syn's blog: "Dumb Laws"

• A railroad my not remove itself from a town of more than five hundred people. • All schools must prepare a suitable program for Francis Willard Day. • By law, if a man promises to marry an unmarried woman, the marriage must take place. • Charleston: It is against the law to drive a motorized vehicle on King Street. The Fire Department may blow up your house. This law was made so that the fire department could create a fire brake. • Dance halls may not operate on Sundays. • Every adult male must bring a rifle to church on Sunday in order to ward off Indian attacks. • Fortune tellers are required to obtain a special permit from the state. • Fountain Inn: Horses are to wear pants at all times. • Horses may not be kept in bathtubs. • In some church in South Carolina, every man must bring a rifle to church on Sunday to ward off Indian attacks. • In some town in South Carolina, it is perfectly legal for a man to beat his wife. But only if its on the courthouse steps on Sunday. • In South Carolina, wife beaters weren't allowed to hold public office. • In South Carolina you can be fined for not denouncing "the evils of intemperance" on the fourth Friday of every October. • It is a capital offense to inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide. • It is considered an offense to get a tattoo. • It is illegal to communicate with a woman using obscene messages. • It is illegal to display a confederate flag on a courthouse. • It is illegal to give or receive oral sex. • It is illegal to sell any alcoholic beverages on Sunday, unless you own a private club. • It is legal to beat your wife on a Sunday morning on the steps of the state house. • It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays. • Lancaster County: It is illegal to dance in public. • Merchandise may not be sold within a half mile of a church unless fruit is being sold. • Musical instruments may not be sold on Sunday. • No work may be done on Sunday. An exception is that light bulbs may be sold. • On Hilton Head Island, South Carolina it is illegal to shine a flashlight on a sea turtle • Performing a U-turn within 1,000 feet of an intersection is illegal. • Railroad companies may be held liable in some instances for scaring horses. • Spartanburg: Eating watermelons in the Magnolia Street cemetery is forbidden. • When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you must stop 100 ft from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse traffic.

• Any marriage where either of the parties is an idiot or lunatic is null and void. • Exercising any labor, business, or work, or using any game, sport, play, or recreation, or causing any of the above to be done to or by your children, servants, or apprentices on the first day of the week (Sunday) results in a penalty of $5 for the first offense and $10 for the second. • In Providence, Rhode Island it is illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday. • In Newport, Rhode Island it is illegal to smoke from a pipe after sunset. • In Scituate, Rhode Island it is illegal to keep a flock of chickens in your motorhome if you live in a trailer park. • Impersonating a town sealer, auctioneer, corder of wood, or a fence-viewer is against the law. Penalty: $20 to $100 fine. • It is considered an offense to throw pickle juice on a trolley. • It is illegal to challenge someone to a duel, or accept a duel, even it it is never actually fought. Penalty: Imprisonment for one to seven years. • It is illegal to coast downhill in your car with your transmission in neutral, or with the clutch disengaged. • It is illegal to place a windmill within twenty-five (25) rods of any traveled street or road. • It's a misdemeanor to keep more than 11 inoperable vehicles in front of a house. • Professional sports, except ice polo and hockey, must obtain a license to play games on Sunday. • Providence There is not an appeals process for exemption of property tax due to a disability or poverty. It is illegal to wear transparent clothing. You may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday. • Riding a horse over any public highway for the purpose of racing, or testing the speed of the horse is illegal. Penalty: Maximum $20 fine and imprisonment for 10 days. • This state still prohibits unmarried people from having sex under any circumstances. However, if caught, the lovers are both fined only 10 dollars • West Warwick It is illegal to use water on even-numbered days for the sole purpose of watering plants, gardens, or lawns. If you break this law there is a fine of $25-$100. • You may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.

• A person is not eligible to become Governor if he/she has participated in a duel. • A special cleaning ordinance bans homemakers from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling. • All fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires. • Allentown: There is a ban on men becoming aroused in public. • Any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue. • Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well off the road, cover his car with a blanket or canvas that blends with the countryside, and let the horses pass. If the horses appear skittish, the motorist must take his car apart, piece by piece, and hide it under the nearest bushes. • By law, "watch stuffers" are unwelcome in McKeesport, Pa. Now, no one is quite sure what a watch stuffer does, but whatever he does, he better do it somewhere else. • Carlisle: In the middle of town, one must pay a fee of $50 dollars a year to park on a particular block. At night, however, the cars must be moved for street cleaning. This law is enforced even if snow or ice prevents the cars from being moved. • Connellsville: One's pants may be worn no lower than five inches below the waist. • Danville: All fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires. • Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish. • Fireworks stores may not sell fireworks to Pennsylvania residents. • If a motorist sees a horse coming down the road, the driver must pull off to the side of the road and cover the vehicle with canvas. If the horse is still scared the driver must get out of his car and take it apart until the horse isn't scared anymore. • In Bensalem, Pennsylvania it is illegal to race mufflerless go-karts after 6PM on Sunday. • In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania it is illegal to have sex with a truck driver inside a toll booth. • In Hazelton, Pennsylvania, there is a law on the books that prohibits a person from sipping a carbonated drink while lecturing students in a school auditorium. • In Pennsylvania, "any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue." • In Philadelphia, you can't put pretzels in bags. • In the Mount Pocono region any group of 5 or more Native Americans are to be considered a raiding party and may be killed on the spot. • In York, Pennsylvania, you can't sit down while watering your lawn with a hose. • It sounds like the title of a rock album or something, but "Coasting on Beaver Street" is illegal in Edgeworth, Pa. • It is contrary to Pennsylvania law to discharge a gun, cannon, revolver or other explosive weapon at a wedding. • It is illegal to have over 16 women live in a house together because that constitutes a brothel. However up to • 120 men can live together, without breaking the law. • It it illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors. • Millville: One may not shoot any dog that is found wandering the streets. The sale of alcohol is prohibited. • Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the bride or groom is drunk. • Morrisville: It is required that a woman have a permit to wear cosmetics. • Motorized vehicles are not to be sold on Sundays. • Newtown: Every outlet or switch (which can be purchased for 59 cents) that is installed requires an electrical inspection fee of 1 dollar and 33 cents. • No man may purchase alcohol without written consent from his wife. • No more than two packages of beer at a time may be purchased, unless you are buying from an official "beer distributor" • No one is allowed to sleep on a refrigerator. Stoves, dishwashers and microwave ovens are not specifically mentioned. • Pittsburgh: It is still illegal to bring a donkey or a mule onto a trolley car. No one is allowed to sleep on a refrigerator. • Ridley Park: You cannot walk backwards eating peanuts in front of the Barnstormers Auditorium during a performance. • Tarentum: Horses are not to be tied to parking meters. • The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub. • Though you do not need a fishing license to fish on your own land, but a hunting license is required to hunt on your own land. • Though you do not need a fishing license to fish on your own land, a hunting license is required to hunt on your own land. • Witchcraft was first legalized in the colony of Pennsylvania. • You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth. • You may not catch a fish with your hands. • You may not sing in the bathtub.

• Beaverton: You must buy a $10 permit to be allowed to install a burglar alarm. • Canned corn is not to be used as bait for fishing. • Dishes must drip dry. • Eugene: It is illegal to show movies or attend a car race on Sundays. It is legal to conduct a horse race or a symphony concert. • Hood River: Juggling is strictly prohibited without a license. • In Oregon anyone with a bad reputation is prohibited from distributing malt beverages. • In Salem, Oregon, it's illegal for patrons of establishments that feature nude dancing to be within two feet of the dancers. • In Willowdale, Oregon, no man may curse while having sex with his wife. • It is against the law for animals to have sex in the city limits. • It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it is legal to smoke it on your own property. • It is illegal to whisper "dirty" things in your lover's ear during sex. • It's against the law for a wedding ceremony to be performed at a skating rink. • It's against the law in Willowdale, Oregon, for a husband to curse during sex. • Just to let you guys know. there is a law in Portland, Oregon saying that it is illegal to own bolt cutters but yet they sell them in all the local hardware stores. One of our friends got pulled over for carrying a bolt cutter down the street and the police took it away from him saying it was illegal for him to have. (Reader Submitted) • Klamath Falls: It's illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snakes head off with your cane. • Marion: Ministers are forbidden from eating garlic or onions before delivering a sermon. • Ministers are forbidden from eating garlic or onions before delivering a sermon. • Myrtle Creek: One may not box with a kangaroo. • No more than two people may share a single drink. • One may not bathe without wearing "suitable clothing," i.e., that which covers one's body from neck to knee. • One may not box with a kangaroo. • People may not whistle underwater. • Portland: It's against the law for a wedding ceremony to be performed at a skating rink. People may not whistle underwater. You cannot wear roller skates in restrooms. • Salem: Women may not wrestle in Salem. Springfield It is illegal to own a reptile within the city limits, unless you are a school or city, as a pet. • Stanfield: It is against the law for animals to have sex in the city limits. Cloth towel dispensers are banned from restrooms. No more than two people may share a single drink. • The "Peer Review Statute" prohibits you from finding out details of any written or oral discussion about your medical treatment. Not even a court of law can. All you can access is what the doctor or nurse voluntarily records in your chart. • You may not pump your own gas in service stations. • You must let your dishes drip dry.

• Alfalfa Bill Murray was a legendary legislator in Oklahoma around the turn of the century who became speaker of the house and governor. He was also a tall fellow, and nothing ticked him off more than going into a hotel and having short sheets on the bed. In 1908 he had a law passed that required all hotels in the Sooner state to have sheets that covered the bed and had three extra feet of linen to cover the head and feet. The so-called "Nine Foot Sheet" stayed on the books for several decades, until after Alfalfa went to his last resting place. • A City Ordinance in Oklahoma, states that it shall be unlawful to put any hypnotized person in a display window. • Ada: If you wear New York Jets clothing, you may be put in jail. • Anyone arrested for soliciting a hooker must have their name and picture shown on television. • Cars must be tethered outside of public buildings. • Clinton, Oklahoma has a law against masturbating while watching two people having sex in a car. • Clinton: Molesting an automobile is illegal. • Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property. • Females are forbidden from doing their own hair without being licensed by the state. • Fish may not be contained in fishbowls while on a public bus. • Harthahorne City Ordinance, Section 363, states that it shall be unlawful to put any hypnotized person in a display window. • If she's not a virgin, it is okay, but the said person must be over 16. If both parties are under 18, then the law does not apply. • If you wear New York Jets clothing, you may be put in jail. • In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma pigs less than 32 inches in length may be kept as pets provided there are no more than two in a house. • In Bromide, Oklahoma it is illegal for children to use towels as capes and jump from houses pretending to be superman. • In Oklahoma... Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property. Oklahoma will not tolerate anyone taking a bite out of another's hamburger. • In Oklahoma, people who make "ugly faces" at dogs may be fined and/or jailed. • In Tulsa, Oklahoma the limit on kisses is three minutes (by law). • In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is against the law to open a soda bottle without the supervision of a licensed engineer. • It is against the law to read a comic book while operating a motor vehicle. • It is illegal to have sex before you are married. • It is illegal to have the hind legs of farm animals in your boots. • It is illegal to wear your boots to bed. • It's statutory rape for a man over 18 to have sex with a female under the age of 18, provided she's a virgin. If she's not a virgin, it is okay, but the said person must be over 16. If both parties are under 18, then the law does not apply. • Molesting an automobile is illegal. • No one may spit on a sidewalk. • Oklahoma City: No one may walk backwards downtown while eating a hamburger. • Oklahoma will not tolerate anyone taking a bite out of another's hamburger. • One may not promote a "horse tripping event". • Oral sex is a misdemeanor and is punisable by one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. • People who make "ugly faces" at dogs may be fined and/or jailed. • Residents are taxed for the furniture in their homes, and any other personal belongings. • Schulter: Women may not gamble in the nude, in lingerie, or while wearing a towel. • Tattoos are banned. • Tissues are not to be found in the back of one's car. • Tulsa: You may not open a soda bottle without the supervision of a licensed engineer. Elephants are not to be taken into the downtown area. • Violators can be fined, arrested or jailed for making ugly faces at a dog. • Whale hunting is strictly prohibited throughout the entire state of Oklahoma. • Whaling is illegal. • Women may not gamble in the nude, in lingerie, or while wearing a towel. • Wynona: One's mode of transportation must be tied up while not attended. Mules may not drink out of bird baths. Clothes may not be washed in bird baths. • Yukon: It is illegal to tie a horse in front of city hall. While passing another vehicle, you must honk your horn.

• According to Ohio law, it's against the law to kill a housefly within 160 feet of a church without a license. • A policeman may bite a dog to quiet him. However, the reverse is not true, even if it's a police dog. • Bay Village: It is illegal to walk a cow down Lake Road. • Bexley: The installation and usage of slot machines in outhouses is prohibited. • Breast feeding is not allowed in public. • Cars are not allowed to scare horses in Centerville, Ohio. • Cincinnati: Anal intercourse is banned. • Cleveland: It's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license! • Cleveland law forbids you to operate a motor vehicle while sitting in another person's lap. • In Cleveland, Ohio, women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see reflections of their underwear. • Clinton County: Any person who leans against a public building will be subject to fines. • In Chillicothe, Ohio it is illegal to throw rice at weddings. • Columbus: It is illegal for stores to sell corn flakes on Sunday. • Fairview Park: It's against the law to honk your horn "excessively". A grandmother was fined for honking her horn twice at her neighbor. Items left on a tree lawn become city property. A young man was fined for removing an item from a tree lawn even though he had the owner's permission. • Funeral jargon seems to have crept into the wording of a cemetery fee regulation in Norton, Ohio. There regular plots are $33, but "creamies" are $75. • In Columbus, Ohio it is illegal to sell cornflakes on Sunday. • In Marysville, Ohio it is illegal for a dog to urinate on a parking meter. • In the hippy-dippy late '60s, Youngstown, Ohio, briefly had a law making it illegal to walk barefoot through town. • In ohio it is illegal to ride on the roof of a taxi cab • In ohio it is illegal to run out of gas • In Ohio women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see reflections of their underwear • In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00. • In Oxford, Ohio, it's illegal for a woman to strip off her clothing while standing in front of a man's picture. • In Oxford, Ohio, it is unlawful for a woman to appear in public while unshaven. This includes legs and face. • In Xenia, Ohio, it's illegal to spit in a salad bar • Ironton: Cross-dressing is against the law. • It is against the law to roller skate without notifying the police. • It is illegal for more than five women to live in a house. • It is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday. • It is illegal to get a fish drunk. • It is illegal to mistreat anything of great importance. • It is legal to throw a snake at someone but it is illegal to shake a snake at someone. • Items left on a tree lawn become city property. A young man was fined for removing an item from a tree lawn • even though he had the owner's permission. • Items left on a tree lawn become city property. A young man was fined for removing an item from a tree lawn even though he had the owner's permission. • It's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license. • Lima: Any map that does not have Lima clearly stated on the map cannot be sold. • Lowell: It is unlawful to run a horse over five miles per hour. • Marion: You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street. • McDonald: Your goose may not paraded down Main Street. • No one may be arrested on Sunday or on the Fourth of July. • No one may be arrested on Sunday or on the Fourth of July. • North Canton: It is against the law to roller skate without notifying the police. • Owners of tigers must notify authorities within one hour if the tiger escapes. • Oxford: It's illegal for a woman to strip off her clothing while standing in front of a man's picture. • Participating or conducting a duel is prohibited. • Paulding: A policeman may bite a dog to quiet him. • Riding on the roof of a taxi cab is not allowed. • The Ohio driver's education manual states that you must honk the horn whenever you pass another car. • Throwing a snake at anyone is illegal. • Toledo: Throwing a snake at anyone is illegal. • Women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see reflections of their underwear. • Women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public. • Women aren't allowed to wear patent-leather shoes in Cleveland, Ohio, a man might see the reflection of something "he oughtn't!" • You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street. • You may not run out of gas. • Youngstown: Riding on the roof of a taxi cab is not allowed. You may not run out of gas.

• Beer and pretzels can't be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant. • Fargo: One may be jailed for wearing a hat while dancing, or even for wearing a hat to a function where dancing is taking place. • In Collierville: Keeping clean can be a chilly proposition, as a law there says all bathtubs must be kept in the backyard. • In North Dakota, charitable groups can hold stud poker games to raise money, but only twice a year • In North Dakota it is illegal to keep an elk in a sandbox in your backyard. • In Waverly you better not let your horse near the tub, since horses are prohibited from sleeping in them, as well as in the house. • It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on. • It is legal to shoot an Indian on horseback, provided you are in a covered wagon. • State law of North Dakota prohibits serving beer and pretzels at the same time in any bar or restaurant.

• A recent proposal that ministers walk the beat with police officers in Belmont, N.C., notes "the ministers will carry a Bible instead of a gun." • An ordinance proposed in Robbins, N.C., states, "In the future, anyone not living within the immediate vicinity of Robbins must have a permit from the Chief of Police and okayed by the Mayor or one of the Commissioners." It's not clear what the permit is for, but they may be on to something. • In Robbins, N.C., anyone who refuses to black out after hearing the blackout signal is subject to a $5 fine. • A marriage can be declared void if either of the two persons is physically impotent. • All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart. Making love in the space between the beds is strictly forbidden. • All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart. • Barber: Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited. • By town law the sewer service charge in Belhaven, N.C., used to be "$2 per month, per stool." It was recently changed to read "per toilet." • Because people were using them for cheap furniture, it's now illegal in North Carolina to take and sell labeled milk crates. • Chapel Hill: It is a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate publicly. • Charlotte: Women must have their bodies covered by at least 16 yards of cloth at all times. E • Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields. • Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited. • Forest City: You must stop and call City Hall before entering town in an automobile. This is so the townspeople will have time to go out and hold their horses until you get through town. • Greensboro: Restaurants "with on sidewalk dining" must post their menu so that it is clearly readable from the sidewalk, but is not readable from the street. • Hornytown: Massage parlors have been banned. • In Asheville, North Carolina, it is illegal to sneeze on city streets. • In Raleigh, North Carolina, before a man asks for a woman's hand in marriage, he must be "inspected by all the barnyard animals on the young woman's family's property, to ensure a harmonious farm life." • If a man and a woman who aren't married go to a hotel/motel and register themselves as married then, according to state law, they are legally married. • If you happen to own a marl bed in North Carolina, the law demands that you put a fence around it. A marl bed may not be what you think. It is a kind of rock quarry. • In Barber, North Carolina fights between cats and dogs are prohibited. • In Chapel Hill, North Carolina it is a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate publicly. • In Charlotte, NC, woman must have their bodies covered with at least 16 yards of cloth at all times. • In Forest City, N.C., it's illegal to bring a pea-shooter to a parade. It's also illegal to shoot paper clips with rubber bands. • In Mooresville, N.C., it's illegal to attach anything to a pool table. • In Nags Headm North Carolina you can be fined for singing out of tune for more than ninety seconds. • In Rockwell, N.C., anyone who violates the terms of a proclamation--such as failing to appropriately celebrate Peanut Day or Jaycees Week--is guilty of a misdemeanor. • North Carolina just passed a law saying a political action committee, or PAC, has to have a name that describes the group's cause or purpose. The idea is to prohibit, say, the highway or tobacco lobbies from calling themselves "Citizens for Good Government." •In North Carolina it's illegal to dig ginseng on other people's property between the months of April and September, according to an 1866 law. • In North Carolina it's illegal to sell cotton lint at night. It's also legal to sell cottonseed at night. • In North Carolina it is illegal to make love on the floor of a hotel room between two double beds. • In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, it is against the law for children under seven years of age to go to college. • It is against the law to roller blade on a state highway. • It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard. • It's against the law to sing off key in North Carolina. • It's against the law to sing off key. • It's unlawful to attract a crowd in Forest City, N.C., except when aching the Gospel, politicking or "serenading on occasion of public rejoicing." • Kill Devil Hills: You may not ride a bicycle without having both your hands on the handle bars. • Making love in the space between the beds is strictly forbidden. • North Carolina forbids sex outside of marriage, or "fornication," but the girlfriend as well as the man would have to be prosecuted. • Oral sex is considered a crime against nature. • Punching an official at a youth sports program in Nashville, N.C., incurs a three-year suspension from the program for adult spectators as well as participants. • Rocky Mount: It is required that you must pay a property tax on your dog. • Southern Shores: It is against the law to roller-blade on a state highway. • Thomasville, North Carolina, prohibits airplanes from flying over the town on Sundays during the hours between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. • The good people of Tryon, N.C., are serious about getting a good night's sleep. It's against the law for anyone to keep "fowl that shall cackle," or for anyone to play the piccolo between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. • While having sex, you must stay in the missionary position and have the shades pulled. • You can't sneeze on the streets of Asheville, North Carolina. • You may not ride a bicycle without having both your hands on the handle bars. lon College: There is to be no roller-blading during daylight hours, on the roads, or on the bricks. All the sidewalks at this college are made of brick.

• A fine of $25 can be levied for flirting. This old law specifically prohibits men from turning around on any city street and looking "at a woman in that way." A second conviction for a crime of this magnitude calls for the violating male to be forced to wear a "pair of horse-blinders" wherever and whenever he goes outside for a stroll. • A license must be purchased before hanging clothes on a clothesline. • A person may not walk around on Sundays with an ice cream cone in his/her pocket. • Before the enactment of the 1978 law that made it mandatory for dog owners in New York City to clean up after their pets, approximately 40 million pounds of dog excrement were deposited on the streets every year. • Carmel: A man can't go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match. • Citizens may not greet each other by "putting one's thumb to the nose and wiggling the fingers". • Donkeys are not allowed to sleep in bathtubs in Brooklyn, N.Y. • During a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks. • In Carmel, N.Y., a man can't go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match. • In Greene, New York, During a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks. • In New York, you can teach your pet parrot to speak, but not to squawk. • In New York City you need a permit to transport carbonated beverages. • In New York City it is illegal for a man to give 'The Standard Lear' to a woman. Violators are forced to wear horse blinders. • In New York City, it's illegal to throw swill into the street. • In New York City it's illegal to shake a dust mop out a window. • In New York State it is still illegal to shoot a rabbit from a moving trolley car. • In Ocean City, New York It is illegal to eat in the street in residential neighborhoods, and the only beverage you can drink on the beach is water in a clear plastic bottle. • In Ocean City New York, It is illegal for men to go topless in the center of town. • In Staten Island, New York, It is illegal for a father to call his son a "faggot" or "queer" in an effort to curb "girlie behavior." • In Staten Island, New York, You may only water your lawn if the hose is held in your hand. • In Tonawanda, New York homeless people may not start a fire in the park unless they intend to cook food. • It is against the law to throw a ball at someone's head for fun. • It is illegal for a father to call his son a "faggot" or "queer" in an effort to curb "girlie behavior." • It is illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing "body hugging clothing." • It is illegal to jump off the Empire State building. • It's illegal in New York to start any kind of public performance, show, play, game or what have you, until after 1:05 p.m. • Jaywalking is legal, as long as it's not diagonal. That is, you can cross the street out of the crosswalk, but you can't cross a street diagonally. • Members of nine New York Indian tribes are exempt from the city's eight percent parking tax. • New York and a handful of other states require that toilets be evenly divided among men and women in public theaters or arenas. • New York: Citizens may not greet each other by "putting one's thumb to the nose and wiggling the fingers". It is illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing "body hugging clothing." You may not smoke within 100 feet of the entrance to a public building. Women may go topless in public, providing it is not being used as a business. • New York City may be the theater capital of the country, but it's illegal to have a puppet show in your window and a violation can land you in the snoozer for 30 days. • New Yorkers cannot dissolve a marriage for irreconcilable differences, unless they both agree to it. • Ocean City: It is illegal to eat in the street in residential neighborhoods, and the only beverage you can drink on the beach is water in a clear plastic bottle. It is illegal for men to go topless in the center of town. • Slippers are not to be worn after 10:00 P.M. • Staten Island: You may only water your lawn if the hose is held in your hand. It is illegal for a father to call his son a "faggot" or "queer" in an effort to curb "girlie behavior." • The New York City Transit Authority has ruled that women can ride the city subways topless. New York law dictates that if a man can be somewhere without a shirt, a woman gets the same right. The decision came after arrests of women testing the ordinance on the subways. A transit police spokesman said they would comply with the new rule, but "if they were violating any other rules, like sitting on a subway bench topless smoking a cigarette, then we would take action." Smoking is not allowed in the subways. • The New York State Senate passed a resolution to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers' 1955 world championship and expressed a longing that someday the Dodgers will return to "their one and only true home." • The penalty for jumping off a building is death. • To cut down on its once-horrific graffiti problem, New York City several years ago made it illegal to carry an open can of spray paint. • While riding in an elevator, one must talk to no one, and fold his hands while looking toward the door. • Women may go topless in public, providing it is not being used as a business. • You may not smoke within 100 feet of the entrance to a public building. • You may only water your lawn if the hose is held in your hand

• A city council member in Albuquerque, N.M., introduced a resolution a few years ago to ban Santa Claus from the city. The matter was defeated. • Carrizozo: It's forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public. • Females are strictly forbidden to appear unshaven in public. • In Albuquerque, New Mexico it is illegal for cab drivers to reach out and pull potential customers into their cabs. • In Carlsbad it's legal for couples to have sex in a parked vehicle during their lunch break from work, as long as the car or van has drawn curtains to stop strangers from peeking in. • In recent years, several efforts have been made to legalize camel racing and ostrich racing in New Mexico, but to no avail. Those bills were defeated, but the legislature recently allowed gambling on bicycle races. • It's forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public. • Las Cruces: You may not carry a lunchbox down Main Street. • State officials ordered 400 words of "sexually explicit material" to be cut from Romeo and Juliet.