Forgetting your library books = Jail?!?!?!

Among the many things it would be embarrassing to admit being imprisoned for is for not returning a library book on time. I know many people that would be shocked to hear that this is even possible, much less that the punishment is this harsh but this truly is a law.

That’s right, in Salt Lake City, Utah a person can be imprisoned for one month for not returning a library book. The specifics are that injuring, destroying, or failing to return library books is prohibited with this severe penalty.

I know that at this point such a law seems a bit like overkill, especially with the extremely “flexible” terms here at Penn State. After all, it is a little hard to imagine such a thing occurring when the on-campus library here allows you to have out up to 200 books at a time due only at the end of each school year, no matter when they’re borrowed. But, I guess they really take their library books and return policies seriously in Utah since it is punishable with fines and jail-time.

The real law states that “It is unlawful for any person to fail to return ANY book, pamphlet, or property of the Free Public Library within 5 days of the receipt of a notice from the librarian thereof, demanding the return of such property. Any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of $100, imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one month, OR BOTH!

So basically, for anyone planning to move to Utah or for those that already do or maybe even for people just passing through, you NEVER, EVER want to forget to return the books you’ve borrowed and if you receive a notice such as mentioned above it would probably be a good idea to find anything you took and return it with all possible haste.

Tennessee, Gone to the birds!

In Tennessee it is illegal to hunt birds from an airplane. This is one law that you don’t need to be a lawyer to decode since it states quite simply the provisions for hunting birds and the types of crafts from which it may not be done.

Most states have hunting laws prohibiting those wishing to go out in search of game from having too much of an unfair advantage, however, none seem to be as extensive as this law in their scope. While in most places they feel it is sufficient to merely not operate vehicles and stay away from houses or buildings, in Tennessee they go to even farther lengths to protect their birds and animals.

The actual law is listed under the heading detailing rules about hunting from aircrafts, watercrafts, or motor vehicles and declaring them all to be unlawful. It reads, “It is unlawful to chase, hunt, or kill any wild birds, wild animals, or wild fowl in the state of Tennessee from any craft propelled by electric, gasoline, steam or sail power, or AIRPLANE or hydroplane or from any automobile or motor vehicle.”

There is so much encompassed here that I almost don’t know where to begin. All of these things are illegal there, so it looks like Tennessee natives will be hunting on foot for now unless they come up with some outlandish type of transportation that gets around all of those explicit and lengthy stipulations.

So, if you ever decide to go hunting ANYWHERE especially Tennessee, please take into account all of the crazy rules and regulations so you don’t get fined or arrested. This is a pretty dumb thing to get punished for and almost embarrassing if you get caught, besides birds are cute and though most seem highly ridiculous, this law was actually written for a valid reason and should be respected.

That is unless your aim is to gain a possible misdemeanor charge or you’re looking for a way to get rid of some money…

Drinking Perfume!

What in the world? Why would anyone want to sell perfume as a drink, you might ask. In Delaware it IS illegal to sell perfume as a drink.


Also, how is it possible to discern if it is being sold for the purposes of drinking as opposed to a fragrance enhancer, as it is normally known to be applied? Well the truth is that I have no idea either but apparently at some time this must have been an issue big enough to warrant a law prohibiting it.


This law makes me wonder what went on in Delaware in the past and leads to images of police arresting anyone smelling too strongly of perfume.


Yes, it is in fact illegal to sell perfume as a drink. However, you don’t need to worry if this is where your income comes from since this apparently applies in Delaware only.
The actual law is very specific, noting that “Sales, offers for sale, or keeps with the intent to sell for beverage purposes, denatured alcohol, PERFUME, lotion, tincture, fluid extract or essence, or other liquid or solid not originally manufactured or intended for use as a beverage, containing more than half of 1 percent of ethyl alcohol by volume shall be IMPRISIONED not less than 3 months nor more than 6 months.”


Wow, that’s an unusually specific and wide ranging law considering that I have never heard of anyone being punished for this and it’s not a widespread issue. The basic gist of the law is that selling perfume with more than half of 1% of ethyl alcohol could land you in jail for 3 to 6 months.


Also, it doesn’t end there. This law contains a second part stating that it is also illegal to sell alcohol where it is illegal. That’s right, who would have guessed that it would be illegal to do something where it’s not legal? That sounds like a tongue twister but it’s actually a true part of Delaware law. It might be just me but I find this to be highly redundant and a bit obvious.


So for anyone planning a visit to Delaware, be careful about where you sell perfume (and why) and alcohol! Also, please don't get too crazy and drink perfume this weekend since it's definitely not recommended as a drink ;)

Children CAN Play on Highways !!!

There is a law in Maui County, Hawaii stating that children may play on busy highways! You, like me, may be thinking this was a typo. However, you read this correctly, children CAN play ON highways. As long as they meet the age requirement children can in fact play on public highways. What?!?!

I personally see this as dangerous, but apparently someone in Hawaii doesn’t agree. According to Hawaii law, In Maui County, Hawaii children must be twelve years old to play on a busy highway. So theoretically as soon as you are twelve years old it is perfectly legal to frolic through even rush hour traffic. For some strange reason, I oppose this law. It could be that playing on highways will result in accidents, death, etc. Call me crazy, but this seems pretty dangerous and stupid.

The official version of this law states “It is unlawful for any child UNDER the age of twelve years to play or loiter upon that portion of the public highway used for vehicular traffic in any congested district in the county (aka. busy highways).” What is the punishment for children under twelve that do so you may ask? Nothing. No child endangerment, no parental fines, nothing at all is done. The rest of the law goes on to state, “and any child so found loitering  or playing upon such portion of the highway may be taken into custody by any police officer of the probation officer for the county and DETAINED until the parent, guardian, or person having custody, control, or supervision of the child calls for the child.”

So in other words, apparently the worst that can happen is for a parent to not realize their child is gone and never call to have them released/go pick them up. And that’s it. Who ever knew Hawaii was so dangerous?!?!?!

Snowball Fights Illegal ?!?!

Remember when you were a kid, coming home from school, hurriedly putting on your winter gear, and running outside to play with your friends for those few hours of light left? Sometimes sledding, other times making snow angels, and most fun of all having giant snowball fights? Well apparently kids from a town in Missouri will never have that opportunity or any of those fun times.

How about this for some winter fun? In Belton, Missouri it is actually illegal to have a snowball fight!!! As per their law, cited under "Throwing Missiles" snowball fights are in fact illegal. The actual law say in rambling and quite technical terms that "No person shall throw any stone, snowball, or any other missile upon any vehicle, building, tree, or other public or private property, or upon any person in any public or private way or place or enclosed or unenclosed grounds."

So basically, for those of us without law degrees who aren't used to copiously reading through multiple paragraphs of script all pertaining to things that could have easily been stated much more legibly (so people could actually understand), no one can have a snowball fight there. Ever.

Although I can actually see the merit to this law, protecting public and private property from destruction, it still shouldn't lead to a law banning harmless childhood fun! Sure, people could be mean and do the things mentioned in the original law such as throw things at vehicles and possibly causing an accident or onto property, causing costly damages but that's no reason to outlaw snowball fights! Someone could even get injured but hopefully you're cognizant enough of the fact that a snowball fight is brewing or already in place around you to avoid being hit.

It's hard enough for kids today to be motivated enough to go outside and play with their friends, why not let them have some sort of outlet after spending all day in school? We should be encouraging kids to play, not banning it!

Alabama: It is a felony to cut off your arm to make people feel sorry for you and/or give you money

Sounds crazy and useless right? I mean, who would actually be desperate enough to think of this as an option and to go through with cutting off their own limb simply for money or sympathy?


You're probably wondering why in the world this is even a law. How would anyone possibly think of this and decide to make a law so it doesn't occur? Well there actually is a good reason, or so they thought at the time when this law was made...


This law actually states that it is illegal to: maim oneself to escape duty or recieve alms. It goes on to say that any person that does injury to themselves to be seen as less than whole for sympathy or monetary means is guilty of a felony. In much more legal and official terms than this, the law actually says this.


Still sounds dumb, right? However, this law was created originally to keep people from injuring themselves to escape  military service or enforced enlistment. Hopefully this was not necessary and was just a precaution however it leads me to wonder how many people tried this that it was actually enacted into law?!?!


I mean I guess if you're really that desperate... It still doesn't seem like the best plan though, I mean wouldn't you rather just break a bone, or pretend to have had flat feet? Not that I'm advocating doing anything to try and avoid military service by inflicting harm upon yourself in any way. This just seems like an extreme option that you most definitely cannot change your mind about or correct (back then anyways, since now you could probably just have it reattached).


So for future reference or friendly advice for your current plans, if you live in Alabama please, please, PLEASE DO NOT cut off any limbs for the abovementioned reasons!!!