Add NYC Soda Ban Idea To List of Dumb Laws

It’s just so random and that’s probably what was wrong with it. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been campaigning long and hard for his controversial soda law that would ban people from buying sugary soft drinks in cups larger than 16 ounces. If you wanted more than that you could buy two. Huh?

I guess in Bloomberg’s mind soft drinks are the cause of all the obesity problems in America. And he intended to tackle it head on in America’s largest city – New York until a judge stepped in and said not so fast. The judge ruled the ban on super-size soft drinks was "arbitrary and capricious."

Just think of it – if you went to a movie theatre you could load up on all the Skittles, Milk Duds and Red Dots you wanted, but don’t you dare think about getting a big soft drink.

So then what’s next? A ban on too much red meat? Too much TV? Too much texting?

It all sounds dumb – but here are a few real laws that were put into effect for whatever reason and are still on the books.

• In Maine – you may not step out of an airplane in flight.
• In Massachusetts there’s a law against snoring unless all bedroom windows are closed and locked.
• In Michigan – a woman may not cut her hair without her husband’s permission.
• In Minnesota – it’s illegal to sleep naked. Exactly who is enforcing that one?
• In New Hampshire – you may not run machinery on Sunday.
• In Pennsylvania – you cannot use dynamite to catch fish. Say what?
• In North Carolina – it’s illegal to fall asleep under a hair dryer in a salon.
• In Portland, Oregon you may pass thru an intersection no more than twice per night.
• In Hawaii – you may only have one alcoholic drink in front of you at a time.
• In Dunn, North Carolina – you’re not allowed to spit on a public street.
• In North Carolina – it’s illegal to have more than two bingo sessions a week and each one can last no more than five hours.
• In West Virginia – it’s illegal to sleep on a train. Maybe it’s a hobo law and probably not so dumb.