It is Sunday, April 2 and there are only 267 days until Christmas.  The candy and decorations should be out soon.  Today we remember the birthdays of Charlemagne, Emile Zola and Sir Alec Guinness.  On this day in 999 Gerbert of Aurillac was elected as the first French Pope, in 1827 Joseph Dixon began manufacturing lead pencils and in 1978 Velcro was first put on the market.  In Chad it is Creation of Union of Central African States Day, in Liberia it is a National Day of Prayer and Fasting and in the US it is National Ferret Day and National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day.

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned a fact that stated that it was illegal to display a hypnotized person in a store window.  I thought that was an interesting law and wondered what could have brought it about.  I was not able to find out anything about that, but it made me wonder about other strange laws.  I have put together a list of some of the laws I have found.  More interesting is the fact that these laws are still on the books and could be enforced if someone wanted to.

For example, Bingo games cannot last more than five hours in North Carolina.  I am not sure what difference it would make, but I suppose there is a reason.  Chickens are not allowed to cross the road in Quitman, GA.  How do you communicate this information to the chicken?  Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get arrested!  If you cut down a cactus in Arizona, you could be sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Stay with me because there are a lot more.  In Paulding, Ohio, policemen are allowed to bite a dog if they think it will calm the dog down.  If a dog needs calming, how do you get it in a position to bite it?  Does anyone seriously think that biting a dog will calm it down?  How do you go about calming the policeman down?  It is against the law to sing off-key in North Carolina.  Frankly, that should be a law in more places.  In Texas it is illegal to sell your eyeballs.  I would think it would be a bit inconvenient, too.  Can someone else sell them for you?

Think about this one for a minute – you may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday in Rhode Island.  A couple of things came to my mind when I read this.  If it is wrong to do this on a Sunday, why is it okay the other six days of the week?  What could possibly be the reason for this?  Two scenarios also came to mind.  One is where a person comes out of the store with his toothbrush and offers someone money to go in and buy toothpaste for him.  Another is where a person comes out after buying toothpaste and a guy says, “Psst.  Hey buddy, want to buy a toothbrush?”  He glances around furtively and then opens his coat and there is a selection of brushes hanging inside.

While we are on the subject of things you can’t do on a Sunday, you cannot buy meat of any kind on Sunday in Washington.  Does that mean that fast food places and restaurants are not open or that you can only buy sides and drinks?  I think this next one was pushed by the guy who has the napkin concession for restaurants in town.  In Gainsville, Georgia you are not allowed to eat fried chicken any other way than using your hands.  Some places have a problem with facial hair.  If you have a mustache, it is illegal for you to kiss a woman in Eureka, Nevada and in Carrizozo, New Mexico it is forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public.

Then there are the laws that you just wonder what caused their creation.   Whale fishing is illegal in Nebraska.  Red cars may not drive down Lake Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In Alabama you can’t wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.  You can be arrested or fined for harassing Bigfoot in Washington.  If you are found stealing soap in Arizona, you must wash yourself until the bar of soap has been completely used up.

Here is one that should get people going.  It is against the law for a woman to drive a car on Main Street, in Waynesboro, Virginia, unless her husband is walking in front of the car waving a red flag.  I cannot even begin to guess what caused this law and I cannot believe it was passed and has been allowed to stay on the books.  The big question is what if the woman does not have a husband?  Can she use a boy friend or are there men who can be proxy husbands?  Another one that gets me is a law in Washington that states that a motorist with criminal intentions must stop at city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.  What makes them think that if the person already has criminal intentions, breaking this law will bother him?

Just two more and then we will wrap this up for now.  In Wyoming, you may not take a picture of a rabbit from January to April without a permit.  All I can say is - why?  What are they doing during those months that would require a permit to take a picture?  And finally, if you have been arrested for drunk driving in New Jersey, you lose the privilege of having personalized plates.  I do not see the connection there, but this has all been about strange laws and that would fit the bill.

This week our fact tells us that Monica Lewinsky bought her infamous blue dress at The Gap.  How prophetic!

Go pet your ferret (not a euphemism), have a PB & J sandwich and enjoy the day.