Part of the U.S.’ charm is the differences between states. If Massachusetts and Texas weren’t under the same federal government, residents would probably think they weren’t part of the same country. Since states have their own laws with their own cultures to account for, each have different constitutions and laws.
Some state laws are stranger than others. Some are common sense. Others call for a “WTF” response. How did a state legislator decide that needed to be a law?
There are so many strange laws on the books that there’s actually a site dedicated to them, called DumbLaws.com. We picked just 10 of these laws.
Let us know if there’s any other laws we missed. I’m sure there’s more than a few. We are also sticking with just laws on the state level. If we go into the city level, that opens a new can of worms.
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10. Alabama has quite a few bizarre rules, but did you know that it is illegal to flick your boogers into the wind? As long as Jerry Seinfeld doesn’t flick his boogers out the window, he’s OK.
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9. New York is the city that never sleeps. That may be because you can’t wear slippers after 10 p.m.
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8. Americans love cheese. We love cheese so much that South Dakota made it illegal to fall asleep in a cheese factory. Is the rule still in effect if you are in a Kraft pasteurized cheese product factory?
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7. “Don’t shoot me, I’m only the piano player,” Elton John pleads in the title of one of his best albums. He also should make sure that he never loses an arm, because if he’s a one-armed piano player in Iowa, he can’t charge for performances. One-armed piano players must perform for free in Iowa.
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6. Ohio has something against fish enjoying life. It’s illegal to get a fish drunk in the Buckeye state. But can a human get drunk like a fish?
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5. Florida is now infamous for its ridiculous criminals, who seem to have fun making the Sunshine state look bad. But it’s not just the residents. The lawmakers pass some silly laws that don’t help Florida’s image. For example, have you ever realized that all doors in Florida public buildings open outwards? Yes, that’s a law on the books.
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4. In Massachusetts, you can’t have a gorilla in the back seat of any car. So, that’s why King Kong went to New York instead. I guess he can’t go to the 2024 Olympics if Boston gets it.
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3. Just in case a Bigfoot or Sasquatch turns up in Washington State, the legislature there passed a law to make harassing them a felony punishable by a fine or a prison sentence. So, that’s why Jack Link’s Beef Jerky uses a man in a costume.
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2. While it would make sense to ban all negative thoughts about Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey, the Garden State does have one really unique law that's not dumb. In fact, it's kind of awesome.
While full-service gas stations are a thing of the past in the other 49 states, it is actually illegal to pump your own gas in New Jersey. That explains why New Jersey is the BEST place to stop while on a roadtrip down 95.
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1. Back in 2011, Tennessee passed a law banning residents from sharing their Netflix password. How many times have you done that? A friend needs to catch up on Breaking Bad and doesn’t have Netflix, so you let him or her use your Netflix account. Better think again before doing that in Tennessee.