“Freeze, punk! Put down the watermelon and come peacefully!” is not something you would ever expect a police officer to shout at you, unless you live in Beech Grove, Indiana, which has a legal statute making it illegal to eat watermelons in a park.
Believe it or not, that’s not the only strange legal statute governing Americans’ diets. Here are a few others our law research found that you won’t believe are actually real!
Margarine Prison Blues.
In Wisconsin, it’s illegal to serve inmates, patients, and students margarine for non-medical purposes according to Chapter seven of the Wisconsin Legislative Documents. So even if you can’t believe it’s not butter, it’s probably better to say it is and leave it at that unless you want to get into trouble.
No Pocket Ice Cream.
For some reason, Kentucky has a legal statute preventing people from keeping ice cream in their pockets. Should they choose to pocket their Nutty Buddy, they could spend a night in jail. What the legal statute does not advise, though, is how else are they supposed to carry their confectionery treat!
Pizza Delivery Committal Issues.
It’s a classic prank — ordering a pizza delivery to a friend’s house or office when they ordered no such pie. Though it’s usually good for a laugh, you may be biting off more than you can chew if you do the prank in Louisiana. It’s unlawful to order goods or services to be delivered to a person without them knowing in the Creole State.
The U.S. law books are full of bizarre legal statutes with ostensibly no legislative intent, and these laws are no different. Though it might be so, so, so difficult to avoid breaking them, do your best.
If your own legislative history research has ever turned up any strange legal statutes like these, feel free to share in the comments. See this link for more references.