Pablo Picasso once said; “Learn the rules like a pro so that you can break them effectively.” We’d all like to think we’re outstanding citizens but let’s be honest, even we think some laws just take it too far sometimes. We found 11 of the most outrageous laws in the USA so that you can be the judge.
Where better to start than the great old’ United States of America?! Now we’ll have to ignore the tell-tale signs of their lax gun laws being absurd for this one. There are many more laws in the home of the ‘free’ and “the brave” that raise some peculiar alarm bells. We’ll even list them out alphabetically so we can make some sense of them.
11 American laws that will blow your mind
- ALASKA It’s illegal to drive while your dog is tethered to your car (fastened by a chain to an anchor point, causing an animal to be confined to a specific area). Meanwhile, New South Wales in Australia is quite the opposite. In NSW, you can be fined $448 and lose three demerit points if your dog causes you not to be in full control of the vehicle – this includes your dog sitting on your lap while driving or unrestrained in the back of a ute or van. Which side of the coin would you abide by?
- ARIZONA: Be sure to get yourself a one-way ticket to Arizona because you legally can’t drive a car in reverse on public roads.
- COLORADO: Forget driving Miss Daisy… you’re bizarrely not allowed to drive a black car on a Sunday in Denver. Also, in Colorado, the state Senate passed Bill #82, which allows underage students (18 – 21 years old) enrolled in accredited culinary programs to sample wines with their older classmates. — as long as they spit them out after each tasting. Illinois also follows this law which they have named ‘Sip and Spit’.
- GEORGIA: Why did the chicken cross the road? … It didn’t in Georgia because it’s illegal to let your chickens cross the road in Quitman. This is to ensure the safety and sacredness of chickens.
- LOS ANGELES: Be careful before you wax on and wax off! You actually can’t wash your neighbor’s car without permission.
- LOUISIANA: In Louisiana, no one likes surprises in fact unexpected pizza delivery will set you back $500 in fines just for sending a cheesy surprise.
- NORTH CAROLINA: Quit playing games! A bingo game cannot last more than five hours in North Carolina and it is illegal to be intoxicated whilst playing. – True story!
- OHIO: Time to fill her up! In Ohio, it’s illegal to run out of gas in Youngstown
- OREGON: Call up the fashion police because “shoelaces must be tied while walking down the street”. The city of Portland gets a tick for personal safety, going so far as to make it illegal to walk down the street with one’s shoelaces untied. Whilst we are picking on Oregon we might as well add it to the list.
In Oregon, it is also illegal to:- “get married on an ice skate rink”
- “whistle underwater”
- “bring reptiles into city limits”
- “predict the future”
- “Juggle without a licence”
- “eat a doughnut whilst walking backwards”
- “whisper “dirty” things in your lover’s ear during sex”
- “eat garlic or onions before a priest’s Sunday sermons”
- VIRGINIA: This law is neither a Trick or Treat?! Unless you are dressed as the fun police giving out fines yourself, you cannot trick-or-treat in Chesapeake City, Virginia unless you are under the age of 14 and return home before the proposed 8 pm curfew. Adults involved in trick-or-treating must accompany a child and not engage in trick-or-treating themselves. The law was introduced after an especially violent Halloween in 1968. Offenders are subject to a whooping $250 fine.
- VERMONT: Say Cheese! A woman may not be smiling in photos at an old age in Vermont if they don’t first get permission for false teeth from their husband. It’s an unenforced law, but it hasn’t yet been overturned!
Oh, enough picking on the USA. We found a law right in Sweden that is pretty outrageous too!
Funny Swedish Law – Thou Shalt Not Name their Child Something Foolish
There is a Swedish law that requires the approval of the government agency for names to be given to Swedish children, and this has to do with parents who literally named their baby Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, with the pronunciation “Albin”, It was 1991 when they decided that the name was a good idea. We talked to Juridik Online, a digital law firm in Sweden, checking what they have to say about the naming law.
– The couple who wanted to name their child Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 did that as a protest against the Swedish naming law. The protest was unsuccessful and the parents were fined and had to change his name to a more appropriate option, says Jonathan Grahndin, founder of Juridik Online.
– In 2017 the law was enacted, replacing the old law from 1982. Today the parents must submit a proposed name within three months of a child’s birth. First names shall not be approved if they can cause offense or can be supposed to cause discomfort for the one using it, or names which, for some obvious reason, are not suitable as a first name.
