Dumb Laws

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Think we had this topic a couple years back but another thread had me thinking of Dumb Laws. Arizona is full of them. I'm especially curious why us Arizonans can't have more than two dildos in our house. At least TX can have no more than six.

Do you know your Dumb Laws?

(Hey, its better than work)
 
DesertBrew said:
Think we had this topic a couple years back but another thread had me thinking of Dumb Laws. Arizona is full of them. I'm especially curious why us Arizonans can't have more than two dildos in our house. At least TX can have no more than six.

Do you know your Dumb Laws?

(Hey, its better than work)

Now, is that two dildos total, or two dildos per adult? I assume that the law doesn't discriminate between males and females despite what we make think about dildo usage in general. Is there any distinction between the vibrating kind and the non-vibrating? Can you have four six inch dildos as opposed to two twelve inch dildos?

I'll bet you could tie this up in court for years. You go right ahead and buy your third dildo. Vive la revolution!
 
Illinois: The English language is not to be spoken.

Iowa: Chapter 195.

Protection of Hop-Growing Interests.

Section 4. Size of boxes for picking hops.

The standard size for all boxes used in picking hops shall be 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 23 1/4 inches deep, inside measure.
 
Massachusetts:

It is illegal to give beer to hospital patients.


And one I agree with:

Tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder.
 
Boston has a stupid law about not serving 2 beverages to the same person. Which means one can't have a shot and a chaser, which is jackass stupid.


Detroit used to have a law requiring a doctor's prescription to take a bath.
 
This is a little outdated - we beer/wine/liquor CAN be sold on Sundays (it's up to the town now):

Massachusetts liquor stores can only open on Sundays if they are in Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Middlesex or Worcester counties and are within 10 miles of the Vermont or New Hampshire borders.


Sadly, this IS still true though:
Alcoholic drink specials are illegal.
 
The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.

Good riddance!
 
They tried to pass a law in Georgia that would require restaurants to serve sweet iced tea. It didn't go through.

I think I'll not mention the laws that I think are dumb because I strongly disagree with them and not because they're ridiculous. No need to make this a political thread.
 
I know someone's sig around here says something about a law about the only animal you can shoot from a moving car is a whale. I think the state is Tennessee.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
What do you mean "used to"??? ;)
I believe that law has subsequently been removed from the books.



Aother silly law:

Wisconsin used to prohibiting food coloring in Margerine.

We also used to have a law requiring that apple pie be served with butter as a condiment.
 
A few that stuck out to me...

North Dakota

Beer and pretzels can’t be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.

Wyoming

Junk dealers may not make any business transactions with drunk persons.

West Virginia

Whistling underwater is prohibited

Washington

Dancing and drinking may not occur at the same establishment.

Nebraska

It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup.
 
kornkob said:
We also used to have a law requiring that apple pie be served with butter as a condiment.

What? That's not silly ... that's just buttery goodness. As a matter of fact, I think it ought to be a law that everything be served with butter as a condiment ... including butter.

"Would you like a side of butter with your butter?"
 
A few good ones from TX:

"It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing."

"The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home."



This one is Dallas specific. Now why would anyone want to write such a law?

"It’s illegal to possess realistic dildos."
 
"A person is not eligible to become Governor if he/she has participated in a duel."

Dang. Guess that counts me out :D

"You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth."

Uhm.

"Allentown
There is a ban on men becoming aroused in public."

ROFLMAO

"Any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue."

Now that one is very important these days...
 
kaptain_karma said:
I can think of a few laws I think are pretty dumb, but historically, discussing them just leads to trouble.

Yep - I can think of a couple too...

But - here is one from my homestate:

RCW 19.76.110
Refilling bottles, etc. -- Forbidden.

It is hereby declared to be unlawful for any person or persons hereafter, without the written consent of the owner or owners thereof, to fill with ale, porter, lager beer or soda, mineral water or other beverages, for sale or to be furnished to customers, any such casks, barrels, kegs, bottles or boxes so marked or stamped, or to sell, dispose of, buy or traffic in, or wantonly destroy any such cask, barrel, keg, bottle or box so marked, stamped, by the owner or owners thereof, after such owner or owners shall have complied with the provisions of RCW 19.76.100. Any person or persons who shall violate any of the provisions of RCW 19.76.100 through 19.76.120 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined five dollars for each and every cask, barrel, keg, or box, and fifty cents for each and every bottle so by him, her or them filled, bought, sold, used, trafficked in or wantonly destroyed, together with costs of suit for first offense, and ten dollars for each and every cask, barrel, keg and box and one dollar for each and every bottle so filled, bought, sold, used, trafficked in, or wantonly destroyed, together with the costs of suit for each subsequent offense.
 
kornkob said:
Aother silly law:

Wisconsin used to prohibiting food coloring in Margerine.

We also used to have a law requiring that apple pie be served with butter as a condiment.

The reason for both of those, IIRC, was because there was no laws back then about properly labeling the foods, and margarine producers were selling margarine as real butter. By outlawing the food coloring, consumers could see what they were getting.

On the federal level, colored margarine was heavily taxed up until 1951.
 
Actually it is simpler than that: Wisconsin was trying to protect it's primary cash crop: the products of the dairy industry.

Uncolored margerine isn't as attractive as butter so the coloring allowed the butter to be more marketable.

And forcing the service of butter with apple pie pretty much was a way to give the dairy industry money by forcing resturants to serve butter with a product that typically didn't get eaten with butter. And it presented butter to everyone next to that Great American dessert: Apple Pie.




The Detroit law was weird but apparently related to very old 'science' that suggested bathing removed important disease fighting components from your skin.

One more weird one: According to the management of a convention in Bloomington MN: the Anti-prostitution laws make it illegal in Bloomington (or MN-- they weren't clear about that) to exchange any goods for money in a hotel room (to include t-shirts, girl scout cookies or raffle tickets).
 
I actually think these laws as a whole are kind of a slice of history cool. I just wish there was some background on some so you knew why it was created. Some you can figure out others you really want to know! A couple more AZ ones:

  • Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony. (Remnants of the wild west).
  • Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs. (uhm, probably more of the same?)
Two that someone flagged as dumb: potential 25y prison for cutting down a cactus and unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.

More specifically the Saguaro cactus (75 yrs before they grow their 1st arm) and the water thing out here. Make sense to me.
 
kornkob said:
Actually it is simpler than that: Wisconsin was trying to protect it's primary cash crop: the products of the dairy industry.

Uncolored margerine isn't as attractive as butter so the coloring allowed the butter to be more marketable.

.

We're both right, actually.

history of margarine

The coloring ban was so that it could not be easily sold as real butter.

The reason this was an issue is because of the tax on margarine, which manufacturers tried to skirt by passing it off as real butter.

Of course, the tax was in place to help protect the dairy industry in the first place.

Interestingly, according to that page, Wisconsin was not very active in this issue. New York was the driving force behind the bans, and in 1902 there were 32 states that had laws in place about the coloring- Wisconsin presumably being one of them.

Actually, I'm thinking that in 1902 Dairy wasn't all that big in Wisconsin. Wasn't that still in the heyday of the lumber mills?
 
It is against federal law to use or sell water balloons in the District of Columbia between the months of October and March.

In Montana, any trash receptacle with a capacity less than one gallon cannot be marketed as a "trash can", only as a "waste basket". In 2003, retail-giant Wal*Mart was fined $15,000 for willful violation of this law.

It is a federal crime for federal employees to bet on which elevator door will open next in any federal office building.

In Oregon, it is a class E felony to use skywriting for anything other than marriage proposals.
 
NY:

Women may go topless in public, providing it is not being used as a business.:ban: this one I like


It is illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing “body hugging clothing...

Huh but she can go Topless?
 
North Carolina:

Elephants may not be used to plough cotton fields.

It's against the law to sing off key.

South Carolina:

It is legal to beat your wife on a Sunday morning on the steps of the state house.

Tennessee:

It is illegal to catch a fish with a lasso.

Driving is not to be done while asleep.

It is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians.

Hilarious stuff!
 
Bettendorf - Liquor stores may not place advertisements for beer outside the store.

Cedar Rapids - It is illegal to read persons palms in the city limits.

Dubuque - Any hotel in the city limits must have a water bucket and a hitching post in front of the building.

Fort Madison - The fire department is required to practice fire fighting for fifteen minutes before attending a fire.

Indianola - The “Ice Cream Man” and his truck are banned.

Marshalltown - Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants.

Mount Vernon - One must obtain written permission from the City Council before throwing bricks into a highway.

Mount Vernon - No person may pick a flower from a city park.

Mount Vernon - All softball diamond lights must be turned off by 10:30 PM

Ottumwa - Within the city limits, a man may not wink at any woman he does not know.
 
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