It’s the law but it will make you laugh The Virginian-Pilot

Here’s what every state in America is best–and worst–at. It is illegal to poach a Sasquatch in at least two Washington counties. In 1991, Whatcom Country declared its roughly one million acres of land an official Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area, giving our nation its first Bigfoot Sanctuary. If Bigfoot exists, lawmakers reasoned, it would be an endangered species, and therefore in need of protection.

Meriting its own state law, crawfish theft in excess of $1,500 can land the offender with up to ten years prison time or a $3,000 fine. But mostly, they will have to endure the humiliation of being called shellfish for the rest of their life. In the municipality of French Lick Springs, all black cats must wear bells around their phd criminal justice jobs necks on Friday the 13th. The rule was introduced on October 13, 1939, “as a war measure to alleviate mental strain on the populace,” and has technically been in effect since. Here are 15 weird dog laws you didn’t know existed in America. Though they’re not usually enforced, they are often left in legal codes for years.

It is illegal to skate down the sidewalk of Main Street. There is a state law prohibiting “corrupt practices of bribery by any person other than candidates.” Driving while not wearing shoes is prohibited. Dumb Virginia laws and humor, relating to many aspects of the state, its weather, and its people. If you’re impaired by consumption of alcohol or drugs and take to the slopes, you can be imprisoned for up to 20 years, fined $200 or both. After 1931, in West Virginia, it was illegal to participate in any lewd or lacivious activity before the sacred marriage vows had been exchanged.

Magicians looking to pull a coin out of your ear are going to have a tough time doing so in Hawaii. That’s because it’s illegal to put a coin in your ear in the state. It’s because of the cultural traditions of the native Hawaiians. Forgot something at the store and need to run out real quick in your bathrobe?

Pigeons can be annoying – but in North Dakota, you need permission to exterminate one. State law holds that “no person, firm or corporation shall exterminate pigeons or other harmful wild birds without first having obtained a permit from the Fargo health department.” Skamania County, Washington, passed a law in 1969 deeming the “slaying of Bigfoot to be a felony and punishable by 5 years in prison.” The law was later amended, designating Bigfoot as an endangered species. We scoured the law books in every state to find the weirdest law that’s been passed in each one .

As we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Vermont passed a law just to say there would never be a law prohibiting the use of clotheslines. It is illegal in Galveston, Texas to throw litter out of an aircraft. Besides, using the blue bins is so much easier. Say what you will about the vice and commercialism of Las Vegas—at least they’re looking out for your feet. In Nevada, it is illegal to use an x-ray device to determine someone’s shoe size.

As one interesting case of this, the Virginia Code has an entire section which makes it illegal to trespass on a cemetery at night. This law is not unique to Virginia, as many other states also recognize the danger this action poses to the public. As an additional note of interest, the Virginia Code groups this law with other “miscellaneous” code sections. The Virginia Code includes several odd and interesting laws.

It turns out that there are many unusual laws that have been written over the course of American history — and many of these laws are still on the books today. In Alabama, for example, you technically could be arrested for dressing up as a member of the clergy on Halloween. If your pickle doesn’t bounce in the state of Connecticut, you could be looking at a hefty fine. In West Virginia it is illegal to use a drone “or other unmanned aircraft” to hunt birds. While you’re out in the woods, you’d better not use a ferret instead of a hunting dog; that’s a $100 fine right there.

But before you get celebrating — and please, no photos — bear in mind that the Old Dominion still has plenty of laws banning a host of feisty activities that you might have thought would be mostly private matters. Virginia is for prudes, according to the state’s blue laws. Any person who owns a pool risks a $2500 fine for not closing the gate to the pool when they get done swimming in it.

And we agree that you’d have to be pretty stupid to do that. Farmers in South Dakota have the green-light to set off fireworks or explosives to protect their sunflower crops… so long as they are six hundred sixty feet away from the nearest church, home, or schoolhouse. Rhode Island “false personification” laws deem it unlawful to impersonate an auctioneer.