Did you know it’s illegal to keep a couch on your porch in Colorado?
Weird right? Well, there’s tons of other whacky and crazy laws you never would’ve expected.
Here is a list of 10 strange laws once on the books across the United States.
- Riding a merry-go-round on Sundays (Idaho)
This law was first enacted in 1907, making it illegal to ride a merry-go-round- on Sundays. This law was made as a part of the “Blue laws” to encourage religious worship and limit entertainment and leisure activities on Sundays. ( Bummer )
- Hitting a vending machine that stole your money (Kansas)
The state of Kansas considers this property damage and therefore illegal. The law was made in order to protect business owners and machine operators from stealing and losing money!
- A single male must be charged an annual tax for being unwed (Missouri)
Sorry to you studs out there but if you live in Missouri the single life is not for you. In the early 1800s, Missouri enacted this law to tax bachelors who were not married. This was supposed to encourage happy couples to get married. However, this law is not active today.
- Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs (Arizona)
In the 1920s, a rancher’s donkey was found sleeping in a tub. Sadly, that same tub was washed away in a tragic flood. This prompted a hefty and expensive search and rescue. Resulting in the state of Arizona making this law to prevent such events from happening again as well as to keep sleepy donkeys out of bathtubs.
- Unmarried women who parachute on Sundays can be fined or jailed (Florida)
This law was made to uphold the social norms and traditional values that were seen as “appropriate” for women on Sundays. It can also be seen as a time when doing things for fun was not allowed.
- Coins are not allowed in ears (Hawaii)
In order to prevent the destruction of coins as well as the ear canal, Hawaii thought it fitting to enact this law. It was also important to ensure that the state’s money supply was both stable and functioning.
- It’s illegal to nap in a cheese factory (Illinois)
Illinois’ legislation considered it a problem of cleanliness and hygiene in the food processing industry. There was a large problem of workers sleeping on job and somehow this would contaminate the cheese.
- It is illegal to keep a couch on your porch (Colorado)
There are obviously concerns of the couches becoming fire hazards, or attracting pests, and of course, deteriorating. But ultimately, the main purpose of this law is to maintain the aesthetics of neighbourhoods. It became a recurring thing, residents found that porch couches were not very cute and could lower property value and the appearance of the community.
- Pickles must bounce to be considered safe for people to eat (Connecticut)
In the 1940s officials came up with the evaluation that if a doesn’t bounce after being dropped from a certain height it isn’t fresh and therefore not edible.
- It’s illegal to wear a fake moustache that makes people laugh in church (Alabama)
It became a common occurrence for attendants of the church to bring certain distractions like a fake moustache. Distractions like these in the church are seen as disrespectful to the church and therefore illegal.
