Funny, Stupid, and pointless old laws

[Peronix]

I was reading on a website some laws that were actually passed (but no longer exist today) and are, really, totally stupid. Some of them are quite helarious. But the state of Illinois takes the cake with this one. Here is a list of all the state and individual town laws (the stupid ones anyway):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Illinois State Laws---

 

 

 

# The English language is not to be spoken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# You may be arrested for vagrancy if you do not have at least one dollar bill on your person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# You must contact the police before entering the city in an automobile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# You may be convicted of a Class 4 felony offense, punishable by up to three years in state prison, for the crime of "eavesdropping" on your own conversation. -720 ILCS 5/14-2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Chicago---

 

 

 

# It is illegal to give a dog whiskey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# In the Pullman area, it is illegal to drink beer out of a bucket while sitting on the curb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Law forbids eating in a place that is on fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Kites may not be flown within the city limits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is forbidden to fish while sitting on a giraffe's neck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Spitting is forbidden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is legal to protest naked in front of city hall as long as you are under seventeen years of age and have legal permits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Champaign--

 

 

 

# One may not pee in his neighbor's mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Cicero---

 

 

 

# Humming on public streets is prohibited on Sundays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Crete---

 

 

 

# Cars may not be driven through the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Des Plaines---

 

 

 

# Wheelbarrows with For-Sale signs may not be chained to trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Eureka---

 

 

 

# A man with a moustache may not kiss a woman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Evanston---

 

 

 

# It is illegal to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Bowling is forbidden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is unlawful to change clothes in an automobile with the curtains drawn, except in case of fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Fairfield---

 

 

 

# It is unlawful for "negroes" to be within county boundries from sundown to sunrise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Freeport---

 

 

 

# It is illegal to expectorate from any second-story window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Galesburg---

 

 

 

# There is a $1,000 dollar fine for beating rats with baseball bats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Homer---

 

 

 

# It is against the law to use a slingshot unless your are a law enforcement officer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Joliet---

 

 

 

# Town fathers, reflecting the pet peeve of hearing their town's name mispronounced 'Jolly-ETTE' when all local folk know it's pronounced 'Joe-lee-ETTE', made pronouncing it Jolly-ette a misdemeanor, punishable by a $5 fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Kenilworth---

 

 

 

# A rooster must step back three hundred feet from any residence if he wishes to crow. Hens that wish to cackle must step two hundred feet back from any residence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Kirkland---

 

 

 

# Bees are not allowed to fly over the village or through any of Kriland's streets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Moline---

 

 

 

# Ice skating at the Riverside pond during the months of June and August is prohibited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# There is a ban on unnecessary repetitive driving on 23rd Avenue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Morton Grove---

 

 

 

# You may not own a handgun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Normal---

 

 

 

# It is against the law to make faces at dogs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Orland Prak---

 

 

 

# No pool tables are allowed in a public establishment, because it supports gambling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Ottawa---

 

 

 

# Spitting on the sidewalk is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Park Ridge---

 

 

 

# Trucks may only park inside closed garages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Peoria---

 

 

 

# Basketball hoops may not be instaled on a driveway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---Zion---

 

 

 

# It is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats, or any other domesticated animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a million more where that came from. But, if you would like to dig up some more crazy laws, feel free to post them here :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S: Mods, if you see any laws in there that you would consider inapropriate, feel free to remove them. Won't bother me, you're just doing your job :wink: (anyway the ones i consider funny don't sound at all inapropriate, and the reason i am posting this is because i really have no idea what you would consider inapropriate for theese forums).

[DaN]

Alot of those are perfectly sensible laws,

 

 

 

heres a list with my comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is illegal to give a dog whiskey.

 

 

 

I love dogs id belt anyone I caught being so bloody stupid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Spitting is forbidden

 

 

 

Hygine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# One may not pee in his neighbor's mouth.

 

 

 

ITs serious assult what do you expect?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is unlawful to change clothes in an automobile with the curtains drawn, except in case of fire.

 

 

 

Ofcourse your in a public place the firebrigade are obviosly exempt from this law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is illegal to expectorate from any second-story window.

 

 

 

Think of the poor sod below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# There is a $1,000 dollar fine for beating rats with baseball bats.

 

 

 

Animal cruelty same as getting a dog pissed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is against the law to use a slingshot unless your are a law enforcement officer.

 

 

 

Why would a lethal weapon be illegal?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# You may not own a handgun.

 

 

 

Probably the most sensible law here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is against the law to make faces at dogs.

 

 

 

You shouldent be tormenting your dog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Spitting on the sidewalk is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

Hygine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Trucks may only park inside closed garages.

 

 

 

Think of the children who like to play under trucks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Basketball hoops may not be instaled on a driveway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# It is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats, or any other domesticated animals.

 

 

 

Only a [bleep] would give a cigar to an animal.

[Peronix]

It costs money for the legal system to pass a law. To put laws on the ballot that should already be known as things left up to common sense is just pointless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of those are just stupid... beating a rat with a baseball bat. Whats wrong with that? And spitting isn't really my idea of a good state law...

[SHIPPOU]

one of the biggest arcives out there

 

 

 

http://www.dumblaws.com/

[Exarch]

Some of those laws are sensible.. giving whiskey to dogs, owning a handgun, beating rats with a baseball bat.

[DaN]

It costs money for the legal system to pass a law. To put laws on the ballot that should already be known as things left up to common sense is just pointless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theres no such thing as common sense its an outdated consept.

[Herr]

Peronix the whole point is that those are laws which were passed a very very long time ago, so it's not costing money to ratify them at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And most of them aren't true anyway.

[adthegreat-]

Theres one i heard of (its probably a rumor) but in Leeds if it is after 10pm, you are aloud to shoot a Welsh person on the streets with a longbow. The thing is, no one is aloud a musket anyway, so its pretty pointless :roll: .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And those crazy laws, well it was probably just a cop who saw someone giving their dog a whiskey and thinking, 'I'll pass a law to forbid that, and next time, your mine :twisted: .'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: Changed musket to longbow, Mayjest reminded methat it was a longbow with his post. Hmm maybe our rumours derived from the same lie?

[Mayjest]

Similar to the one above, but my old (welsh) history teacher told me that it is legal to kill someone if

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a) they're welsh

 

 

 

B) they're standing outside westminister cathedral

 

 

 

c) you're 12 feet away from them

 

 

 

d) you shoot them with a longbow

 

 

 

e) they die from wounds inflicted by the longbow, but not on the torso. So if you hit them on the torso, it's illegal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I doubt it's true, but it sounds plausible. Everyone complains about government interferance, but back then the government interfered in everything, creating individual laws for stupid things. It often just created more loopholes than before. So much for legalistic ideals

[Bubsa]

Similar to the one above, but my old (welsh) history teacher told me that it is legal to kill someone if

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a) they're welsh

 

 

 

B) they're standing outside westminister cathedral

 

 

 

c) you're 12 feet away from them

 

 

 

d) you shoot them with a longbow

 

 

 

e) they die from wounds inflicted by the longbow, but not on the torso. So if you hit them on the torso, it's illegal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same for Chester.

 

 

 

I know of a couple. It's illegal to walk across the road on your hands. It's illegal to hang your bed out of your window.

 

 

 

Thank you book of useless information! :P

 

 

 

Oh yes, and back in Victorian Britain, it was illegal to be gay but not to be a lesbian, simply because Queen Victoria didn;t think women would be interested in that sort of thing :lol:

[Nadril]

My favorite was back in france a while ago, their graveyards were filled up, so the King made it Illegal to die :lol: .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That one, and the law (its in a few states) that if two trains meet each other on a track, one can not go untill the other one does. (think about it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:)

[paul_wilson]

lol there funny and seriously if you saw a dog drunk wouldnt you fall over laughing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# its legal to walk your cattle over Sydney harbor bridge if you pay the correct fee