Crazy, Cool and Weird Stuff

It is illegal for chickens to cross the road in Quitman, Georgia
1. In Quitman, Georgia, chickens may not cross the road.^c
2. Before 1920, it was illegal for women in the United States to vote. When women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony tried to vote in the 1872 election, she was arrested and fined $100.^c
3. It’s illegal to ride an ugly horse in Wilbur, Washington.^c
4. In Mohave County, Arizona, if anyone is caught stealing soap, he must wash himself with it until the soap is gone.^c
5. First cousins may marry in Utah, but only after they’re 65 years old.^a
6. In North Dakota, no one can be arrested on the Fourth of July, a holiday that is commonly known there as “Five Finger Discount Day.”a
7. In Tennessee, it is illegal for children to play games on Sunday without a license.^b
8. It is illegal in Tennessee for an atheist to hold office.^b
9. In Indiana, it is illegal for a man to be sexually aroused in public.^a
10. It is illegal in California to lick toads. Apparently, some people were licking toads to get high. Unfortunately, some people were being harmed by the toads’ poison.^d
11. It is against Michigan state law to tie a crocodile to a fire hydrant.^a
12. An old Colorado law states that a person mush have a doctor’s prescription before taking a bath.^c
13. Colorado law states that a man cannot marry his wife’s grandmother.^b
14. In Kansas, when two trains meet at a crossing, “both shall come to full stop and neither shall start up again until the other has gone.”^c
15. A woman in a housecoat is forbidden to drive a car in California.^b
16. According to Minneapolis law, a person who double parks a car will be put on a chain gang with only bread and water to eat.^b
In Michigan, husbands legally own their wives’ hair
17. In Michigan, a woman’s hair belongs to her husband.^b
18. In Morrisville, Pennsylvania, it is illegal for a woman to wear cosmetics without a permit.^b
19. A man is forbidden to kiss a woman while she’s asleep in Logan County, Colorado.^d
20. In Challis, Idaho, it is illegal to walk down the street with another man’s wife.^b
21. Flirting in Little Rock, Arkansas, can land someone in jail for 30 days.^c
22. In Truro, Mississippi, a man must prove himself worthy before getting married by hunting and killing either six blackbirds or three crows.^b
23. There are still laws in Pueblo, Colorado, stating that it is illegal to grow dandelions.^b
24. A woman in Memphis, Tennessee, is not allowed to drive a car unless a man is in front of the car waving a red flag to warn people and other cars.^b
25. It is illegal for children under the age of 12 to talk on the telephone unless accompanied by a parent in Blue Earth, Minnesota.^b
26. In Kalispell, Montana, children must have a doctor’s note if they want to buy a lollipop.^b
27. A representative from Oklahoma, Linda Larsen attempted to lower the divorce rate by proposing a law that would require the following before a marriage license would be issued: neither party should snore, at least one meal a week should be prepared by the non-primary cook, toothpaste should be squeezed from the bottom of the tube, pantyhose shouldn’t be left hanging in the shower, and the toilet seat should always be down when not being used.^b
Men with mustaches are forbidden to kiss women in Eureka, Nevada
28. In Eureka, Nevada, it is illegal for men who have mustaches to kiss women.^b
29. It is illegal in Waco, Texas, to throw a banana peel onto the street because a horse could slip.^d
30. In Texas, the Encyclopedia Britannica was banned because it contained a formula for making beer.^b
31. Pickles were outlawed in Los Angeles because the smell might offend people.^b
32. It’s illegal in St. Louis, Missouri, for a fireman to rescue a woman wearing a nightgown. If she wants to be rescued, she must be fully clothed.^b
33. Hartford, Connecticut, banned men from kissing their wives on Sundays.^d
34. Buying ice cream on Sundays was illegal in Ohio because it was thought to be frivolous and “luxurious.” Consequently, ice cream vendors would put fruit on top of the ice cream to make it more nutritious, creating the ice cream sundae.^b
35. A woman wearing shorts, a halter top, or a bathing suit to a political rally in Wheatfield, Indiana, could be charged with a misdemeanor.^d
36. In Lander, Wyoming, it is illegal for adults to take a bath more than once a month once the cold weather arrives. Children cannot take a bath at all during the winter.^b
37. According to Florida law, anyone who takes a bath must wear clothes.^b
38. Motorists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cannot park a car for more than two hours unless it is hitched to a horse.^b
39. Women in Whitesville, Delaware, could be charged with disorderly conduct if they propose marriage to a man.^b
40. In Kentucky, it is against the law to remarry the same man four times.^a
41. There is a law in South Carolina that allows a husband to beat his wife on the courthouse steps on a Sunday.^b
42. In Arizona, oral sex is considered sodomy.^b
43. In Arizona, a man may legally beat his wife once a month, but no more.^b
A girl may not ask a boy for a date over the phone in Dyersburg, Tennessee
44. In Dyersburg, Tennessee, it is against the law for a girl to telephone a boy to ask for a date.^b
45. In Kentucky, a woman is forbidden to wear a bathing suit on a highway unless she is armed with a club or is escorted by at least two officers. The amendment says that the provisions of this statue “shall not apply to a female weighing less than 90 pounds or exceeding 200 pounds.”^b
46. According to an Atlanta, Georgia, ordinance, “smelly people” are not allowed to ride public streetcars.^a
47. Massachusetts passed a law in 1648 that allowed a parent to put to death a stubborn or rebellious son. The law has been repealed by the legislature.^b
48. In Massachusetts, a person could be fined up to $200 for denying the existence of God.^d
49. In 1659, Massachusetts outlawed Christmas. According to state law, anybody observing Christmas would be fined five shillings.^b
50. In California, ostrich steaks are exempt from state sales tax.^b
51. In Lexington, Kentucky, it is against the law to carry an ice cream cone in a pocket.^c
52. Policemen are allowed to bite a dog if they think it will calm the dog down in Paulding, Ohio.^c
53. In Zeigler, Illinois, only the first four firemen to arrive at a fire will be paid.^c

Marie Curie

Together with her husband, they performed ground breaking and risky procedures in their laboratory. On the heels of the discovery of radiation by Henri Becquerel in 1896, she developed ways to separate radium from radiation leading to many current practices, including chemotherapy. Later in life, she became the Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris. For her work, she was awarded various prizes, including the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and again for chemistry in 1911.

Ada Byron

Also known as Lady Lovelace, she was the daughter of world renowned poet, Lord Byron. Although she strived to be an analyst and metaphysician, her father’s gift of imagination and creativity led her to see the then Analytical Engine as something far more profound. After her translation of the engines creator’s work took on a life of its own, she suggested a plan for how the engine could calculate Bernoulli numbers. This plan, developed in 1843, would then be regarded as the first ever computer program.

Rosalind Franklin

Born in Great Britain in 1920, Rosalind decided to be a scientist at the age of 15. However, she hit a speed bump when her father refused to pay for higher education, believing women were unfit for it. With some prodding from family members, Rosalind was finally able to go where she was able to assist in making amazing breakthroughs in DNA research. She was able to adjust x-ray equipment to produce a fine beam and extract DNA fibers like never before. Unfortunately, her life was cut short at the age 37 by ovarian cancer. But her name and work still live on the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Illinois.

Lisa Meitner

Born in 1878 in Austria, she was the third of eight children. After obtaining a doctorate from the University of Vienna, she went on to study with noted chemist Otto Hahn who would later go on to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1944 for their collaborated work. It led to the discovery of a new element protactinium, the Auger effect, and eventually discovered the process of nuclear fission with her nephew. Being of Jewish descent, her work was interrupted by the Nazi invasion, but she survived to continue her work.

Hypatia of Alexandria

Born at approximately 360 A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt, she is considered the first female mathematician. Along with her father, they collaborated together on impressive works such as “Arithmetica,” “Almagest,” and “Elements.” She is also believed to have written “The Astronomical Canon.” Hypatia also did work in philosophy, accounting, and astronomy. She is even credited with the charting of celestial bodies, the invention of the hydrometer, and more.

Dorothy Hodgkin

Born in Cairo in 1910, this British scientist is noted with discovering protein crystallography, which is a method of x-rays that can determine the arrangement of atoms. She became interested in chemistry and in crystals at about the age of ten and was encouraged by a friend of her parents who gave her chemicals and helped her analyze them. When returning to Oxford in 1934, she would continue the work that earned her a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. Her work was also vital in the studies of insulin and penicillin.

Sophie Germain

She was born in France in 1776 to an era of revolution. Thirteen years later, her country would undergo its own revolution, and due to her confinement at home, she became interested in mathematics. Although her parents objected to a female learning mathematics, Sophie continued to read on the subject and teach herself. Unable to attend institutions of higher education, Sophie found ways to study by obtaining lecture notes, using a pseudonym to write to scientists, and even attending academic functions. Her work ultimately led to the theory of elasticity and noted advances in number theory.

Barbara McClintock

Born in 1902, this American was one of the world’s most noted cytogeneticists, a geneticist who studies the structure and function of the cell with particular interest in chromosomes. She attended Cornell University in 1927 where she received a PhD in botany. However, after an undergraduate course in genetics, she found herself fascinated by the subject. Barbara devoted her studies to seeing how chromosomes change during the reproduction process. It was during this work that she discovered that genes could move between and on chromosomes, leading to many other important discoveries. For this, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983.

Rachel Carson

She was a writer, scientist, and ecologist born in Pennsylvania in 1907. After obtaining a MA in Zoology from Hon Hopkins University, she was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts during the depression and feature articles on natural history for the “Baltimore Sun.” After becoming concerned by the use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. One of the very first environmentalists, she changed the world by inspiring a host of present and future ones.