Wacky Laws

Our local paper shared this with its readers.
I couldn't resist sharing it with you. :)
(adding that I am unsure of my favorite- either the pig one or no place like home)
Any wacky laws in your area?

FIVE THINGS ABOUT BIZARRE LAWS
BY EMILIANA SANDOVALFREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
December 9, 2005

Ah, jurisprudence. It is ever evolving, but, inevitably, oddball laws get passed and other laws stick around too long. Here's a Michigan-Ohio sampling from http://www.lawguru.com/ and http://www.dumblaws.com/. Break them at your own risk.

A bird in the hand
In Harper Woods, it is illegal to paint sparrows in order to sell them as parakeets. You could buy a parakeet for $19.99 at, say, PetSmart in Rochester Hills, so catching, holding onto and painting a sparrow hardly seems worth the effort.

Hog wild
In Detroit, it is illegal to let your pig run free unless it has a ring in its nose. According to "The Use of Nose-Rings in Pigs: Consequences for Rooting, Other Functional Activities and Welfare," by four British experts, the ring makes it painful for the pig to root around in people's gardens or pastures. Got a ringless pig? The Web site http://www.fearing.co.uk/ offers stainless steel pig nose rings for about $1.90.

No place like home
In Detroit, couples are not allowed to make love in an automobile unless the act takes place while the vehicle is parked on the couple's own property. So stop parking on Belle Isle for illicit activity. (You know who you are.) It's too cold out, anyway.

Keep it clean
In Michigan, a man who seduces and debauches an unmarried woman can be charged with a felony, imprisoned for 5 years and fined up to $2,500.
There didn't seem to be a law stating what happens if the roles are reversed.

Sounds fishy
Next time you visit Ohio, keep these in mind:
It's illegal to fish for whales on a Sunday.
It's illegal to get a fish drunk.
That got us thinking: What would a fish enjoy drinking? (We do not condone getting a fish drunk. Repeat, we do not think it's a good idea to get a fish drunk.) A noted Free Press fisherman suggested the following:
Largemouth bass definitely drink Budweiser.
Brown trout drink single malt scotch.
Rainbow trout, a nice Chablis.
Northern pike will drink anything you put in front of them.

Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.