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Odd laws by topic

The same few themes keep turning up: animals, old technology, trades nobody practices anymore, and rules about fun.

Animals

Dyed chicks, carrier pigeons, painted horses, wrestling bears and the rules people wrote about them. 12 laws.

• Bees coming into Alaska need a health certificate (Alaska, AS 03.47.020)
• A whole statute about moving musk oxen off one island (Alaska, AS 16.05.822)
• Wildlife feeding: county limits; birds and tree squirrels exempt (Arizona, A.R.S. § 13-2927)
• Simulated or bloodless bullfighting exhibitions are illegal (Florida, Fla. Stat. § 828.121)
• Stables without sprinklers need pails of water and sand (Massachusetts, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 86D)
• Missouri outlawed bear wrestling by initiative (Missouri, RSMo 578.176)
• Novelty sales of chicks and rabbits under 8 weeks face limits (North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-363.1)
• Bribing a horse show judge is its own crime (North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-380.1)
• Horse show schedules had to print the anti-bribery law (North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-380.4)
• No dyeing rabbits or baby poultry, or selling dyed ones (Ohio, Ohio Rev. Code 925.62)
• Don't harm or detain another's owner-marked carrier pigeon (Ohio, Ohio Rev. Code 959.18)
• No knowingly entering a disguised horse for a fair prize (Vermont, 13 V.S.A. § 2013)

Food and drink

What can be served, sold or called by name. 2 laws.

• Horse or mule meat sold as beef must disclose its true source (Missouri, RSMo 196.150)
• Eateries: colored margarine for table butter needs an order (Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. 97.18(4))

Party lines and telegraphs

Rules written for telephones and telegraphs most of us have never used. 4 laws.

• Give up the party line for an emergency, and don't fake one (Michigan, MCL 750.540a)
• Telegraph clerks can't spill what's in your telegram (North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-371)
• Yield the party line when told it's needed for emergency aid (South Carolina, S.C. Code 16-17-450)
• In-state telegram copies must show the time sent, to the minute (Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. 134.35)

Odd jobs and trades

Fortune tellers, crosstie dealers, shoe sellers and other trades with their own rules. 8 laws.

• Public for-profit shows of unpublished operas need consent (Louisiana, La. R.S. 14:208)
• Telling fortunes for money requires a local license (Massachusetts, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 185I)
• Fake-leather shoes must be stamped "imitation leather" (Michigan, MCL 750.290)
• Entrusted phosphate boats: 2 days to return on demand, if able (South Carolina, S.C. Code § 16-11-690)
• Crosstie dealers must keep a record book anyone can read (South Carolina, S.C. Code 16-17-670)
• South Carolina bans fortunetelling as a trade and as a sales lure (South Carolina, S.C. Code 16-17-690)
• No homemade notes or tokens worth under $1 as money (Federal, 18 U.S.C. § 336)
• Shoe stores can't X-ray your feet to check the fit (Virginia, Va. Code § 18.2-321)

Home, yard and graveyard

Clotheslines, spite fences, gravestones and the things on your own property. 3 laws.

• Florida limits clothesline bans by ordinances and deed rules (Florida, Fla. Stat. 163.04)
• A spite fence needlessly over 6 feet is a private nuisance (Maine, 17 M.R.S. § 2801)
• A gravestone can't accuse anyone of a crime (North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-401.3)

Pranks and games

Exploding cigarettes, beach bingo, pool tables and dice at the bar. 4 laws.

• Kids need a parent-signed ID card to play paid pool (Kentucky, KRS 436.320)
• Beach bingo prizes are capped at $10 (North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-309.14)
• Exploding cigarette pranks are illegal to sell or even own (South Carolina, S.C. Code 16-17-740)
• At bars or eateries, dice may decide who pays for the jukebox (Washington, RCW 9.46.0305)

Public life

Duels, oaths, spitting, theater doors and bridge-jumping stunts. 6 laws.

• Theater entrance doors must open outward, or it's a felony (Florida, Fla. Stat. § 823.06)
• Deadly-weapon duel challenges in Kentucky carry jail time (Kentucky, KRS 437.030)
• Kentucky's oath includes a declaration against dueling (Kentucky, Ky. Const. § 228)
• No jumping off a public bridge as a publicity stunt (Louisiana, La. R.S. 14:312)
• No spitting on sidewalks or in listed places, except receptacles (Massachusetts, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 270, § 14)
• Calling someone a coward for skipping a duel is a crime (Nevada, NRS 200.440)

On the road and rails

Earphones, dogs on fenders, hitched horses, roadkill and freight cars. 7 laws.

• Unauthorized riding outside a train or in a non-passenger car (Iowa, Iowa Code § 716.9)
• No malicious, unauthorized untying of others' legally tied horses (Michigan, MCL 750.58)
• Clean empty hog and sheep railcars before entry into Nebraska (Nebraska, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1306)
• Ohio limits driving with earphones or earplugs in both ears (Ohio, Ohio Rev. Code 4511.84)
• On highways, dogs riding outside a vehicle need fall protection (Oregon, ORS 811.200)
• Keeping eligible roadkill: notice in 12 hours, tag in 24 (West Virginia, W. Va. Code § 20-2-4)
• Don't walk your animal down the highway from a car (Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. 951.04)

Farm, field and water

Gates, stock tanks, ice holes, purple paint, sea oats and parish water. 6 laws.

• St. Tammany limits water exports, except bottled well water (Louisiana, La. R.S. 14:224)
• Private-tank livestock watering needs consent, with exceptions (Nebraska, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1308)
• Shut and fasten field gates you open and cross, with exceptions (Nevada, NRS 207.220)
• Picking sea oats or a Venus flytrap can mean jail (South Carolina, S.C. Code § 16-11-590)
• Proper purple boundary markings serve as No Trespassing signs (South Carolina, S.C. Code § 16-11-600)
• Ice-cutting holes need guards where people usually cross (Vermont, 13 V.S.A. § 3831)

Official state things

A state muffin, an official groundhog, a duck decoy and the national bird. 5 laws.

• Massachusetts names one groundhog, Ms. G, as official (Massachusetts, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 2, § 61)
• Minnesota has an official muffin: blueberry (Minnesota, Minn. Stat. § 1.1496)
• Nevada's official state artifact is a duck decoy (Nevada, NRS 235.085)
• Boiled peanuts are the official snack, with an allergy caveat (South Carolina, S.C. Code § 1-1-682)
• The bald eagle became the national bird by law in 2024 (Federal, 36 U.S.C. § 306)

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.