The Wild and Wacky Laws of Missouri

hello my name is Austin McConnell you may know me from such inspiring YouTube videos as a solid 20 minutes of useless information I'm here today to talk about the thrilling world of state and municipal government specifically from my neck of the woods the great state of Missouri known for its beautiful Rivers the Serene oark mountains the vibrant streets of St Louis Kansas City's championship football team as well as an array of small towns for those who for The Quiet life yes the show me state has a lot to offer especially if you're a fan of America's favorite pastime bureaucratic overreach because Missouri also hosts some of this country's most baffling legal edicts laws so nonsensical they'll make you question your grasp of reality itself so join me for the next 15 minutes as we embark on a journey through Missouri's most bizarre ridiculous and Arcane laws to see just how many are still inexplicably etched into the [Music] books you'll start in the year 1821 when Missouri first became a state you would think that still being in its infancy the written law would be free of legislative looniness but you would also of course be wrong because the first ever Missouri tax code included a penalty on bachelorhood single men aged 21 and older were charged $1 annually by the government simply for remaining unmarried while such attacks may seem absurd by modern standards there is historical precedent from ancient Rome to the Ottoman Empire even our old friends from England Bachelor taxes were also considered in the states of Delaware Georgia Minnesota Wisconsin and California though were never passed into law the idea behind the Missouri Bachelor tax was twofold first legislative morality the penalty was a passive aggressive way for the government to encourage men to marry and start families to help populate the frontier second as a way to raise revenue the higher rate of Taxation ensured that even though an unmarried man likely owned less property on average the government would still have a way into his pocketbook $1 might not seem like a lot but back then it actually accounted for close to half of the average man's to toal yearly taxes in a time when cold Hard Cash was hard to come by despite numerous claims that this law is still in effect Missouri repealed The Bachelor tax in 1822 replacing it with a 50 c pole tax on all men aged 21 to 65 charging a man for enjoying Solitude I thought this was the land of freedom but Missouri's Antiquated Oddities don't end there in the city of St Louis it was once illegal for a woman to be rescued from a fire unless she was fully clothed the law prohibited firefighters from offering assistance to women unfortunate enough to find themselves in a state of undress like say the middle of the night given the cultural standards of the 19th century even a night gown was only considered partially clothed what's that Sarah a fire broke out in your home while you were asleep better hope you can Shuffle over to the old Shi robe and throw on some day wear otherwise our hands are tied Old St Louis had a number of bizarre bylaws through the years in the 1950s it adopted a municipal ordinance that prevented Milkmen from running while on duty after all we wouldn't want any glass bottles being broken tough luck though if one of the homeowners on your daily rounds forgot to tie their dog up speaking of our four-footed friends Kansas City Missouri supposedly had a law on the books that banned the sale or install of bathtubs with feet that resemble animal paws this vicious factoid is often repeated online even by supposed legal experts but it doesn't appear to actually be true a cursory glance of the current Kanas city code of ordinances show that no such rule actually exists or even existed going back to at least the 1990s believe me I checked after wasting 2 weeks of my life on thorough investig ation I have concluded that this urban legend might have sprung from some kind of specific building code somewhere in the city that over time just became conflated with actual government policy regardless as things currently stand nobody in Kansas City cares about the Cosmetics of your bathtub that said the Kansas City Public Library Central Branch pointed me to section 290 of the 1928 city code which states emphatically no person shall sound or cause to be sounded any gong in or upon any Street Avenue alley sidewalk Park Public Square or other public place or in or upon any Piaza porch balcony steps or platform over upon near or adjoining any such street Avenues alley sidewalk Park Public Square or other public place so there's that if you happen to live in University City Missouri and are planning on decluttering ing your home you're going to want to hear this section 215. 2330 of the local city code makes it illegal for you to hold a garage sale in your front yard meaning yes it must be a garage sale in the truest sense or you could I guess invite Shoppers around back be warned though the law also stipulates that your sale may only last for 2 days and this only once per year so make it account maybe you're a Missouri resident looking to buy a car better not do it on Sundays Chief Missouri revised Statute 5781 120 makes it illegal to sell a motor vehicle on the first day of the week because that is of course the day for worship but we will make an exception if it is a manufactured house recreational motor vehicle motorcycle motor tricycle motorized bicycle electric bicycle alter main vehicle recreational off highway vehicle utility vehicle personal watercraft power sports vehicle washing Towing wrecking or repairing cars the sale of gas tires and repair parts or accessories or vehicle shows that are participated in by five or more franchise dealers or in towns or cities with five or fewer dealers a majority hey I don't make the laws I just read them you know what's illegal every day of the week in Missouri wrestling Missouri revised Statute 57817 6 any person commits the offense of bear wrestling if he or she wrestles a bear permits bear wrestling to be done on any premises under his or her charge or control promotes conducts or stages be wrestling advertises bear wrestling collects any admission fee for bear wrestling purchases sells or possesses a bear which he or she knows will be used used for bear wrestling trains a bear for bear wrestling subjects a bear to surg to surgical alterations for bear wrestling the offense of bear wrestling is a class A misdemeanor while we're on the subject of animals Perryville Missouri has quite a few rules for its citizens inside the city the only livestock allowed are horses cattle and chickens not in excess of the following limitations one full-sized animal per one open acre one small animal per 1/ half open acre no more than eight chicken hens may be kept on any lot smaller than 5 Acres Lots in excess of 5 Acres may have up to 12 chickens Lots in excess of 10 acres may have up to 20 chickens one of which may be a rooster provided there are no nuisance noise complaints generated by the surrounding properties the keeping of other poultry and fowl is strictly prohibited in Marceline Missouri the childhood home of Walt Disney all miners must observe an 11:00 p.m. curfew Sunday through Thursday but they get till midnight on the weekends and on a completely unrelated note Missouri revised Statute 196.85 6 provides a remarkably long list of definitions for various kinds of ice cream and until recently this specific statute also made it illegal in Missouri to misrepresent marger in or any other similar products as real butter Jefferson City has an old ordinance on the books that prohibits the wearing of pants that are saggy or drag below the ankle whenever walking on Municipal property section 220 2250 of the Overland Missouri city code expressly forbids the act of fortunetelling and necromancy don't get me started on what happened in 1961 that caused the town to adopt that little addendum despite a challenge in 1999 that went all the way to the Supreme Court it is still illegal to dance in pry Missouri schools and over in Mobberly Missouri it is illegal to disturb the piece by creating a noxious and offensive odor let's talk about moonshine Missouri revised Statute 311.50 5 allows adults age 21 and older to legally manufacture their own intoxicating liquor provided they do not exceed 200 gallons annually in a residence of two or more and up to 100 gallons if the adult lives alone however selling your homemade Spirits is still expressly prohibited but be warned Missouri revised statutes section 311 325 allows the possibility for miners to be charged with illegal possession of alcohol if they happen to take out the garbage and that garbage bag includes even a single empty bottle that once contained it feels like that one could be used nefariously to really ruin some kids's life the City of Springfield Missouri is evidently very concerned about the effects of model glue on society I feel I must let the law speak for itself section 78-2 55.2 of the city code is an entire section devoted to the substance it shall be unlawful for any person selling or offering for sale model glue to display the model glue on open shelves or counters in their business establishment in such a matter as to make the model glue accessible to customers or other members of the public it is also unlawful for any person to knowingly and intentionally sell or otherwise transfer possession of any type of model glue to any minor under the age of 18 years for any purpose whatsoever unless at the time of the sale or other transfer of possession such minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian and a written consent to such sale or transfer is signed by the parent or Guardian in the presence of the person making the sale or transfer provided however the preceding provision shall not apply where the model glue is sold delivered or given simultaneously with and as a part of a kit used for the construction of model airplanes model boats model automobiles model trains or other similar models in such cases the seller or transferer shall make a written record of such transaction showing the name address sex and age of the minor as well as the name and address of the consenting parent or Guardian which record must be kept available for inspection by the police for a period of at least 12 months from the date of sale or transfer additionally it shall be unlawful for any person to carry upon his person model glue unless the model glue is being transported from the place of purchase to his place of residence or business while we're in that zip code if you're looking to engage in fisticuffs with the volunteer umpire at your 8-year-old softball game you'd better take it outside of Springfield section 78- 413 a person commits the offense of harassment of a sports official if for the purpose of frightening or disturbing a Sports official the person communicates in writing or by telephone a threat to commit any felony confronts a sports official at a sporting event or sporting venue or on a nearby property such as a parking lot after the person has been asked to leave the event or venue or confronts a sports official and after having been told to leave the sports official's presence remains in the presence of the sports official just just leave the umpires alone section 78- 93 makes it illegal for a person under the age of 18 to possess a laser pointer except in the person's residence or when the laser pointer is temporarily transferred under direct supervision of a person over 18 years of age for educational or other lawful purposes it is also unlawful for any person to sell offer to sell lease give or otherwise provide a laser pointer to a person under the age of 18 and last but not least in excelsia Springs Missouri it is illegal to throw snowballs throughout the vast expanse of our great nation from the snowy reaches of Alaska to the Sandy Shores of Florida there lies a veritable smorgus Board of laws many wise some questionable and others well you decide this video is sponsored by Squarespace the all-in-one platform to build a beautiful website start the process with Squarespace blueprint their new guided design system answer simple questions about what you want your site to be then choose from a slew of beautiful layout and styling options that you can customize however you want if you've got an idea for a podcast their audio blocks feature makes setting one up a total Breeze and if you've got stuff to sell their online storefront takes the headache out of processing payments head to squarespace.com to start a free trial today then when you're ready to launch your site in full head over to squarespace.com austinmcconnell to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain

Channel: AustinMcConnell

Views: 342,089

Keywords: austin mcconnell, austinmcconnell, austinmcconel, austin mcconnel, useless information

Id: YmsDTAyw7PI

Length: 15min 10sec (910 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 27 2024