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Odd laws by state

Which official codes we quote, who publishes them, and the laws we found in each. We only add a state when its official code website lets us fetch and re-check the text.

Alaska

• Bees coming into Alaska need a health certificate (AS 03.47.020)
• A whole statute about moving musk oxen off one island (AS 16.05.822)

Arizona

• Wildlife feeding: county limits; birds and tree squirrels exempt (A.R.S. § 13-2927)

Florida

• Theater entrance doors must open outward, or it's a felony (Fla. Stat. § 823.06)
• Simulated or bloodless bullfighting exhibitions are illegal (Fla. Stat. § 828.121)
• Florida limits clothesline bans by ordinances and deed rules (Fla. Stat. 163.04)

Iowa

• Unauthorized riding outside a train or in a non-passenger car (Iowa Code § 716.9)

Kentucky

• Kids need a parent-signed ID card to play paid pool (KRS 436.320)
• Deadly-weapon duel challenges in Kentucky carry jail time (KRS 437.030)
• Kentucky's oath includes a declaration against dueling (Ky. Const. § 228)

Louisiana

• Public for-profit shows of unpublished operas need consent (La. R.S. 14:208)
• St. Tammany limits water exports, except bottled well water (La. R.S. 14:224)
• No jumping off a public bridge as a publicity stunt (La. R.S. 14:312)

Maine

• A spite fence needlessly over 6 feet is a private nuisance (17 M.R.S. § 2801)

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts names one groundhog, Ms. G, as official (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 2, § 61)
• Telling fortunes for money requires a local license (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 185I)
• No spitting on sidewalks or in listed places, except receptacles (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 270, § 14)
• Stables without sprinklers need pails of water and sand (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 86D)

Michigan

• No malicious, unauthorized untying of others' legally tied horses (MCL 750.58)
• Fake-leather shoes must be stamped "imitation leather" (MCL 750.290)
• Give up the party line for an emergency, and don't fake one (MCL 750.540a)

Minnesota

• Minnesota has an official muffin: blueberry (Minn. Stat. § 1.1496)

Missouri

• Horse or mule meat sold as beef must disclose its true source (RSMo 196.150)
• Missouri outlawed bear wrestling by initiative (RSMo 578.176)

Nebraska

• Clean empty hog and sheep railcars before entry into Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1306)
• Private-tank livestock watering needs consent, with exceptions (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1308)

Nevada

• Calling someone a coward for skipping a duel is a crime (NRS 200.440)
• Shut and fasten field gates you open and cross, with exceptions (NRS 207.220)
• Nevada's official state artifact is a duck decoy (NRS 235.085)

North Carolina

• Beach bingo prizes are capped at $10 (N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-309.14)
• Novelty sales of chicks and rabbits under 8 weeks face limits (N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-363.1)
• Telegraph clerks can't spill what's in your telegram (N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-371)
• Bribing a horse show judge is its own crime (N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-380.1)
• Horse show schedules had to print the anti-bribery law (N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-380.4)
• A gravestone can't accuse anyone of a crime (N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-401.3)

Ohio

• No dyeing rabbits or baby poultry, or selling dyed ones (Ohio Rev. Code 925.62)
• Don't harm or detain another's owner-marked carrier pigeon (Ohio Rev. Code 959.18)
• Ohio limits driving with earphones or earplugs in both ears (Ohio Rev. Code 4511.84)

Oregon

• On highways, dogs riding outside a vehicle need fall protection (ORS 811.200)

South Carolina

• Boiled peanuts are the official snack, with an allergy caveat (S.C. Code § 1-1-682)
• Picking sea oats or a Venus flytrap can mean jail (S.C. Code § 16-11-590)
• Proper purple boundary markings serve as No Trespassing signs (S.C. Code § 16-11-600)
• Entrusted phosphate boats: 2 days to return on demand, if able (S.C. Code § 16-11-690)
• Yield the party line when told it's needed for emergency aid (S.C. Code 16-17-450)
• Crosstie dealers must keep a record book anyone can read (S.C. Code 16-17-670)
• South Carolina bans fortunetelling as a trade and as a sales lure (S.C. Code 16-17-690)
• Exploding cigarette pranks are illegal to sell or even own (S.C. Code 16-17-740)

United States

• No homemade notes or tokens worth under $1 as money (18 U.S.C. § 336)
• The bald eagle became the national bird by law in 2024 (36 U.S.C. § 306)

Vermont

• No knowingly entering a disguised horse for a fair prize (13 V.S.A. § 2013)
• Ice-cutting holes need guards where people usually cross (13 V.S.A. § 3831)

Virginia

• Shoe stores can't X-ray your feet to check the fit (Va. Code § 18.2-321)

Washington

• At bars or eateries, dice may decide who pays for the jukebox (RCW 9.46.0305)

West Virginia

• Keeping eligible roadkill: notice in 12 hours, tag in 24 (W. Va. Code § 20-2-4)

Wisconsin

• Eateries: colored margarine for table butter needs an order (Wis. Stat. 97.18(4))
• In-state telegram copies must show the time sent, to the minute (Wis. Stat. 134.35)
• Don't walk your animal down the highway from a car (Wis. Stat. 951.04)

States we couldn't use

Some official code websites wouldn't let us fetch and re-check their text: California's and New York's returned a block page (HTTP 403), Hawaii's showed a security block, Illinois's, Connecticut's, New Hampshire's and Kansas's didn't answer or were refused by our network, and Texas's statutes site now loads its text with JavaScript only. We don't work around blocks, so those states have no laws here yet. Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas publish their free online codes through commercial providers rather than their own sites, so we haven't used them either.

Every quote on this site was matched against its official page on October 14, 2026. Text match only; current legal status and enforcement not verified.