Explore our verified collection of weird laws from around the world
Hawaii's Act 96 of 2025 added 0.75 percentage points to the state's transient accommodations tax, marketed as the nation's first 'Green Fee' for climate resilience. The rate hike is real, but the money legally flows into the general fund and only about a third is directed to climate adaptation.
The claim that it is illegal to keep a donkey in a bathtub in Georgia is a fabricated legal myth with no basis in any Georgia statute, ordinance, or regulation. No equivalent law has been found in any other U.S. state either.
Minnesota banned cryptocurrency kiosks (Bitcoin ATMs) statewide under SF 3868, signed May 5, 2026. All machines had to go offline by August 1, 2026, and be physically removed from public locations by December 31, 2026. Minnesota was the third state to enact a full ban, after Indiana (March 2026) and Tennessee (April 2026) — though it was the first state to regulate kiosks, back in 2024. The law followed 134 scam complaints and nearly $1 million in reported Minnesotan losses over three years.
Since January 1, 2026, California law requires all commercially sold corn masa flour (masa harina) to contain 0.7 mg of folic acid per pound — making California the first U.S. state to mandate this fortification. The law targets a persistent birth-defect gap in Latino communities.
Minnesota became the first U.S. state to ban websites and apps that use AI to generate sexually explicit images of real, identifiable people without their consent. The law took effect August 1, 2026, and carries civil penalties of up to $500,000 per violation.
The claim that Californians must obtain a hunting licence before trapping or killing mice is false. In reality, California law explicitly exempts house mice from all trapping licence requirements and even legally obliges residents to exterminate rodents for public health reasons.
Alabama law makes it a misdemeanor to fraudulently pretend — by clothing or outward appearance — to be a minister, nun, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy in a public place. The law is real, but widely misunderstood: intent to deceive is the key element, not merely wearing a costume.
In approximately 12 U.S. states, selling or buying a car at a dealership on a Sunday is explicitly prohibited by law. These restrictions are remnants of colonial-era 'Blue Laws' and remain actively enforced today.
The claim that Texas law specifically prohibits shooting a buffalo from the second story of a hotel is a popular internet myth. No such statute has ever been found in the Texas legal record.
Utah's disorderly conduct law once included 'abusive or obscene language' as a punishable offense, but that provision was struck down by courts and removed from state law in 1999. Today, casual public swearing is not a crime under Utah state law, though some municipal ordinances can restrict profanity when it rises to the level of a breach of the peace.
Florida law prohibits any person from intentionally feeding or enticing wild American alligators or crocodiles with food. Violations are a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
It is widely claimed that Hawaii has a law making it illegal to place coins in one's ears. Despite viral circulation across hundreds of 'weird laws' websites, no such statute exists anywhere in the Hawaii Revised Statutes or any other official Hawaiian legal code.
