Weird Laws Still On The Books

We were talking about weird laws that are still on the books in various states. Here is a list for Wisconsin:

• Butter substitutes are not allowed to be served in state prisons.
• Whenever two trains meet at an intersection of said tracks, neither shall proceed until the other has.
• As people used to smuggle it in from Illinois, all yellow butter substitute is banned.
• Condoms were considered an obsene article and had to be hidden behind the pharmacist’s counter.
• At one time, margarine was illegal.
• State Law made it illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without cheese.
• The state definition of rape stated that it was a man having sex with a woman he knows not to be his wife.
• While all cheese making requires a license, Limburger cheese making requires a master cheese maker’s license.
• It is illegal to kiss on a train.
• It is illegal to cut a woman’s hair.
• Margarine may not be substituted for butter in restaurants unless it is requested by the customer.
• The government may not prohibit manual flushed urinals.
• One may not camp in a wagon on any public highway or risk a fine of up to ten dollars.
• It is a class A misdemeanor to wave a burning torch around in the air.
• It is illegal to throw rocks at a railroad car.
• Livestock have the right-of-way on public roads.

Now here are some from specific cities:

Brookfield

• Tattooing is illegal unless it is done for medical purposes.
• It is unlawful for one to allow another to use the first person’s telephone in order to make prank phone calls.

Hudson

• Screens are required on all windows from May 1 to October 1.
• You are not allowed to put litter into someone else’s trash receptacle without express permission.
• No one may sit on another’s parked vehicle without expressed consent of the owner.

Kenosha

• No male is allowed to be in a state of arousal in public.

La Crosse

• It is illegal to tie up your horse along Third Street (Now a major bar strip).
• It is illegal to display an unclothed mannequin in a store window.
• It is illegal to play checkers in public.
• You cannot “worry a squirrel".

Milwaukee

• An old ordinance forbids parking for over two hours unless a horse is tied to the car.
• It is against the law to play a flute and drums on the streets to attract attention.
• If one is thought of as offensive looking, it is illegal for him to be in public during the day.
• It is illegal to purchase or use Sparklers in the city, yet you can buy fully disassembled automatic machine guns.

Racine

• Missiles may not be shot at parade participants.
• It is illegal to wake a fireman when he is asleep.
• Women may not walk down a public street at night without being accompanied by a man.

Sheboygan

• Only police officers may shoot birds in the city.
• No person may water his lawn in such a way as to annoy his or her neighbor.
• It is illegal to swim in the Fountain Park fountain.

St. Croix

• Women are not allowed to wear anything red in public.

Sun Prairie

• Nuclear weapons may not be manufactured in the city limits.
• Persons may not ride a bicycle with their hands off the handlebars.
• Cats are forbidden from entering cemeteries.
• Even if one gets his/her change “stolen” by a vending machine, hitting the machine violates a city ordinance.
• Unremoved snow on one’s property is considered a public nuisance.

Wauwatosa

• Reserving a city meeting room under a false name is prohibited.
• Spitting on the sidewalk is prohibited.
• If a person shall fail to return books he/she has checked out from the library, that person should return their library card to the library until the books are returned.
• Swimming in water fountains is prohibited.