Upon initial hearing, certain laws sound downright crazy and impractical.
While some pieces of legislation do fit that description, some bills are unanimously passed because they are completely logical when you think about it.
But who has the time?
Lucky, strangers online do, and they shared strange bills that have every right to exist after Redditor ThexLoneWolf asked:
"What's a law that sounds unusual, but once you understand the context surrounding why that law was introduced, it makes perfect sense?"
Bet you didn't know these existed.
Mythical Target
"Illegal to shoot Bigfoot. This is to prevent people from shooting each other and trying to use 'I thought it was Bigfoot' in defense."
– LittleOrangeBoi
"Hahahaha I love this one! Imagine how many people used that as a defence before they were like 'enough!!' "
– Entropy1618
Forbidden Protection
"In the UK it is illegal for politicians to wear armour in the Houses of Parliament. This dates all the way back to 1313, after a period of political turmoil the ban was brought in to try and discourage physical violence since the nobles had a habit of issuing threats."
– Live-Drummer-9801
"Isn’t that also why you’re not allowed to cross the red lines at the feet of seats in the House of Commons? Cause the space between the two sides of Parliament created by the red line was exactly two sword lengths apart, and it prevented people from being able to break out into sword fights."
– TheStrangestOfKings
Fishy Business
"No handling salmon under suspicious circumstances."
"It's because of salmon poachers and smugglers. They'd smuggle salmon into England through hidden coastal areas (often inside coastal caves). It was a form of tax evasion."
"Issue was it wasn't illegal to get salmon out of a boat in a cave."
"So they introduced the law of no handling salmon under suspicious circumstances."
– other_usernames_gone
Condiments Don't Consent
"It's illegal to marry bottles in a bar or restaurant. Marrying= taking two half-full bottles of the same liquor and combining them into one bottle."
"It's to prevent shady bar owners from taking sh*t liquor and putting it in nice bottles and selling it at a high price as the nice liquor."
– ImReverse_Giraffe
The more you know…
Unbridled Luring Tactic
"It is illegal to put an ice cream cone in your back pocket in Georgia, Kentucky, and Alabama."
"This is because horse thieves would do exactly that as a way to lure horses out of the street into somewhere more secluded, where they could take control of the horse in peace."
– Grombrindal18
"I've heard of a similar one in Texas but it's wire cutters, I guess because people not cattle rustling carry their wire cutters in the front pocket like God intended."
– MagratMakeTheTea
Keep Your DNA To Yourself
" 'No spitting' laws."
"They were enacted to try to halt the spread of tuberculosis."
– Gwywnnydd
"I’ve been told it was also because most men chewed tobacco and chew spittle is very slippery on wooden boardwalks."
– psyclopsus
Water Law
" You can't collect rainwater in Oregon!.' Except you can. The real case was a guy diverting a stream to stock his private lake. All water in Oregon is considered to belong to the public."
"You can get permits for water rights, but this guy wanted to bypass that. And yet it shows up on dumb law sites all the time. Btw roof rainwater collection doesn't require a permit. It really was just a guy being super greedy."
– peachesfordinner
Maintaining Curb Appeal
"This is kinda the opposite, which shows how a law for one thing was used for another. Town would not allow basketball hoops in the front yard."
"It was a very ritzy town, and folks thought it made the neighborhood less desirable. There was an ordinance around not having a post to tie your horse up in the front yard, which is the regulation they used to block it."
– rubensinclair
What's The Buzz?
"Bees are classified as fish in the state of California. It was done to provide immediate tools to save the bee population while they work on actual legislation that specifically addresses bees."
– Unlikely_City_3560
Some measures served actual functions back in the day but still remain.
Shattered Dairy Dreams
"Milkmen are not allowed to run. Why are we stopping them from running you ask? Back when the law was written, milk runs were done with glass bottles and one false move, and not only have you lost the milk, but the milkmen were covered in shards."
– Rachel1578
This Passage Is Lit
"In the city I live in, it is illegal to drive a car in the city limits without someone walking in front of it swinging a lantern. This is because the first car driven into the city ran over a pedestrian who didn't see it and killed him."
"This is still on the books, but obviously not enforced."
– ProfessorLake
"It would be funny to see a man walking in front of a car swinging a lantern, just so that they would actually repeal the law."
– scrrewedupinaz
Silent Ascent
"In New York it’s illegal to make small talk in an elevator. This is because elevators used to require an operator who had to concentrate on what they were doing."
– Jnoper
You would think lawmakers made these up.
In Japan, there's a law called the "Metabo Law" in which the size of employees is monitored by having their waistlines measured.
It's part of an incentive to prevent obesity in the country while placing importance on appearance and social conformity.
To the average foreigner, the practice may seem like a violation when it actually promotes good health, admittedly in an invasive way.
