This bizarre regulation allegedly stems from early 20th-century wildlife conservation efforts designed to prevent overzealous photographers from disturbing nesting and mating habits of game animals. While largely unenforced today, it remains a famously absurd artifact of Wyoming's deep-rooted hunting and wildlife management culture.
Passed ostensibly as a public health and sanitation measure, this oddly specific ordinance was likely a reaction to a singular, scandalous event in the town's history. Lawmakers wanted to make absolutely sure that commercial butchery spaces remained strictly for chilling meat, not getting hot and heavy.
Believe it or not, traveling carnivals used to feature 'bear wrestling' as a legitimate form of entertainment. Recognizing both the extreme danger to human participants and the sheer animal cruelty involved, Wyoming explicitly outlawed getting into a grappling match with a grizzly.
During the height of the dairy lobby's war on margarine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, weird dye laws were passed to make the butter-substitute look unappetizing. Wyoming allegedly considered forcing margarine makers to dye their product pink or red so no one would ever confuse it with wholesome, yellow butter.
As a town deeply connected to the wilderness and early fur trapping, Jackson had its share of rugged merchants showing off their lethal wares. This safety ordinance was passed to ensure that tourists and absentminded pedestrians didn't accidentally lose a leg while window shopping.
Stemming from post-Prohibition anxieties about saloon culture, this law tried to prevent the rowdy, elbow-to-elbow drinking crowds of the Wild West. Lawmakers believed that forcing patrons to sit at tables would encourage more civilized sipping and less spontaneous barroom brawling.
Although Wyoming residents love their guns, the state drew the line at shooting trout. This regulation was put in place to mandate ethical angling practices and prevent enthusiastic outdoorsmen from simply blasting a river to retrieve a floating dinner.
Local historians suggest this quirky ordinance was aimed at keeping rowdy youths from drenching unconsenting pedestrians during hot summer days. The broad wording technically prevents friends from staging a high-noon style shootout with Super Soakers on Main Street.
In an effort to curb the rampant theft of industrial metals, lawmakers targeted the shadowy economy of scrapping. The law specifically assumes that anyone stumbling into a junkyard drunk with a spool of valuable copper wire probably didn't acquire it through legitimate means.
Dating back to the tuberculosis scares of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this sanitary ordinance aimed to stop the spread of infectious diseases via chewing tobacco expectorant. Today, it remains on the books as a testament to the era's aggressive public hygiene campaigns.
Before the advent of the automobile, a startled horse could cause a massive traffic accident in downtown Sheridan. This old ordinance held dog owners strictly liable if their unruly pets spooked a carriage horse and caused a commotion on the main thoroughfare.
In the early days of cinema and live theater, large ten-gallon hats were fashionable but notoriously annoying for anyone sitting in the rows behind them. The city of Cody eventually had to mandate hat removal so everyone could properly enjoy the show.
Livestock rustling was a deadly serious crime in the Old West, and thieves often mutilated stolen animals' ears to remove the original owner's brand. Wyoming codified this gruesome act as a severe felony to protect the state's massive wool and mutton economy.
While it sounds like pure common sense, the explicit ban was necessary to stop impatient drivers from trying to thread their Model T's through patriotic processions. Today, it remains a heavily fined traffic violation to interrupt a parade route with your car.
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.
In the 1970s and 80s, the roller skating craze resulted in too many kids tearing through grocery aisles and retail stores. Gillette responded by making it a minor municipal offense to treat a local business like a personal roller rink.
Rooted in archaic understandings of mental health and legal consent, this old law prevented legally binding unions with those deemed 'insane' or institutionalized. It was originally meant to protect vulnerable patients from being taken advantage of by opportunistic suitors.
During the mid-20th century, thousands of old latch-style refrigerators were dumped in alleys and fields, tragically becoming airtight death traps for playing children. Wyoming, along with many other states, passed this sensible but oddly specific law to eliminate the suffocation hazard.
Because Wyoming is an open-range state with vast stretches of highway intersecting private grazing lands, leaving a gate open can result in deadly collisions between vehicles and wandering cattle. This highly practical law carries steep fines to ensure ranchers' livelihoods and motorists' lives are protected.
To prevent hunters from accidentally shooting one another in the dense wilderness, Wyoming law mandates that at least one highly visible garment must be worn. In recent years, the law was updated to allow fluorescent pink alongside the traditional blaze orange.