Journalist Kirsten Drysdale tested the limits of legal baby names in Australia when she successfully named her newborn son “Methamphetamine Rules.” Drysdale works for What the FAQ, a TV show onAustralia’s ABC network in which hosts answer perplexing questions submitted by viewers. When one viewer wanted to know what baby names parents could legally get away with, a heavily pregnant Drysdale decided to do the research herself. “We thought we would submit the most outrageous name we could think of, assuming it would be rejected,” she said, according to The Guardian. “But it didn’t turn out that way – unfortunately Methamphetamine Rules slipped through the cracks.” A spokesperson for New South Wales’ registry of births, deaths, and marriages conceded the oversight and said they would fix their verification process and allow Drysdale to change her baby’s name. The agency’s policies indicate that it rejects names that are offensive or not in the public interest as well as names that are over 50 characters long, contain symbols, or could be considered a title or rank like queen or king.
