In the Alabama Criminal Code, there is one section that is sure to raise a couple of questions. Questions like, “Can a law be that specific?” and “Huh, are dominoes dangerous when mixed with billards outside of carefully controlled environments?” I speak, of course, of section 34-6-12 which goes as follows: “In counties having populations [...]
In Missouri, the law is quite clear – you can have yellow butter or white margarine, but yellow margarine is just not welcome. Today the idea seems quite insane, but when the law was originally created, around 1895, it was actually pretty common. Missouri law makers were trying to protect the products of state dairy [...]
In the neat little book I found, it says that there is a law in West Virginia that states: “If any person post another, or in writing or in print use any reproachful or contemptuous language to or concerning another, for not fighting a duel, or for not sending or accepting a challenge, he shall [...]
As you’ve probably already guessed, I get a lot of these laws from websites dedicated to listing crazy and weird laws from different states and countries. And, as you can probably imagine, there is no “truth checker” that automatically tells me whether or not the law is real. So, that’s my new mission with this [...]
OK, so this isn’t really illegal anymore, but it is so weird that it had to be written about. So, apparently, there used to be this law in Arizona that stated that if you committed a misdemeanor wearing a red mask that it automatically turns into a felony. I know! Bask in that for a [...]
photo by Jim Sneddon While false teeth are not used as widely today as they once were, there are still plenty of people out there who say, “Forget about it, just pull ‘em out and give me some fake ones.” Aren’t there? Sure, lots of people do that! Otherwise why would there be so many [...]
The boardwalk is always such a nice place to relax on a sunny day, but don’t get caught sleeping on a bench there, especially in Delaware. Not only is it illegal to sleep on the benches, it’s also illegal to pretend that you’re sleeping. The full text says “No person shall sleep, lie or occupy [...]
Oregon sure had a lot of crazy laws, but this one struck me as the strangest. It is unlawful to be associated with a horse tripping event or a bear wrestling exhibition. Does that sound as unorthodox to you as it does to me? This isn’t even a part of some overarching “no animal cruelty” [...]
So you’re living in Nebraska and you want to get married. Great. You and your fiancee are at least seventeen. Good so far. Oh, wait a second, one of you already has AIDS. Sorry, you can’t get married now, at least not in Nebraska. That’s right, if you have a venereal disease you can’t marry [...]
Prison is obviously supposed to be horrible, we can all agree on that. You have almost no rights, certainly no privileges, and no escape. Some people might consider dying as a better option than to continue living in the can. The only thing is, if you’re a prisoner in Louisiana and you inflict any harm [...]