Here’s something to give you a little bit of an edge the next time you go to trivia night at your local pub: Legal services company UpCounsel just posted an infographic on its blog detailing some of the weirdest laws in the United States — and believe you me, some of them are so bizarre you can’t make this stuff up. Seriously. So. Effing. Weird. I'm not convinced that some of them aren't the greatest instance of trolling in legal history. I mean, there is a town in Georgia in which chickens are not permitted to cross the road. I guess no one living in Quitman likes "Why did the chicken cross the road?" jokes.
Honestly, I just want to know what prompted the creation of some of these laws in the first place. For example, it’s illegal to get a fish drunk in Ohio. Who in Ohio tried to get a fish drunk? And when? And why? How does one even convince a fish to imbibe alcohol in the first place? Or consider the fact that bingo games in North Carolina may not exceed a duration of five hours. What went down at the bingo game that was so epic it evidently required a law to prevent such a thing from ever happening again? That’s some hardcore bingo, man. Other laws' mysterious circumstances include the fact that in Eureka, Nevada (no, not that Eureka), men with moustaches aren’t allowed to kiss women (is the beard burn from men in Eureka really that bad?); that in Texas, it’s considered against the law to sell your own eyeball (sorry, would-be eyeball donors); and that you can be arrested or fined for harassing Bigfoot in Washington State (Bigfoot is real?!).
At least not all of those totally wacky laws are actively enforced; I would feel not at all OK if, in Memphis, Tennessee, women were only allowed to drive if men stood in front of them waving red flags. Maybe one day we’ll find all the laws against marriage equality, women’s health, and all those other “I can’t believe they still exist” rulings in the “appealed” section of a similar infographic. Hope springs eternal, right?
Check out the full image below:
Images: UpCounsel
