March 29, 2024

Three of the Most Random Laws That Are For Some Reason Still on the Books Today

Min wages by state

Usually when you hear about a weird, wild, wacky law, it’s either out of date, lost its legislative intent, or just generally ignored. However, the following legal statutes are all still in law, despite how random and weird they are.

In North Carolina, Bingo Games Are Not Allowed to Last Longer Than Five Hours.

In North Carolina, there’s a legal statute forbidding bingo games from last longer than five hours, which means that in the Tar Heel State, you either win bingo, or play long enough to see yourself become a criminal. Just remember, though that jackpot may be something special, a life of crime does not pay.

In Texas, It Is Illegal to Sell Your Eyeballs.

If you’re strapped for cash in Texas, you’d be better off going to a pawn shop, cash for gold place, or even a loan shark than you’d be selling your eyeballs, because the Lone Star state has a legal statute expressly forbidding such sales. Of course, if you’re desperate enough to sell your eyeballs, you’re also probably desperate enough to break the law, too.

In Georgia, Chickens Are Not Allowed to Cross the Road.

Why’d the chicken cross the road? Oh, maybe because it was a criminal. In Quitman, Georgia, there’s a legal statute expressly forbidding fowls from crossing the road, which means that people there probably wouldn’t have gotten the joke this paragraph started out with, since that would have just been a statement of fact to them.

Sometimes when you’re doing law research, you find some really random legal statutes that don’t seem to have any point, but are still in effect, as our legislative history research has done. If you’ve ever found totally random laws that shouldn’t still be on the books but still are for some reason, feel free to share them in the comments.

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