Ever heard the saying “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”? Well, it turns out that buried in the landscape of laws, some rules are so quirky that they seem tailor-made for the gander, the goose, and maybe even the entire barnyard.
Maybe that’s not a great idea as this list of 20 obscure and perhaps even amusing laws illustrates. See if you agree they’re worthy of being enforceable by law.
Bakersfield, California
Entrepreneurs selling “boobie pillows” in public need to go elsewhere other than Kern County, California. Their sale along highways in that county “is a species of indecency and vulgarity which cannot be ignored or controlled by passersby,” and is strictly prohibited by law. The “public sale of articles depicting female breasts” seems to have a singular impact on the culture in that particular part of the world. Fear not though, nearby communities such as Fresno and Los Angeles stand out as alternative marketing opportunities for those vulgar items.
Florida
If you’re a single, divorced, or widowed woman, you can’t parachute on Sunday afternoons.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
It’s safe to make love while parked in a car. Police officers aren’t allowed to walk up and knock on the window. Any suspicious officer who thinks that sex is taking place must drive up from behind, honk his horn three times, and wait approximately two minutes before getting out of his car to investigate.
Illinois
State law mandates that all bachelors should be called master, not mister when addressed by their female counterparts.
Oblong, Illinois
The town punishes you by law for making love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day.
Ames, Iowa
Warn your hubby that after lovemaking he is not permitted to take more than three gulps of beer while lying in bed with you — or holding you in his arms. So have him drink his brew beforehand.
Alexandria, Minnesota
No man is allowed to make love to his wife with the smell of garlic, onions, or sardines on his breath. If his wife so requests, Alexandra’s law mandates that he must brush his teeth before the act.
Merryville, Missouri
The city prohibits women from wearing corsets because “The privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male.”
Bozeman, Montana
The town has a law that bans all sexual activity between members of the opposite sex in the front yard of a home after sundown — if they’re nude. (Apparently, if you wear socks, you’re safe from the law!)
Helena, Montana
By law, a woman can’t dance on a table in a saloon or bar unless she has on at least three pounds and two ounces of clothing.
Hastings, Nebraska
The owner of every hotel in town is required to provide each guest with a clean and pressed nightshirt. No couple, even if they are married, may sleep together in the nude. Nor may they have sex unless they are wearing one of these clean, white cotton nightshirts.
Liberty Corner, New Jersey
Lovers in town should avoid satisfying their lustful urges in a parked car. If the horn accidentally sounds while they are making their way behind the wheel, the couple can face a jail term.
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Allows couples to have sex in a parked vehicle during their lunch break from work, as long as the car or van has curtains to stop strangers from peeking in.
Cleveland, Ohio
Women aren’t allowed to wear patent-leather shoes, because a man might see the reflection of something “he oughtn’t”
Willowdale, Oregon
It’s against the law for a husband to curse during sex.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
By law, hotels are required to have twin beds in every room. The beds must be a minimum of two feet apart when a couple rents a room for only one night. Also, it’s illegal to make love on the floor between the beds.
Tremonton, Utah
No woman may have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance within the town limits. If caught, the woman can be charged with a sexual misdemeanor, and “her name is to be published in the local newspaper.” The man isn’t charged nor is his name revealed.
Norfolk, Virginia
A law still in effect states a woman can’t go out without wearing a corset. (There was a civil-service job — for men only — called a corset inspector.)
Connorsville, Wisconsin
It’s illegal for a man to shoot off a gun when his female partner has an orgasm.
Newcastle, Wyoming
An ordinance specifically bans couples from having sex while standing inside a store’s walk-in meat freezer!