few and had a coworker pick them up after work to donate to a shelter."

– JustGiraffable

These rules of the road didn't make sense for Redditors.

Keeping The Roads Safe

"Sleeping in your car when your too drunk to drive."

– Yuaskin

Helping Others

"Paying for other people's parking meters."

– Tink2013

"Local ordinance all over the US forbid strangers for putting money in other people's meters. The locality would rather get parking ticket money."

– Tink2013

Here's The Key

"My friend caught a DWI charge (and somehow beat it) for sleeping one off in his car rather than driving home. Now he does it all the time in the warmer months but he locks his keys in his trunk and he's been woken up and harassed for it but where we live, they can't really give him too much grief because the keys aren't in the cabin."

– ebimbib

The next time you go dumpster diving to look for something you consider a treasure–depending on where you are–beware.

At least in the state of California, the act of scavenging is against the law because you are "stealing" items meant for a city-approved recycling company–basically an entity other than yourself–even if it's in the bin.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump; Martin Luther King Jr.
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Jack Sheahan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Trump Ripped After Forcing National Parks To Drop Free Entry On MLK Day And Juneteenth For Infuriating Reason

President Donald Trump was criticized after the National Park Service announced it will be dropping Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth for next year's calendar of free-entry days and adding Trump's birthday, which happens to fall on Flag Day, on June 14.

Last month, the Department of the Interior unveiled changes to what it now calls its “resident-only patriotic fee-free days,” expanding the calendar to include new dates like the Fourth of July weekend and President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, while dropping others that had honored the department itself, including the Bureau of Land Management’s anniversary.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Juanita Broaddrick's tweet overlayed against a picture of the J. Crew sign
@atensnut/X; Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

MAGA Is Melting Down Over A Pink J. Crew Sweater For Men—And Our Eyes Can't Roll Hard Enough

MAGA fans are melting down over a $168 men's sweater from J. Crew with a fair-isle collar, claiming, in yet another example of the idiocy of the culture wars, that only liberals would actually wear it.

We know what you're thinking... Really?!

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Garcia; Marjorie Taylor Greene
WWHL/Bravo; Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images

Dem Rep. Has An Idea For A New Line Of Work For MTG After She Leaves Congress—And It Would Certainly Be Something

California Democratic Representative Robert Garcia was elected in November 2022 and even before being sworn in, he was locking horns with one-time MAGA darling and Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

For years, MTG was best known as the QAnon conspiracy theory-spewing, State of the Union heckling, crossfit hyping, Trump ride-or-dying, anti-LGBTQ+ racist MAGA minion from Georgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump Jr.
Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images

Don Jr. Sparks Outrage After Startup Company He Backed Scores Massive Contract With Pentagon

Donald Trump Jr. is facing criticism after The Financial Times reported that Vulcan Elements, a startup he backed, scored a $620 million government contract with the Department of Defense.

The company said the deal falls under a broader $1.4 billion collaboration with the federal government and ReElement Technologies aimed at scaling up U.S. magnet production and strengthening the domestic supply chain.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Deepest Internet 'Rabbit Hole' They've Ever Fallen Down

Who amongst us hasn't wasted HOURS of life surfing the web for things we couldn't help being intrigued by?

Going on the internet for one quick look at a sale, then staying up until sunrise trying to uncover a 50-year-old unsolved murder mystery is totally normal.

Keep ReadingShow less