Dumb Laws – N

By Jab

Dumb Laws by Letter State — A C D F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W

Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota


Nebraska

  • If a child burps during church, his parent may be arrested.
  • It is Illegal to go whale fishing.
  • It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup.
  • It is illegal for a mother to give her daughter a perm without a state license.
  • Lehigh — Doughnut holes may not be sold.
  • Omaha — Sneezing or burping is illegal during a church service.
  • A man is not allowed to run around with a shaved chest.
  • Waterloo — Barbers are forbidden from eating onions between 7 A.M. and 7 P.M.

Nevada

  • It is illegal to have sex on a pool table while eating a piece of pie in Vegas – Thankx Mr. Rubiks
  • It’s still “legal” to hang someone for shooting your dog on your property.
  • It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway.
  • Clark County — An ordinance makes bringing a concealable fire arm into the county illegal unless it is registered with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. In order to register a handgun, however, it must be brought in to the police station. Furthermore, you may not register a gun on the weekends, but the police may prosecute you at that time.
  • Elko — Everyone walking the streets is required to wear a mask.
  • Eureka — Men who wear moustaches are forbidden from kissing women.
  • Nyala — A man is forbidden from buying drinks for more than three people other than himself at any one period during the day.

New Hampshire

  • You may not tap your feet, nod your head, or in any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe.
  • You cannot sell the clothes you are wearing to pay off a gambling debt.
  • It is considered an offense to check into a hotel under an assumed name.
  • It is illegal to pick seaweed up off of the beach.
  • Any cattle that crosses state roads must be fitted with a device to gather its feces.
  • You may not run machinery on Sundays.
  • On Sundays citizens may not relieve themselves while looking up.
  • White Mountain Nat. Forest — If a person is caught raking the beaches, picking up litter, hauling away trash, building a bench for the park, or many other kind things without a permit, he/she may be fined $150 for ”maintaining the national forest without a permit”.

New Jersey

  • You cannot pump your own gas. All gas stations are full service and full service only.
  • On a highway you can not park under a bridge.
  • It is against the law for a man to knit during the fishing season.
  • It is against the law to “frown” at a police officer.
  • If you have been convicted of driving while intoxicated, you may never again apply for personalized license plates.
  • Car dealerships are forbidden from opening on Sunday.
  • You may not slurp your soup.
  • Automobiles are not to pass horse drawn carriages on the street.
  • It is illegal to delay or detain a homing pigeon.
  • Bernards Township — It is illegal to frown as the town is a “Frown-Free Town Zone”.
  • Caldwell — You may not dance or wear shorts on the main avenue.
  • Cranford — Citizens are not permitted to park their own boat on their lawn.
  • Cresskill — All cats must wear three bells to warn birds of their whereabouts.
  • Elizabeth — It is forbidden for a woman, on a Sunday, to walk down Broad Street without wearing a petticoat.
  • Manville — It is illegal to offer whiskey or cigarettes to animals a the local zoo.
  • Newark — It is illegal to sell ice cream after 6pm, unless the customer has a note from his doctor.
  • Ocean City — People may not slurp their soup.
  • Pinball machines are not to be played on Sunday.
  • Raw hamburger may not be sold.
  • Raritan — Profanity is prohibited.
  • Sea Isle City — There will be no boiling of bones on the property.
  • Trenton — You may not throw a bad pickle in the street.
  • Pickles are not to be consumed on Sundays.

New Mexico

  • State officials ordered 400 words of “sexually explicit material” to be cut from Romeo and Juliet.
  • Carrizozo — It’s forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public.
  • Las Cruces — You may not carry a lunchbox down Main Street.

New York

  • 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.
  • It is against the law to throw a ball at someone’s head for fun.
  • A license must be purchased before hanging clothes on a clothesline.
  • The penalty for jumping off a building is death.
  • New Yorkers cannot dissolve a marriage for irreconcilable differences, unless they both agree to it.
  • A person may not walk around on Sundays with an ice cream cone in his/her pocket.
  • While riding in an elevator, one must talk to no one, and fold his hands while looking toward the door.
  • Slippers are not to be worn after 10:00 P.M.
  • Carmel — A man can’t go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match.
  • Greene — During a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.”

North Carolina

  • It’s against the law to sing off key.
  • Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.
  • While having sex, you must stay in the missionary position and have the shades pulled.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard.
  • Oral sex is considered a crime against nature.
  • A marriage can be declared void if either of the two persons is physically impotent.
  • Barber — Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited.
  • 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.
  • Elon College — There is to be no rollerblading during daylight hours, on the roads, or on the bricks. All the sidewalks at this college are made of brick.
  • 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.
  • Kill Devil Hills — You may not ride a bicycle without having both your hands on the handle bars.
  • Rocky Mount — It is required that you must pay a property tax on your dog.
  • Southern Shores — It is against the law to rollerblade on a state highway.

North Dakota

  • Beer and pretzels can’t be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.
  • 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
  • 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.