Next up on our tour of strange, silly, absurd laws are those in Idaho. Every state has them. Many are way out of date, but others make so little sense that it honestly makes you wonder what they were honestly thinking. Some would be kind of hard to enforce, too, and serve little purpose except to make people criminals.
* In Idaho Falls, Idaho, it is illegal to ride a motorcycle if you are over the age of 88. It is curious that they would choose such a specific age, isn’t it?
* In Tamarack, Idaho, it is against the law to buy onions after dark…unless you have a permit. A permit? Really? I wonder how many people apply for them. “I want to get an after-dark onion-buyer’s permit, please.”
* It is against the law for snakes in Idaho to bite people on Sunday, unless it is snowing. I wonder how many snakes they’ve arrested for breaking that law? For that matter, I wonder how many snakes bite people during a snowstorm in Idaho?
* They are serious about their potatoes in Idaho. It is against the law to sell “Idaho Deluxe” potatoes that have any blemishes or damages. If you do, you can face up to a six-month jail term.
* It is against the law in Idaho for lawyers to charge a fee to a widow for moving a piano from one room to another room. Personally, I don’t know many lawyers who would move a piano from one room to another for anyone, except possibly for themselves.
* In Idaho, it is unlawful to sell chickens after sunset, unless you have permission from the Sheriff.
* in Eagle, Idaho, it is against the law to camp on city sidewalks. (Not only that, but it is really hard to pound the tent pegs in and fitting an RV on the sidewalk is also sort of difficult.)
* In Pocatello, Idaho, it is illegal to carry concealed weapons unless some are open to public view. Granted, the law was written before World War I, but did they not know even back then that if a weapon is open to public view, it isn’t a concealed weapon?
* Also in Pocatello, it is against the law for people to be seen in public unless they have a smile on their faces. I like smiles as much as the next person and I am often smiling, but making a lack of a smile a crime seems a little over the top to me.
* In Idaho, the law stipulates that public displays of affection cannot exceed 18 minutes in length. I’m uncertain what would qualify as a public display of affection. It is also unclear if a couple can stop at the 18-minute limit, wait a minute, and then resume.
* It is against the law in Idaho to fish from the back of a camel. Boise, Idaho, adds that it is also against the law there to fish from the back of a giraffe. I guess you have to limit yourself to fishing from the back of a bison, elk, or elephant.
* In Idaho, it is illegal to give your love a box of chocolate that weighs less than 50 pounds. That is silly. It should be at least 100 pounds! Seriously, there are a lot of women who couldn’t even lift a 50-pound box of chocolate. My wife wouldn’t be able to. But then, she has sense. She would probably eat the chocolate, then lift the box.
There you go. Idaho is certainly not immune to laws that were written and passed by people who had been severely beaten by a ‘stupid stick’.
This one made me laugh out loud!
I have to say the thought of calling the sheriff at 8 pm “may I sell a chicken?” is still making me chuckle!
I sort of have trouble figuring out the reasoning of some of these. There must be stories behind them, but I don’t know what they are. I also try to picture a whole bunch of people down at a lake, fishing from the backs of camels and giraffes.
As for the picture of the person calling the sheriff to get permission to sell the chicken, I have a mental picture of the sheriff saying, “Sure! Be sure to have your buyer come in to pick up his permit to buy onions, though. Can’t have a decent chicken soup without onions.”
ROFL
I cannot stop thinking bout these crazy laws. I know there are so many, not just in the US. But US states probably have the most!
Oh, other countries have silly laws, too. Part of the problem is that some of those laws in other countries might seem absurd to us, but might make perfect sense to the people in those countries.
That is a wonderful way to look at it, also probably the reality.
The one about the snakes reminds me of a law in Chicago that makes it illegal for a pigeon to fly over the First Ward.
Hmm…if an officer is messing up on the job, I can just imagine them assigning them to the pigeon squad. LOL
They have to stand around looking like a statue.
Hahahaha! These are hilarious. How many snakes get arrested for biting people in Idaho?! Very silly! 😀
It is even funnier when you think about the fact that the law means that it is legal for them to bite people on any other day.
Now that is some set of laws. If I had the time and the urge just to make life more interesting I would head for Idaho and attempt to break all those laws to see how far I could get before someone said something or arrested me. I can just imagine the look on the policeman’s face seeing me sitting on top of a giraffe and fishing. I would choose the giraffe because while I was fishing the dear giraffe could have its fill eating the leaves from the surrounding trees.
I’m sure that there are stories behind those laws. It would be rather interesting to know what they were. Somehow, I can’t picture a bunch of people perched on top of giraffes or camels, fishing.
These are all funny especially the one about the potatoes.
They really do make you wonder what people were thinking when the laws were passed, don’t they?
I get the impression that there was not a lot of thinking involved.