ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The most ridiculous law in every state

Here are 50 state laws that sound fake but are really true.

A previous version of this article was co-authored by Christina Sterbenz.

ALABAMA: The City of Mobile may know how to throw down on Mardi Gras, but the use of confetti is strictly prohibited. To carry, manufacture, sell, or handle the party supply is considered an "offense against public safety."

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

ALASKA: A person cannot get drunk in a bar and remain on the premises. The statute says an intoxicated person may not "knowingly" enter or camp out where alcohol is sold.

police in Anchorage, Alaska,

Source:

ARIZONA: No one can feed garbage to pigs without first obtaining a permit. You can swap out the trough for a waste basket if the swine are raised for your own consumption.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

ARKANSAS: A pinball machine can't give away more than 25 free games to a player who keeps winning. The statute aims to prohibit machines that encourage gambling.

Source:

CALIFORNIA: A frog that dies during a frog-jumping contest cannot be eaten.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

COLORADO: You have to get a permit to modify the weather. (In some states, it's legal to perform activities that create changes in the composition or behavior of the atmosphere.)

Weather modification is not only possible, but it's actually a lucrative business. Colorado ski resorts pay private companies to burn silver iodide on the slopes. The material carries into the clouds and stimulates precipitation, which creates a fresh sheet of powder for skiiers.

Requiring a permit ensures minimal harm to the land and maximum benefit to the people.

Source:

CONNECTICUT: Letting someone copy your work isn't just a no-no in school. The law prohibits selling a term paper or essay at any education facility supervised by the state.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source:

DELAWARE: It's a misdemeanor to sell, barter, or offer the fur of a domestic dog or cat.

Source:

FLORIDA: People who own bars, restaurants, and other places where liquor is sold, may be fined up to $1,000 if they participate in or permit any contest of dwarf-tossing.

Florida outlawed tossing little people in 1989 after the bar activity caught on in southern parts of the state. A Florida state legislator tried torepeal the lawin 2011 but was unsuccessful.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source:

GEORGIA: Those engaged in llama-related activities, such as riding, training, or goofing around at a county fair, are responsible for any personal injuries they suffer.

The law protects llama owners from liability in the event of harm or death with few exceptions. Someone may pursue legal action if they were simply watching from an authorized area.

Source:

HAWAII: Billboards have no place in paradise. They're outlawed in the state with few exceptions, including notices from public offices and signs posted where goods are sold.

ADVERTISEMENT

The "urban beautification" initiative dates back to 1927, when an all-white circle of Hawaii's power wives created the Outdoor Circle Club and lobbied for the ban on outdoor ads.

Source:

IDAHO: Cannibalism is strictly prohibited and punishable by up to 14 years in prison, except under "life-threatening conditions as the only apparent means of survival."

Source:

ILLINOIS: Urban legend says it's a crime in Illinois to possess more than $600 worth of salamanders. (That's 75-plus salamanders, according to fair market value.)

ADVERTISEMENT

In reality

Source: and

INDIANA: Liquor stores can't sell refrigerated water or soda. The law specifies that a beer and wine store should be in the exclusive business of selling adult beverages.

Source:

IOWA: Anyone trying to pass off margarine as real butter is guilty of a misdemeanor under food-labeling laws in Iowa. "Renovated butter" must also be labeled as such.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source: Iowa State Legislature (, )

KANSAS: There's no place like home to get tipsy. It's illegal to sell liquor by the glass in over 25 counties across Kansas, which repealed prohibition a full 15 years after Congress.

KENTUCKY: Every legislator, public officer, and lawyer must take an oath stating that they have not fought a duel with deadly weapons.

When it entered the Kentucky Constitution in 1849, the law was meant to deter men who might aspire to public office from participating in the once rampant Southern tradition. Some evidence suggests thattrial by combatmight technically be legal on a federal level even today.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

LOUISIANA: Jambalaya prepared in "the traditional manner" is not subject to state sanitary code. The Creole stir-fry, made with rice, meat, and veggies, may be prepared for public consumption in the open using iron pots and wood fires.

Source:

MAINE: A game of chance called Beano (like Bingo) is regulated here. The law says that a person may assist players by playing their cards while they take a bathroom break.

This allowance does not apply in high-stakes Beano, which, apparently, is also a thing.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

MARYLAND: Oral sex is illegal in Maryland — giving and receiving. A person found in violation is guilty of a misdemeanor, but the state is not known to enforce the law.

Source:

MASSACHUSETTS: Whether you're at Gillette Stadium or Fenway Park, you'll never hear just half of the "Star Spangled Banner." Singing or playing only part of the national anthem or remixing it as dance music is punishable by a fine of not more than $100.

Source:

MICHIGAN: A statute on the books since 1931 makes adultery a felony — punishable by a maximum sentence of four years in prison and possibly a $5,000 fine.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source: and

MINNESOTA: Any contest in which participants try to capture a greased or oiled pig is illegal. The same laws also prohibits turkey scrambles.

Source:

MISSISSIPPI: Profanity in public could land a person in jail for up to 30 days. It's illegal for anyone to use vulgar or obscene language in the presence of two or more people.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source: and

MISSOURI: If a bull or ram over the age of one year runs rampant for more than three days, any person may castrate the animal without assuming liability for damage.

Source:

MONTANA: Driving animals onto a railroad track with intent to injure the train can result in a fine up to $50,000, a stay at the state prison not exceeding five years, and other damages.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source:

NEBRASKA: No person who is afflicted with a sexually transmitted disease can marry.

Source:

NEVADA: Using an X-ray machine to determine a person's shoe size could get you in trouble.

ADVERTISEMENT

A device called a shoe-fitting fluoroscope,also known as a pedoscope or foot-o-scope, could expose the patient to radiation. Someone found using the device is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Source:

NEW HAMPSHIRE: It's illegal to carry away or collect seaweed at night. Marine plants and algae are routinely used to make fertilizer and animal feed, which gives it value.

Source:

NEW JERSEY: A person wearing a bullet-proof vest while carrying out a grave criminal act can be charged separately for suiting up. The practical effect is more jail and fines.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source: New Jersey State Legislature and

NEW MEXICO: For many years, "idiots" could not vote in most elections. The word was historically used to describe someone mentally disabled or with an IQ below 30.

In 2016, the state Supreme Court scrapped the archaic law from the books.

Source:

NEW YORK: The Empire State bans "being masked or in any manner" disguised in public. The law has withstood legal challenges since 1845. It includes exceptions for parties.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source:

NORTH CAROLINA: A bingo game being conducted or sponsored by a commercial organization may not last more than five hours. (Non-profit groups can go wild.)

Source:

NORTH DAKOTA: All members of North Dakota's Dry Pea and Lentil Council must be citizens. The organization was created in 1997 to promote certain agricultural industries.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source:

OHIO: Every operator of an underground coal mine must provide "adequate supply" of toilet paper with each toilet. This law clearly makes sense, but the fact that it exists at all raises some questions about basic human decency. And Ohio.

Source:

OKLAHOMA: McCarthyism is alive and well. A state statute says it is "fact that there exists an International Communist conspiracy" committed to overthrow the US government.

"Such a conspiracy constitutes a clear and present danger to the government of the United States and of this state," the statute continues.

ADVERTISEMENT

Source: and

OREGON: Leaving a container of urine or fecal matter on the side of the road is a Class A misdemeanor. And you can't throw it from the vehicle either.

Source:

PENNSYLVANIA: Human trafficking in general violates too many international laws to count. Pennsylvania felt the need to specify under law that you can't barter a baby.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

RHODE ISLAND: Someone who bites off another person's limb will face no more than 20 years in prison (but no less than one) — and only if they maimed the victim on purpose.

Source:

SOUTH CAROLINA: A male over the age of 16 can't seduce a woman by falsely promising to marry her. But no law exists with the gender roles reversed.

If found guilty, the man will be charged with a misdemeanor, fined at the court's discretion, and possibly imprisoned for no more than one year — with a number of exceptions.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

SOUTH DAKOTA: Agricultural producers may set off fireworks and other explosives to safeguard their sunflower crops.

Source:

TENNESSEE: You can't hunt, trap, or harm an albino deer intentionally. If you do, the fish and wildlife commission will charge you with a Class A misdemeanor.

"White deer," as people often call these mammalian anomalies, are extremely rare. Only aboutone in every 30,000 deeris born albino. Some even consider the animal themodern unicorn.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

TEXAS: People wishing to run for office must acknowledge the "Supreme Being." If not, they could be subjected to religious tests. In other words: No atheists allowed.

Source:

UTAH: No one may hurl a missile at a bus or bus terminal — except "peace officers" and security personnel. Anyone outside those positions is guilty of a third-degree felony.

Source:

VERMONT: The legislature created a law that prohibits outlawing solar collectors and clotheslines, listing both items as "energy devices based on renewable resources."

ADVERTISEMENT

Source:

VIRGINIA: An odd law suggests Virginia is for prudes, not lovers. "Fornication" (or sex) is completed banned, except for married couples. It's punishable as a misdemeanor.

Source:

WASHINGTON: Doors to nearly all public buildings must open outwardly. Anyone who violates this will face a misdemeanor charge. The statute does explain why though: to avoid congestion during emergencies, like fires.

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

WEST VIRGINIA: Don't attempt to substitute a hunting dog for a ferret in West Virginia.

Anyone who hunts, catches, takes, kills, injures, or pursues a wild animal or bird with a ferret will face a fine of no less than $100 (but no more than $500) and up to 100 days in jail.

Source:

WISCONSIN: In America's Dairyland, many different kinds of state-certified cheeses, like Muenster, cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack, must be "highly pleasing."

Source:

ADVERTISEMENT

WYOMING: It's illegal to "cut, sever, detach, or mutilate" more than one-half of a sheep's ear. Violations are felony offenses, punishable by up to five years in prison.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT