by Wes » Fri Dec 20, 2002 12:29 am
Minnesota
It's illegal to tease skunks.
Women may face up to 30 days in jail if they impersonate Santa Claus.
Every man in Brainerd is required by law to grow a beard.
In Minneapolis, double-parkers can be put on a chain gang.
Mississippi
It is still legal to kill one's "servant."
In Truro, a would-be groom must "prove himself manly" prior to marriage by
hunting and killing either six blackbirds or three crows.
Missouri
Missouri considers drunkenness an "inalienable right."
While children may purchase shotguns in Kansas City, they are not allowed
to buy toy cap guns.
In Saco, women are forbidden from wearing hats that "might frighten timid
persons, children or animals."
In St. Louis, it is illegal for an on-duty firefighter to rescue a woman
wearing a nightgown; in order to be rescued, a woman must be fully
dressed.
Montana
It is a felony for a wife to open her husband's mail.
It is a misdemeanor to show movies that depict acts of felonious crime.
In Whitehall, it is illegal to operate a vehicle with ice picks attached to
the wheels.
Nebraska
If a child burps during a church service in Omaha, his or her parents may
be arrested.
It is illegal for a mother to give her daughter a perm without a state
license.
It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously
brewing a kettle of soup.
In Omaha, barbers are forbidden from shaving their customers' chests.
In Waterloo, barbers are forbidden from eating onions between 7am and 7pm.
Nevada
It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway.
Everyone walking on the streets of Elko is required to wear a mask.
In Eureka, men who wear mustaches are forbidden from kissing women.
In Nyala, a man is forbidden from buying drinks for more than three people
other than himself at any one period during the day.
New Hampshire
It is illegal to check into a hotel under an assumed name.
It is illegal to sell the clothes one is wearing to pay off a gambling
debt.
New Jersey
It is against the law to "frown" at a police officer.
has a note from his doctor.
It is illegal to slurp soup.
In Newark, it is illegal to sell ice cream after 6pm, unless the customer
In Trenton, it is illegal to throw a bad pickle in the street.
New Mexico
State officials ordered 400 words of "sexually explicit material" to be
cut from Romeo and Juliet.
The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary is banned in Carlsbad.
In Raton, it is illegal for a woman to ride horseback down a public street
with a kimono on.
New York
In New York City, it is illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing
"body hugging clothing."
In New York City, it is illegal for a man to turn around and look "at a
woman in that way," and violators are forced to wear horse blinders.
In New York City, "It is disorderly conduct for one man to greet another
one the street by placing the end of his thumb against the tip of his
nose, at the same time extending and wiggling the fingers of his hand."
In Staten Island, it is illegal for a father to call his son a "faggot" or
"queer" in an effort to curb "girlie behavior."
North Carolina
It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard.
State law mandates that all couples staying in rooms for one night must be
kept in room with double beds, kept a minimum of two feet apart, and
making love on the floor between the beds is strictly forbidden.
In Ashville, it is illegal to sneeze on city streets.
In Charlotte, women must have their bodies covered by at least 16 yards of
cloth at all times.
Ironically, Hornytown has banned all massage parlors.
North Dakota
It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.
It is illegal to serve beer and pretzels at the same time in any bar, club,
or restaurant.
In Fargo, one may be jailed for wearing a hat while dancing, or even for
wearing a hat to a function where dancing is taking place.
Ohio
In Cleveland, women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest
men see reflections of their underwear.
In Columbus, it is illegal for stores to sell cornflakes on Sunday.
In Oxford, it is illegal for a women to disrobe in front of a man's
picture.
Catch 22 is banned in Strongville.
In Youngstown, it is illegal to run out of gas.
Oklahoma
People who make "ugly faces" at dogs may be fined and/or jailed.
In Schulter, it is illegal for a woman to gamble in the nude, in lingerie,
or while wearing a towel.
Oregon
One may not bathe without wearing "suitable clothing," i.e., that which
covers one's body from neck to knee.
The town of Hood River prohibits the act of juggling without a license.
In Marion, ministers are forbidden from eating garlic or onions before
delivering a sermon.
Salem has barred women's wrestling.
Pennsylvania
"Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well
off the road, cover his car with a blanket or canvas that blends with the
countryside, and let the horses pass. If the horses appear skittish, the
motorist must take his car apart, piece by piece, and hide it under the
nearest bushes."
Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the bride or
groom is drunk.
In Morrisville, women need a permit to wear cosmetics.
Rhode Island
It is illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley.
In Newport, it is illegal to smoke a pipe after sunset.
In Providence, it is illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the
same customer on a Sunday.
South Carolina
Every citizen is obliged to carry his gun to church.
In Charleston, all carriage horses must wear diapers.
No horses are allowed into Fountain Inn unless they are wearing pants.
South Dakota
It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep in a cheese factory.
Movies that show police officers being struck, beaten, or treated in an
offensive manner are forbidden.
Tennessee
It is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish.
In Dyersburg, it is illegal for a woman to call a man for a date.
In Memphis restaurants, it is illegal to give any pie to fellow diners. It
is also illegal to take unfinished pie home. All pie must be eaten on the
premises.
Also in Memphis, it is illegal for a woman to drive by herself; "a man must
walk or run in front of the vehicle, waving a red flag in order to warn
approaching pedestrians and motorists."
Texas
A recently passed anti-crime law requires criminals to give their victims
24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of
the crime to be committed.
It is illegal to milk another person's cow.
The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a
formula for making beer at home.
In El Paso, churches, hotels, halls of assembly, stores, markets, banking
rooms, railroad depots, and saloons are required to provide spittoons "of
a kind and number to efficiently contain expectorations into them."
In Houston, it is illegal to sell Limburger cheese on Sunday.
In LeFors, it is illegal to take more than three swallows of beer while
standing.
In Mesquite, it is illegal for children to have unusual haircuts.
In San Antonio, it is illegal for both sexes to flirt or respond to
flirtation using the eyes and/or hands.
Utah
A husband is responsible for every criminal act committed by his wife while
she is in his presence.
Birds have the right of way on all highways.
In Monroe, daylight must be visible between partners on a dance floor.
Vermont
It is illegal to deny the existence of God.
It is illegal to whistle underwater.
Women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false
teeth.
Virginia
There is a state law prohibiting "corrupt practices of bribery by any
person other than candidates."
In Lebanon, it is illegal to kick your wife out of bed.
In Norfolk, a man may face 60 days in jail for patting a woman's derriere.
In Richmond, it is illegal to flip a coin in any eating establishment to
determine who buys a cup of coffee.
Washington
It is illegal to pretend that one's parents are rich.
Seattle residents may not carry concealed weapons longer than six feet.
In Auburn, men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status,
may face up to five years in jail.
In Seattle, women who sit on men's laps on buses or trains without placing
a pillow between them face an automatic six-month jail term.
West Virginia
Doctors and dentists may not place a woman under anesthesia unless a third
person is present.
It is illegal to snooze on a train.
In Nicholas County, no clergy members may tell jokes or humorous stories
from the pulpit during church services.
Wisconsin
Cheese making requires a cheese maker's license; Limburger cheese making
requires a master cheese maker's license.
It is illegal to cut a woman's hair.
It is illegal to kiss on a train.
In St. Croix, women are not allowed to wear anything red in public.
Wyoming
It is illegal for women to stand within five feet of a bar while drinking.
It is illegal to wear a hat that obstructs peoples' view in a public
theater or place of amusement.