Many strange laws are on the books in America. Some laws are old, and were never repealed; others exist for surprising reasons, and a few are just bloopers. Below is a sampling of strange and funny laws in the United States.
It is illegal to hunt camels in Arizona
In 1855, Congress approved a plan to create a “Camel Military Corps”. Using dromedaries to haul supplies, the Army hoped to build a wagon route from Texas to California. Congress gave $30,000 to the project, and the Army imported seventy-seven dromedaries.
The Civil War disrupted the project in 1858. The Army auctioned off most of the dromedaries. A few escaped into the desert, where prospectors and hunters shot them as pests. The law was passed to protect them.
Silly String is illegal in Southington, Connecticut.
In the mid-1990s, a group of children sprayed a police officer with Silly String, during the Apple Harvest Festival. To prevent another such incident, Silly String was banned in Southington.
In Belvedere, California, a City Council order reads:
“No dog shall be in a public place without its master on a leash.”
Don't pick up litter in White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
No person may rake the beaches, pick up litter, or haul away trash in the park. He or she may be fined $150 for “maintaining the national forest without a permit”.
Mailing an entire building is illegal in the United States
In 1916, to avoid high freight rates, a man mailed a 40,000-ton brick house across Utah. Shortly thereafter a law passed, making it illegal to mail an entire building anywhere in the United States.
Folfing after dark is illegal in Helena, Montana
An ordinance on the books reads:
5-13-2: “Folfing ProhibitedNo person shall play or engage in the game of folf or throw a golf disc at nighttime in any area within the business improvement district that has not been sanctioned as a designated folf course by the city.” (Ord. 2797, 6-23-1997)
In Fairbanks, Alaska, it is illegal for a moose to walk on the sidewalk
In the early days of Fairbanks, a local bar owner had a pet moose. He would get the animal drunk, and let it stumble around town. The town lawmakers created the law to keep the moose off the sidewalk, and away from the bar.
Idiots may not vote in New Mexico
The Constitution of New Mexico (1911) states that any resident over twenty-one may vote, “except idiots, insane persons and persons convicted of a felonious or infamous crime”.
These are just some of the laws, still on the books in America.
