In an effort to curb the exploitation of big cats for dating app profiles, New York passed a law explicitly banning direct contact with tigers at traveling animal shows and fairs. The legislation was aimed directly at the tiger selfie craze that swept through social media. If you want to impress someone online in New York, you will have to rely on a regular domesticated cat.
During the early days of broadcasting, radios were expensive and considered vital tools for public emergency broadcasts. The state made it an offense to intentionally smash or destroy your radio, likely to ensure citizens could still receive civil defense warnings. Today, throwing away a broken Bluetooth speaker probably violates the spirit of this law.
Pennsylvania penal code specifically prohibits the sale, manufacture, or possession of a golf ball that contains any explosive substance. In the 1960s, exploding golf balls were a popular gag gift designed to detonate with a loud bang when struck, but they frequently caused severe eye and facial injuries. The state intervened to ensure that the golf course remained a hazard only to a player's ego.
Alaska strictly enforces 'fair chase' ethics in hunting. Just as you cannot use a small airplane to spot and immediately hunt a moose, you cannot use modern quadcopters or unmanned aerial vehicles to locate wildlife for harvest.
Because water is highly precious in the desert West, Utah takes 'cloud seeding'—a scientific process to induce rain or snow—very seriously. Attempting to play God with silver iodide flares can alter downstream water rights and ruin local agriculture if done improperly. Unless you have the state's explicit blessing, keep your rain dances strictly non-chemical.
This hyper-specific ordinance was likely passed after someone carelessly abandoned their rumbling yard equipment, causing a localized hazard. Pedestrians, especially children, were at risk of walking into spinning blades or getting burned by the hot engine. If you need to grab a glass of lemonade, local law demands you turn the machine off first.
If you've had a few too many at the county fair, you are legally barred from getting behind the controls of the Ferris wheel. New Hampshire law specifically outlaws the operation of mechanical carnival rides while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for obvious safety reasons.
As the internet became mainstream in the 1990s, lawmakers rushed to criminalize cybercrimes, including the digital facilitation of dognapping. This law upgraded an old-school property crime into a high-tech felony if a dial-up modem was involved. It is a perfect snapshot of early cyber-panic colliding with pet protection.
Honolulu instituted the 'Distracted Walking Law' to combat a rise in pedestrian accidents caused by smartphones. If you are caught looking down at an electronic device while crossing a street or highway, you can be slapped with a hefty fine. You must be completely on the sidewalk before you return to your screen.
Passed during the height of the 1990s war on drugs, this law made it a crime for public school students to carry pagers, which were heavily associated with gang activity and drug dealing at the time. While modern students walk the halls with smartphones infinitely more powerful, the specific ban on obsolete beepers remained on the books for decades. It reflects the technological panic of a very specific era.
If you want to engage in cloud seeding to bring rain or snow to your crops, you must first get permission from the state. Because water rights are fiercely contested in the arid West, stealing moisture from a cloud before it reaches someone else's property is taken very seriously.
While seemingly modern, Iowa's laws regarding 'theft of utility services' have been aggressively updated to include wireless internet. Riding on your neighbor's unsecured network to stream movies is technically a criminal misdemeanor. The law transitioned seamlessly from stealing cable TV in the 90s to stealing bandwidth today.
In the 1940s and 50s, shoe stores utilized fluoroscopes—devices that blasted X-rays through customers' feet so they could see the bones inside their new shoes. As the dangers of extreme radiation exposure became obvious, Maine banned these novelty machines to stop businesses from giving their customers cancer in the name of a perfect fit. The ban was a crucial step in early consumer radiation protection.
In Boston and across the state, it is expressly prohibited to use fluoroscopic X-ray machines to fit shoes. These machines were incredibly popular in mid-20th-century department stores before lawmakers realized that shooting raw radiation at customers' feet was a severe public health hazard.
As consumer drones became popular, Mississippi updated its 'Peeping Tom' laws to include unmanned aircraft. It is now a felony to fly a drone equipped with a camera near a residential window to secretly observe the occupants. This modern privacy law ensures that old-school voyeurism cannot simply adapt to the 21st century using high-tech gadgets.
State law strictly prohibits aiming a laser pointer at a peace officer, police dog, or police horse with the intent to harass or annoy them. This modern law was passed to address the rising nuisance of people distracting law enforcement and potentially causing temporary blindness. Flashing a laser at a mounted unit's horse is a guaranteed way to get arrested.
In the 1940s and 50s, shoe stores commonly used fluoroscopes so customers could see the bones in their feet to ensure a perfect fit. Once the severe dangers of radiation exposure became undeniably clear, Nevada aggressively banned these hazardous devices. The law is a fascinating relic of mid-century retail technology gone wrong.
In its effort to combat cyberbullying and modern harassment, New Jersey's telecommunications laws technically make it a crime to send an electronic communication specifically designed to annoy the recipient. While primarily aimed at stalkers and severe trolls, a strict textual reading suggests that sending an overly persistent group chat meme could technically violate the statute.
Long before cyberbullying and internet trolls, the telephone was the ultimate modern convenience that lawmakers sought to keep polite. North Dakota passed laws making it a crime to dial up a neighbor or the local switchboard operator and drop a string of curse words. While largely unenforceable today due to First Amendment protections, it remains written into telecommunications harassment statutes.
As personal computers became common in the 1980s and 90s, lawmakers scrambled to define cybercrimes. They included a remarkably broad provision that makes it a crime to use technology to annoy or prank someone, technically making some internet trolling illegal.
What was once considered a classic childhood toy eventually became recognized as a genuine public nuisance capable of shattering windows and injuring pedestrians. Pawtucket effectively banned these projectile weapons to keep the peace and protect municipal glass. Dennis the Menace would definitely have a hard time growing up here. It treats a rubber band on a stick with the severity of a concealed weapon.
Tennessee was the first state in the nation to explicitly criminalize sharing login credentials for streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Spearheaded by recording industry lobbyists, the legislation updated old cable theft laws for the digital age. Violators can theoretically be charged with theft of services, though casual family sharing is rarely prosecuted.
Just in case federal terrorism laws weren't enough, Utah enacted its own specific state statute making it a felony to build, possess, or deploy a nuclear, chemical, or biological weapon. The law was drafted during a wave of post-9/11 security overhauls to give local prosecutors jurisdiction over terror threats. Simply put, building a dirty bomb in your basement is a severe violation of the state penal code.
Prince William County adopted ordinances long ago that mirrored state laws against using profane, threatening, or indecent language over public telecommunications lines. This was originally designed to prevent crank callers and telephone harassment in the era of shared party lines. Hanging up the phone is much safer legally than letting out a string of curses.
During the mid-20th century, shoe stores used fluoroscopes to X-ray customers' feet inside shoes to check the fit. After the medical community realized that blasting consumers with unshielded radiation just to buy loafers was a terrible idea, the state banned them. You will now have to rely on pinching the toe of the shoe like everyone else.
In Cumberland, the local noise ordinances extend specifically to the use of sound systems attached to bicycles. This was enacted to stop roving groups of teens from disrupting the peace by blasting loud music through residential streets. If you want a soundtrack for your ride, you will have to use headphones or keep the volume down.
During the mid-20th century, pinball was viewed not as a harmless arcade game, but as a dangerous gambling device connected to organized crime. Maryland law still dictates that coin-operated amusement machines cannot distribute cash payouts, keeping them firmly in the realm of family entertainment. Earning a high score will only get you bragging rights, not a paycheck.
Long before hackers and email phishing scams, the telegraph was the primary means of high-speed communication. Criminal codes from the 19th century included strict penalties for intercepting or faking telegrams to commit financial fraud. Though the technology is entirely obsolete, this cybercrime precursor has never been removed from the books.
As technology advanced in the 1980s and 90s, the state updated its telecommunications laws to include facsimile machines. It became officially illegal to use a fax machine to send threats, profanity, or harassment to another person. Although largely obsolete due to the internet, the statute technically criminalizes angry faxing.
In Beacon Falls, arcade operators were historically restricted from letting unsupervised youths play pinball machines. In the mid-20th century, pinball was widely considered a game of chance tied to gambling and organized crime rather than a game of skill. To protect the moral fiber of the youth, local lawmakers required a watchful adult eye over the flippers.
As technology advanced, hunters started using unmanned aerial vehicles to easily spot deer and other game from the sky. West Virginia lawmakers quickly stepped in, deciding that using flying robots fundamentally violated the spirit of 'fair chase' in the woods.
You cannot sit in your living room and use a camera-equipped drone to track, harass, or hunt elk and deer. As technology advanced, the state rapidly updated its fair-chase hunting laws to prevent the woods from sounding like a sci-fi battlefield. Idaho Fish and Game strictly prohibits using aircraft—manned or unmanned—to gain an unfair advantage over wildlife.
A classic relic of the communication age, Nebraska law still penalizes telegraph operators who intentionally hold onto or delay the delivery of a telegram. While Western Union has long since ended the service, the statute remains quietly active in the state's telecommunications code.
As technology advances, the state's Fish and Game department has had to adapt. To maintain 'fair chase' ethics in hunting, it is strictly prohibited to use unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to locate, track, or assist in the hunting of moose, deer, or bear in the New Hampshire woods.
As technology advanced, savvy hunters began using personal drones to locate elk and deer from the sky, taking the 'fair chase' out of the hunt. The state quickly intervened to ban aerial scouting, preserving the traditional, boots-on-the-ground nature of Wyoming hunting.
As drive-in theaters became popular hangouts in the mid-20th century, lawmakers grew concerned about passing motorists getting an unexpected eyeful of mature content. A statute was passed mandating that screens showing explicit or R-rated films must be completely obscured from public roadways to prevent distracted driving and protect the innocence of passing minors.
Before the internet, early hackers used the telegraph. Kansas still maintains statutes making it a specific felony to impersonate another person over telegraphic lines in order to defraud businesses or banks.
Before the internet, the telegraph was the fastest way to transmit critical information. This law was passed to criminalize 'trolls' of the 1800s who would send fake telegrams about deaths, financial crashes, or incoming attacks just to cause a panic. It is essentially the 19th-century equivalent of banning someone for swatting or spreading malicious fake news online.
As technology advanced, some hunters realized they could use camera-equipped drones to easily spot deer and hogs from the sky. The state legislature quickly banned the practice to preserve the ethics of 'fair chase' in hunting. Drones give hunters an unfair advantage and disrupt the natural habitat of the animals.
As remote-controlled quadcopters became popular, students at South Dakota State University kept flying them into or dangerously close to the historic Coughlin Campanile. To protect the landmark and the people walking below, local regulations tightly restricted unmanned aircraft near the tower. A modern solution to a very modern nuisance.
Long before internet trolls, there were telephone pests. New Mexico law specifically outlines the crime of 'use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend.' So, making repeated heavy-breathing prank calls is actually a state crime.
Long before email phishing and text message scams, telegraph operators were the gatekeepers of information. Illinois retains an old law specifically criminalizing the act of sending a fraudulent or forged telegraph message with the intent to deceive. It is a charming artifact of the 19th-century communications revolution that was never scrubbed from the books.
As technology advanced, hunters began using drones to track down deer and other game from the sky, giving them an unfair advantage. Indiana updated its natural resources code to explicitly ban the use of drones during hunting season. This ensures the 'fair chase' ethic of hunting remains intact in the modern age.
Sitka has strict bicycle safety ordinances. To ensure cyclists can hear approaching traffic or emergency sirens, riding with large over-ear headphones or both earbuds in is a finable offense.
Launching or landing unmanned aerial vehicles inside Minnesota state parks is considered a petty misdemeanor. The Department of Natural Resources enacted this modern rule to protect the tranquility of nature and ensure bald eagles aren't harassed by buzzing plastic quadcopters. Only professional photographers with explicit permits are granted a pass.
Before the age of digital marketing, vendors would routinely drive through city neighborhoods blaring advertisements for everything from fresh produce to political candidates from massive truck-mounted megaphones. To combat the deafening noise pollution, Wilmington banned mobile commercial broadcasting entirely. Today, only ice cream trucks get a slight musical pass.