Critters & Codes
In Alaska, it is illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they are doing this.
what is moose hunting
In New York, a person can technically be fined for wearing these in public if they are deemed "body-hugging" or "excessively tight."
What are trousers (19th centuary)
In Gainesville, Georgia, the "Poultry Capital of the World," it is a culinary crime to eat fried chicken using this common utensil.
What is a fork?
In many states (like Illinois, Maine, and Michigan), it is still illegal to buy or sell this "motorized" necessity on a Sunday, forcing dealerships to close.
What is a car?
While often religious in origin, the modern economic defense for "Blue Laws" is that they protect this—the physical and mental health of workers by ensuring a common day of rest.
What is labor welfare (or workers' rights)?
In Wyoming, you cannot take a picture of one of these in the month of June without a permit.
What is a rabbit?
In Alabama, it is a criminal offense to carry one of these in your back pocket, as it was historically seen as a method for luring away horses.
What is an ice cream cone?
In Wisconsin, until 1967, it was illegal to serve this butter substitute in restaurants, and it remains illegal to serve it to students in schools or prisoners in jails unless a doctor orders it.
What is margarine?
In the state of Ohio, it is technically illegal for a police officer to perform this action on a citizen on a Sunday or on the Fourth of July.
What is arrest them?
This specific color was chosen to name these laws because 17th-century Puritans in Connecticut supposedly printed their Sunday regulations on paper of this hue.
What is blue?
In Minnesota, you cannot cross state lines with one of these on your head.
What is a duck?
In St. Louis, Missouri, it is legally forbidden for a firefighter to rescue a woman from a burning building if she is wearing this specific item of sleepwear.
What is a nightie (or nightgown)?
In Utah, it is illegal not to drink this specific beverage with your meal if you are in a situation where "wholesome nutrition" is being regulated.
What is milk?
In Georgia, it is an outdated but still-existing statute that you cannot keep one of these in a bathtub on a Sunday.
What is a donkey?
From a supply-and-demand perspective, Blue Laws often create an artificial surge in sales on this specific day of the week, as consumers "stock up" before the Sunday shutdown.
What is Saturday?
In Oklahoma, you can be fined, arrested, or jailed for making "ugly faces" at one of these animals.
What is a dog?
In Arizona, a 1920s-era law made it illegal for men and women to wear these together in a public place.
What are suspenders?
In Maryland, it is a legal requirement to treat these bivalves with "decency," and it is illegal to mistreat or "cruelly" handle them.
What are oysters?
In Rhode Island, a strange Sunday law makes it illegal for a shopkeeper to sell these two specific items on the same day: toothbrushes and this.
What is toothpaste?
In the landmark 1961 case McGowan v. Maryland, this high court ruled that Blue Laws are constitutional because they provide a "secular" benefit to the general welfare of citizens.
What is the Supreme Court of the United States?
In Florida, this is the specific animal that, if tied to a parking meter, requires the owner to pay the same hourly rate as a motor vehicle.
What is an elephant?
In Vermont, a woman legally requires her husband’s written permission to wear this common dental enhancement.
What are false teeth (dentures)?
In Connecticut, for a pickle to legally be classified as a pickle, it must pass this specific "physical test" to prove it is not rotten.
What is bouncing?
In the state of Washington, it was once illegal to buy this popular "ready-to-eat" food on a Sunday because it was considered "recreational" rather than "essential."
What is meat (specifically from a butcher)?
In economics, the "cost" of a Blue Law is measured by this, the value of the goods and services that could have been produced or sold if the market had remained open.
What is Opportunity Cost?