23 Weird Old American Laws You Won't Believe Passed (2023)

FAQs

What are the top 10 weirdest laws? ›

Dominoes may not be played on Sunday. It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle. It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church. It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile.

Muskan Anand. There is no shortage of weird laws in the state of Ohio. One such weird law that exists is that it is illegal to sell Corn Flakes on Sunday.

It is illegal to not drink milk

On the subject of what you can and can't drink in Utah, it seems that the state is not the friendliest for those who are lactose intolerant. In the state, it is illegal to not drink milk, which leads one to wonder if Utah's dairy farmers had something to do with state lawmaking.

It's illegal to pass wind in a public place after 6pm on Thursdays in Florida. One weird law, that's since been long-forgotten, is that it's illegal to pass wind in Florida after 6pm on a Thursday. It's never really been enforced in Florida but it was probably written in the 1800's.

Secret law in the United States

Since about 2015 the branches of the United States federal government have accused one another of creating secret law. Journalists, scholars, and anti-secrecy activists have also made similar allegations. Scholarly analysis has shown that secret law is present in all three branches.

Strange laws, also called weird laws, dumb laws, futile laws, unusual laws, unnecessary laws, legal oddities, or legal curiosities, are laws that are perceived to be useless, humorous or obsolete, i.e. no longer applicable (in regard to current culture or modern law).

1. It's illegal to send a surprise pizza delivery to someone's house in Louisiana . . . or anything else that ISN'T a gift that they're expected to pay for. It is considered harassment.

Is it illegal to cry on a witness stand? ›

It's also illegal to cry on the witness stand, hunt moths under a street lamp, lick toads, or put more than one baby in a bathtub at a time. And one more – it's illegal for any animal to mate within 1500 feet of a school.

Someone in Alabama probably tried driving with his sight obscured, and hence the authorities had to come up with such a law. This law perhaps crops from a mishap that included a child hiding under the car.

In the Ohio bill, people who knowingly make a biased false report will be fined $1,000. From there victims of these calls would have the ability to sue for damages.

It provides that a person 18 years of age or older is prohibited from having sex with anyone between 13 and 15 years of age. Under Ohio Rev.

In Ohio, sexting is an illegal act under the age of 18. Even if both participants were minors, it remains illegal to possess explicit photographs of someone who is underage or to show an underage person explicit material.

Intoxicating Liquor (Wine, Low-proof mixed beverages and Spirituous Liquor)

In 1809, Ohio legislators outlawed sin and anti-social behavior on Sundays, including "sporting, gambling, rioting, quarreling, hunting, horse racing, shooting or common labors," except necessary work. They were called blue laws because one or more of the regulations had been printed on blue paper.

The crime of “pump and run” is a first degree misdemeanor in Ohio and is governed under R.C. 2913(B)(10). The crime is defined as: “causing a motor vehicle to leave” a gas station without “making full payment for gasoline that was dispensed into the fuel tank” or into another container.

1.) It Is Illegal To Whisper In Someone's Ear While Moose Hunting. Though it may seem weirdly specific, this law is for the safety of the hunters. Moose are big game and when guns are involved, you can never be too careful.

Did you know that in Salt Lake City, it is illegal to walk down the street carrying a violin in a paper bag? Just as prohibited in the Beehive State is fishing while on horseback or hiring trombone players to perform on the streets to promote an auction.

What drugs are illegal in Utah? ›

Utah laws prohibit the possession and distribution of controlled substances, which are defined in Utah's statutes and include such drugs as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and prescribed medications.

Speeding – It's no surprise that speeding is one of the most commonly broken laws.

In Texas it's legal for a chicken to have sex with you, but it's illegal to reciprocate. It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel. It is illegal to carry a pair of wire-cutters in your back pocket. It is illegal to drive without windshield wipers.

The people of Blythe, California, take the concept of cowboy boots very seriously. It's illegal to wear cowboy boots unless you own at least two cows.

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and ...

The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.

The United States does not have a broad-reaching Official Secrets Act, although the Espionage Act of 1917 has similar components. Much of the Espionage Act remains in force, although some has been struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional because of the First Amendment (see United States v.

The oldest written set of laws known to us is the Code of Hammurabi. He was the king of Babylon between 1792 BC and 1758 BC. Hammurabi is said to have been handed these laws by Shamash, the God of Justice.

On May 5, 1789, the Senate passed its first bill—the Oath Act.

The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known law code surviving today. It is from Mesopotamia and is written on tablets, in the Sumerian language c. 2100–2050 BCE.

Is it illegal to order pineapple on pizza? ›

The Prohibition of Pineapple on Pizza (PPoP) is jus cogens, a international legal norm from which no derogation is allowed.

Many pizza chains, for example, have a "shelf life" for pizza, according to this Quora answer, so if the customer doesn't show up within a set period of time it'll either be eaten by the staff or thrown out, depending on how hungry/new the staff is (if the customer shows up after that period of time it'll be remade).

There is currently no law in Louisiana which prohibits eating or drinking while driving.

In Los Angeles, it is illegal to wear a zoot suit.

The law was passed to stop these large-scale altercations.

Even tie-dyed French poodles. I've gotta stay out of Eureka, Illinois. It's illegal there for a man with a mustache to kiss a woman. It would seem really odd to find yourself in the county jail for "mustaching."

Zoot suits are prohibited in Los Angeles. It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale. It is a crime for dogs to mate within 500 yards of a church.

You might be able to see objects at a distance but not from the sides of your eyes (peripheral vision). Or, you might have great peripheral vision but trouble seeing objects far away. Being classified as legally blind means you are unable to drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns.

It is not illegal to drive barefoot. No states in the U.S. have road laws against driving without shoes. But, keep in mind that driving barefoot rather than driving with shoes can lessen the grip and control you have on the pedals, which could lead to an accident.

No Swearing and Driving in Maryland

Your curse words could cost you up to $100 in fines or 90 days in jail.

What is the Romeo and Juliet law Ohio? ›

(A) No person who is eighteen years of age or older shall engage in sexual conduct with another, who is not the spouse of the offender, when the offender knows the other person is thirteen years of age or older but less than sixteen years of age, or the offender is reckless in that regard.

Requires the Ohio Department of Health to regulate pediatric respite care programs, which are programs that provide services to patients under age 27 who have been diagnosed before age 18 with life-threatening diseases or conditions that shorten life expectancy.

The lowest age of consent is in Nigeria (11) followed by the Philippines and Angola (12). The age of consent is 13 in four countries – Japan, Niger, Comoros and Burkina Faso.

Japan's Cabinet approved a bill Tuesday to recognize a sexual violation even in the absence of physical violence or coercion and raise the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16, as part of reforms to the country's Penal Code.

Legal Age Laws in Ohio

Under §3109.01, the age of majority is 18.

The state of Ohio has established 16 years of age as the age of consent. In other words, if someone is 16 years old, they are legally considered to be mature enough to agree to have sex with someone else, even those 18 years of age or older.

Sexting among adults is legal in California, if it is consensual. If a sexual or suggestive picture of an adult is shared among consenting adults in the State of California, that is perfectly legal.

This crime is punishable by fines and up to 10 years in prison. If you are convicted of damaging U.S. bills or coins, you may face fines, jail time, or both. For bills, the maximum fine is $100 and the maximum jail sentence is six months. For coins, the prison sentence can be up to five years.

In Japan, there is a law called the “Law for Protection of Birds and Wild Animals,” which prohibits individuals from exterminating pigeons.

In the United States, burning banknotes is prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 333: Mutilation of national bank obligations, which includes "any other thing" that renders a note "unfit to be reissued".

What happens if you rip a $100 bill? ›

Under regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury, mutilated United States currency may be exchanged at face value if: More than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present.

It is not illegal to melt, destroy, or modify any U.S. coins in the United States.

Rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are: Publicly promulgated. Equally enforced. Independently adjudicated.

There are seven Universal Laws or Principles by which everyone and everything in the Universe is governed. To name them, they are the Laws of Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect and Gender. The Universe exists in perfect harmony and order by virtue of these Laws.

The three laws are the law of identity, law of non-contradiction, and law of the excluded middle.

Still, it is not a crime to be fat in Japan, as most of these viral posts state. Japanese citizens can't be fined or imprisoned for being overweight.

As of now, Japan has the lowest age of consent in developed countries, as 13-year-old children are deemed old enough to consent which also means sexual activity with them is not considered statutory rape.