Dumb Laws In Your State

While doing my regular blog reading for the morning, I came across the following website on Punky Monkey's blog. I thought it was hilarious and couldn't pass up the chance to share it here.

Dumb Laws: Find your state at the top of the page and discover what stupid laws may still be on the books. For example, here are a few things I found out about Indiana:

-If any person has a puppet show, wire dancing or tumbling act in the state of Indiana and receives money for it, they will be fined $3 under the Act to Prevent Certain Immoral Practices.

-Anyone 14 or older who profanely curses, damns or swears by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, shall be fined one to three dollars for each offense, with a maximum fine of ten dollars per day.

-A three dollar fine per pack will be imposed on anyone playing cards in Indiana under the Act for the Prevention of Gaming. (I doubt this one is still enforced with all of the casinos popping up everywhere, now.)

-The value of Pi is 3. (How can anyone put into law the actual value of a numerical unit? What, 3.14 was too much for someone to remember?)

-A person must get a referral from a licensed physician if he or she wishes to see a hypnotist unless the desired procedure is to quit smoking or lose weight.

-Baths may not be taken between the months of October and March. (Well, I guess I've been breaking the law most of my life.)

-You can get out of paying for a dependent’s medical care by praying for him/her. (I'm sure hospitals and physicians just LOVE this law. I wonder how Hubby feels about it? Actually, I know how he feels about it, and I'm sure he still gets paid along with every other physician in his practice.)

-No one may catch a fish with his bare hands. (If you read the full text supplied on the website, there are many other ways in which you're not allowed to catch fish, including by the use of a firearm, an electric current, a crossbow, or an explosive. Which just means that someone out there was dumb enough to try it, most likely.)

-State government officials who engage in private duels can be dismissed from their post. (I'd love to see that one put into practice today!)

-All males 18 to 50 years old must work six days a year on public roads. (Hey, maybe our roads wouldn't be so bad if the government still enforced this one.)

-Mustaches are illegal if the bearer has a tendency to habitually kiss other humans. (What makes this one even funnier is the fact that it specifies kissing HUMANS. Oh, and I think every man I've ever known (my dad, my husband, some of my uncles) would be behind bars right now if this law were still enforced.)

The website breaks down laws to states' cities as well. I think most of the laws listed are from a time when things were much simpler (and more conservative) in society. One of my absolute favorites is the law for Cleveland, Ohio, that states the following: Women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see reflections of their underwear. When I read this one to my husband, he replied, "Well, that just assumes that the woman is wearing a skirt...and that she's wearing underwear."

Have a laugh on me, today!
Best to you all,
Amanda