When Lawmakers Try to Help People Work and Play Well With Others

Sometimes we take things way too seriously.  As winter drags on in some (actually all) parts of of the US, I thought it might be helpful to look on the lighter side.

I have a memory trace from my graduate school days of courses that I took in post-modern philosophy and ethics. I recall the professors developing the argument that that in a perfect world we would not need any laws because people would respect each other and get along just fine without them.  Last week I happened to be listening to Twin Cities talk show host Joe Soucheray on KSTP 1500AM.  The voice over at the beginning of Soucheray’s show talked about “Minnesota – the state where it is not legal to do anything”. There are certainly a lot of laws and local ordinances on the books here in Minnesota.  And as a rule things work pretty well here. However, after I heard that intro piece on the radio, I wondered if there were some laws that were originally intended to promote a civil society and help people safely work and play well with together, that were now unneeded or even absurd.  In my quick and dirty research I came across www.dumblaws.com.  Here is what I found:

In Minnesota…

• It is illegal to stand around any building without a good reason to be there. (I’m in trouble some days.)
• A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop his head. (I can’t imagine why one would want to!)
• It is illegal to sleep naked. (It does get cold here in the winter!)
• All men driving motorcycles must wear shirts. (N.B. This law says nothing about women.)
• Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head. (I know that my Brazen Careerist friends in Madison will sleep better knowing this!)
• All bathtubs must have feet. (Good to know if you are remodeling your bathroom.)

And there are some amusing Minnesota city laws as well.  For example, in Minnetonka, driving a truck with dirty tires is considered a public nuisance. In St. Cloud, hamburgers may not be eaten on Sundays.  And in Minneapolis, red cars may not drive down Lake Street.  I wonder if my good friend, Laura Goodrich of Seeing Red Cars fame knows this!

At any rate, I got a good laugh out of doing this piece and hope you did, too.  Feel free to share any “dumb laws” in your city or state as well.