Silliness in Lawmaking: Pantaloon Prohibitions and an Abundance of Anthems 

"Insufficiently anthemed!" Possibly my new favorite phrase

Those “yo-yo’s” you mentioned as I’m sure you know are not the ones used as toys. They are automatic reels that allow you to run multiple lines at the same time. Similar to market fishing or hunting.

Loved this! It brought back memories of a newspaper article in the Rochester, NY Democrat & Chronicle about silly laws still on the books in Rochester. One that caught the eye of one of my brothers and a friend of ours was that it was legal to drive a herd of cows on city streets as long as one also provided a means to clean up after them. Precocious teenage boys that we were, we immediately set out to find a way to test that law and maybe see if we could get it repealed by actually following it. We gave up after finding no expedient, inexpensive way to get even a handful of cows to the city limits. We weren't spoiled rich kids (or even unspoiled ones), and we couldn't afford to rent trucks to transport a borrowed bunch of cows to the city; walking them 10+ miles from the nearest dairy farm would take too long. Even if we'd managed to figure that one out, none of us had ever been within 10 feet of even one cow, much less tried to get her to go anywhere, so it was unlikely that we'd have been able to convince any farmer to let us borrow his cows. And, finally, the whole point of the adventure was to see if we would, in fact, be allowed to drive cows on city streets as long as we followed the law about cleaning up after them, and it occurred to us that the three of us wielding shovels would leave no one to drive the cows. So, in the end, it came down to a lot of laughing and not much action. But hey, a boy can dream, right?

I love the Baskin Robins analogy. I worked at one while in high school. And that scenario played out more times than you’d think.

The New Hampshire part reminded me of Lake Wobegon - "the little town where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average”.

Thank you. My little town's first ordnance was "You can't walk down the streets and have an ice cream cone in your back pocket." Evidently, there was a guy luring horses down the street and then taking off with them. God Bless and stay safe.

I was born and lived in NH. I never knew a state song for NH. Again it is history that needs to be remembered.

At the end of 1970, during a rather brutal (for Austin, Texas) winter, girls were being sent home because by the time school started, it was above 32º. The rule was that girls couldn't wear pants in school if it were above freezing. But when these girls left home to go to school it was below, sometimes even still in the 20s. Now, remember, we are talking about Central Texas and, more than a few times, even just a few days before, it had been in the 60s during the day. The rule was finally changed to allow girls to wear 'pant suits' in school. I'm happy to say that I got to wear pants, and be more covered than in a dress, the last semester of high school. My sister, on the other hand, 5 grades behind me, wore shorts and jeans all through high school.

The yo-yo fishing law refers to a spring loaded automatic reel usually hung from a tree when a fish tugs at the baited hook it releases a pawl and sets the hook

I noticed the Penguin in a few episodes. I always look for the US Merchant Marine cover badge, since I am a retired officer. Now I am a proud Clark College Penguin attending here in Vancouver, Washington (State), the older of the two Vancouver's on the west coast. If your penguin has no name, may I suggest Oswald. The name of our school mascot.

As a NH resident, our elementary school music teacher tried to teach us at least three of the songs, but it was a losing battle with sixth graders who were far more interested in Bon Jovi.

When we moved to Texas in 1971, I remember my older sister being sent home from high school for the heinous offense of... wait for it... wearing JEANS and not a dress or skirt! The next year, that ban went into the bin, and many girls started wearing jeans by the 1972 Fall semester. So, my sister was a latter-day Suffragette of sorts!

The greatest pleasure, other than THG enthusiasm for history and pirates, is the constant information added to my simple brain daily, thank you THG & CREW!!!🙏👍👻

There should be a law... Easy to say, but very hard to undo afterward.

The yo-yo for fishing is actually a device used for fishing. Not the toy. It resembles a yo-yo. You hang it in a tree and set the line. When a fish is hooked and pulls on it. It automatically retracts and pulls the fish in.

Ultimately all laws must be enforced at the point of a sword, make sure you make them wisely and sparingly.

My grandmother used to run my home town's annual parade. She banned the throwing of candy from floats after she saw a child nearly run over by the very same float's wheels.

The Amarillo Public School system didn't allow girls to wear pants until 1970. When it was passed, it was defined as "full pant suits, cut differently from the boy's trousers. And no jeans until 1975, my senior year. It was so hard to go to recess in elementary school because you had to wear a dress and you needed to wear shorts under them.

@7:36. Actually, a yo-yo is also a fishing device. It's basically a spring-loaded trap for fish. You attach it to a tree and when the fish bites the bait it pulls them out of the water and they hang there until you collect the fish. Several states have made it illegal to fish with a yo-yo and it's actually not a dumb law, from an environmental point of view. These devices tend to get tangled in trees and left behind. They also tend to attract birds that then get caught when they eat the fish. If people would use them as design, they wouldn't be a problem, because you would be nearby to immediately collect the fish and you wouldn't leave trash behind, but people like to leave them out all night, then come back to get them in the morning.

I certainly hope that on the list of Tennessee state songs they've included "All My Ex's Live In Texas", which includes the lines: All my ex's live in Texas That's why I reside in Tennessee 🙂

Well done, sir, we laughed out loud many times. The bus tour breaking down in Connecticut was a nice touch! We have to laugh at ourselves, and wonder what future generations will be laughing about us one day.

The uselessness of government is on full display here.

Good way to start a Monday morning!

When I was growing up, there was a joke about Dubuque, Iowa. Supposedly they had an old law still in effect, which said that when driving a horseless carriage downtown, you were supposed to fire a shotgun round into the air at every stop sign.

IIRC there was an incident in 1991 with Esther Williams when she was turned away from a country club to which she belonged for wearing pants. She was supposed to be the guest of honor for a charity fund-raising event. It got a lot of publicity at the time, but has since been forgotten.

Absinthe that contains thujone in any measurable amounts is illegal in the United States. Since Thujone is what wormwood imparts to absinthe, there are many aficionados of the beverage that contend anything marked 'Absinthe' in the U.S. sold legally really isn't absinthe at all.

New Hampshire and Tennessee don't have a State Songs, they have a State Albums.

Priceless and the best HG yet. As a NH resident, this is not surprising given there are only 400 NH State House members each with their own obscure idea of what laws NH should have.

The dysfunction of government is history that should be forgotten.

In Hartford, the capitol of my home state Connecticut, it is illegal to cross the street while walking on your hands. I would LOVE to hear the back-story behind this law!!

It is still illegal to leave your horse without tying it to a hitching post in Steubenville, Ohio. And there isn't any hitching post left.

It was not the yo-yo you pictured but rather a winding device that you hung on a limb. When the fish bit the line was pulled out but the device pulled back and the line yo-yo 'ed in and out keeping the line to the fish tight.

As for the ban on bear wrestling, the response might be “If it had NEVER happened, we wouldn’t need the ordinance.”

Here is an interesting law. I am in Wisconsin & my aunt told us that margarine was illegal here until around the 80’s (from my teachers I heard the 70’s). At one point there was a margarine smuggling ring in my hometown since we sit on the border with Illinois. When it was decriminalized it had to be pink so you could tell the difference from butter. 🤷🏾‍♀️. Only in Dairyland. Oh I am glad we only have 1 state song which is 1 of our School songs and our state rally cry “ON WISCONSIN”!

Love this channel. Greetings from Belleville

Rick and Ron Shaw were great guys. They were friends of the family and stopped by for dinner from time to time, they were mighty kind about letting me sing with them. “New Hampshire, naturally” is a terrific song, I still sing a lot of their stuff and love it. There’s song about the Concord coach, which helped team the west, and is a staple in most every film and television show, and they wrote a great song about the day the tall ships game for the bicentennial! They had great sense of humor, and were really nice fellows who deserve to be remembered.

More silly laws, please. I mean more presentations on silly laws, not to make fun of them, rather because they deserve to be remembered - and perhaps learned from. Many thanks for these two.

Very entertaining! Thank you. Also the way you pronounce "p" is unique and it was entertaining that there were so many "p" words in the first segment. Keep them coming.

My understanding fishing yoyo's are not the toy's people play with. They are a type of spring loaded reel you hang from a tree. A fish snare with a hook. Similar to limb line fishing.

Can clearly remember the fall day in 4th grade (1972?) when the mimeographed form was passed out in class announcing girls could start wearing pantsuits (or pants under your dresses/skirts). Was one of the happiest days of my school days. My mother so agreed. She thought it was asinine on the snowiest days in the Midwest, her daughter could not wear pants to school.

In Brewton, Alabama there is a law making it illegal to operate a motor boat on main street. While this seems a silly law, when one understands the frequency of flooding in that south Alabama town, the law makes perfect sense.

Another remarkably interesting and informative video. Thanks again for posting these unique videos.

I've only watched one minute of this, but am reminded of when my dad's old friend, who was my neighbor while getting his Masters at UNM Law School, pointed out that there's a law on the books (I don't recall the location) that it's illegal to walk your alligator on a Sunday.

Being a NH native, I’m not surprised we have so many state songs… we have so many people form “away” who want to make NH just like where they escaped from! (I’m sorry that my bias is showing so much!!!) A few pronunciation points: Concord… KAHN KURD with emphasis on the first syllable. Rivier… RIV EE AIR emphasis on the middle syllable. And yes, we / I have troubles when we go to other parts of the country! (Most noticeably arriving and San Fransisco and asking what the quickest way to Concord, VA [Pronounced as we do in NH] was!!! “What?!?” “Where?!?” “Never heard of it!”) Wonderful as always!!! Keep up the good work!!!

One wonders if the horse reins had to be attached to a horse in order to avoid the trouser ban.

That is how coach Paul Bryant got his nickname Bear because that is how he got his nickname by wrestling a bear at a sideshow attraction back in the day. In Alabama this was before the law was passed by making it illegal

New Hampshire's next license plates may say "Write A New State Song Or Die" . . .a lot of "stupid laws" are actually judicial decision precedents, where a case is decided on some point which fits that particular case. For instance, let's say that some enthusiastic member of the Society for Creative Anachronism is wearing a suit of armor on a Los Angeles sidewalk, and is dragged into court for injuring someone by bumping them with a steel-plated elbow. While the case would be negligence causing injury, a finding against the defendant would set the precedent (and prompt the headlines) that "wearing a suit of armor has been outlawed in Los Angeles."

I propose an official New Hampshire poem: The Old Man in the Mountain, a wonderment to all Tis a shame no one visits after it did fall

My town has a leash law ordinance that requires a dog owner to carry a bag for poop pickup, but does not require the owner to USE the bag.!

I never expected to hear my old elementary school and music teacher mentioned in an episode of THG!

The Guy of History deserves a law requiring the almighty algorithm to provide more views, likes, and shares. Educated he Be

I enjoyed it and Love what you've done. Thank you for including Rocky top to your presentation

For some reason, in 2015, my state if Michigan officially got rid of the law that stated it was illegal to tie the leash of an alligator to public structures; fire hydramts, telephone poles, etc...

All the time and money spent on these anthems is an excellent reason why so many Americans are totally fed up with government spending and the rest of the way elected officials spend their time.

The town I grew up in, had a law that a woman on her period wasn't allowed to walk on main Street because the sent would scare the horses.

The South Carolina law against fishing with Yoyos does have real viability as a yoyo could be utilized as an automatic fishing rod, especially if the coil spring is replaced with a stronger one.

I read once of a silly law here in Florida making it illegal to park an elephant in a metered parking space. I assume the Ringling Brothers Circus had something to do with this. 😄

I bought a 69 Ford Maverick, the first year they were manufactured. It was similar to the Pinto but bigger. Still, when trucks passed you on the road, the car shook and it seemed to rise. The Pinto came out in 1971. My sister had a yellow Pinto and had a terrible accident where she rear ended the car in front. The Pinto ended upside down and she flew inside the car to the hatch back area. No seat belts then. She wasn't hurt other than bruises but, the passengers in the other car ended up in the hospital. At that time we didn't know there was a problem with the gas tank in those cars. After totaling her car, my sister got another Pinto, a powder blue, and had it for years. Never any mechanical problem with either car. THIS COMMENT ABOUT FORD'S PINTO CARS, WAS MEANT FOR ANOTHER HISTORY GUY VIDEO "HISTORY OF THE FORD PINTO". SOMEHOW IT ENDED IN THE HISTORY OF THE PANTALOONS.

Indiana had "Rat Day" on the books...setting aside a day each year to kill rats. Did a story on it as a reporter....and they removed it. Darn.

One more story for the list of things that need to be remembered is WHAT DID SHE DO that earned her a Medal of Honor?

I would assume that the law prohibiting sea urchins on lobster boats in Maine was enacted to prevent the illegal harvesting of sea urchins that get caught in lobster traps.

In the 60s in schools in Oklahoma City girls were not allowed to wear pants and they enforced it. I had culottes that had buttons that I had to keep closed during school

What a great episode, reminds me of one my my hometown of SW Kansas where there was a law on the books that if you were driving a car into town you were required to first stop at the beginning of Main Street (because don't all little towns have a Main Street?) and walk the length of the street (about a mile) letting people know you were about to drive a car into town. Ostensibly this was because cars were still a relative rarity and the city fathers didn't want to spook the horses ;-). Sadly this law was taken off the books several years ago :-(.

I hope the History Guy knows that a fishing Yoyo is not the same as the toy.

Loved the episode. We locally have a law that also prevents the throwing of candy from parade floats. It was enacted after a child slipped through a parade barrier and was injured by a parade float trying to retrieve candy that was lying in the street.

For the NH state song, I would go with "The Old Man of the Mountain" with such lyrics as, "His feet are bare, He wears long hair, They say he's as mad as an old March Hare, But his cares are none, And he owes no one". And there is a good Betty Boop Cartoon that uses the song.

Joseph Jacobs captured the silliness very well in his short story Master of All Masters. May I suggest a history lesson on The children stories and rhymes which keep the secrets of revolutionary thought. Pretty interesting and entertaining. Thanks for all you do History Guy! Happy New Era to you and yours! May it be filled with health and happiness!

Good morning History Guy. Can't wait to watch your video on Friday (11/11/22), Veteran's Day. OS1(SW/AW) USN Retired.

In New Zealand it was once legal to urinate on the outside wheel of a wagon but not the one closest to the curb...apparently.

Nobody does a better job at lampooning this sort of thing than Monty Python, with their Minister of Silly Walks, the Department of Arguments, and so on.

My town has a law on the books that chewing gum in public after 10pm results in a 1.25 fine.

"Insufficiently anthemed" should be the official New Hampshire motto. Failing that, someone should write a song on this theme and submit as a new honorary state song.

The official state song of Oklahoma is "Oklahoma" by Rogers and Hammerstein. The official state song of Georgia is "Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles. New York's official state song is an effing advertising jingle. New Jersey is the only state without an offical state song.

Ironically, there are towns on the Riviera that prohibit women from wearing "burkinis" (modesty-protecting swim wear). Plus ca change. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp used to air "This Is The Law" which highlighted short vignettes of "the lawbreaker" (a.k.a., Paul Soles, the voice of Spiderman and Rocket Robin Hood). Each ended the same way, with Soles being hauled away by a cop. A panel of lawyers then had to guess what unlikely law had been broken.

Fishing yo-yos are a thing. They're outlawed in some places because they're frequently unattended which has the potential for waste of aquatic life and predators who may attempt to feed on the caught fish.

Yep, I knew you were cool Lance. I see in the background the Stay Puft marshmallow man and the TARDIS. Sweet!

An episode entitled "silliness in lawmaking" could have gone on for days!

My home town had some pretty stupid laws. It was illegal to walk on main street with a lunch pail because down town didn't want to be seen as the blue collar community that it's always been. Fortune telling was illegal till I was in highschool (20 years ago). Thank you, that was an interesting video, I'm glad I stumbled onto your channel.

In my home state of Oklahoma it's illegal to hunt dolphin's.

My most profound and respectful appreciation of The History Guy prompts me to suggest that you collaborate with a publishing enterprise to produce digital-catalogues incorporating the heraldry of individual State Flags, Seals, etc. along with the genesis of official State Songs / Anthems. I suggest OREGON as an initial test-case.

The “silly” law in South Dakota making it illegal to throw candy from a parade float is not as silly as it seems. The intent was to prevent children from being run over by floats when they would run out into the street to retrieve mis-thrown candy.

New Hampshire must be a hell of a place for so many songs to be written about it.

Once again -thank you for history so entertainingly wrapped

At one point, it was allegedly illegal to have a red automobile in Minneapolis, MN.

Always enjoyable! Your video tour of NH showed off the beauty of the state very nicely.

At 04:00 there is the "no entry" sign, "sauf 🚲". French "sauf" = "except for." The Germans, however, say "sauf" is the imperative of "drinking in excess." (Same as in Dutch. Drinken = to drink, zuipen = to drink heavily. It is etymology that deserves to be remembered.)

I've heard of a law in Arkansas that it is illegal for the Arkansas River to leave it's banks (flood). I kept imagining paper coffee cups, full of river water, handcuffed together in a jail cell.

NH could simply institute a "State Album". Problem solved.

I heard of a municipal regulation in some U.S. small city that forbid -men- to wear patent leather shoes to avoid they look under women's skirts. EDIT : In Cleveland, Ohio, a city ordinance prohibits women from wearing patent leather shoes in public. The reasoning back in the day was that reflection from the shiny surface could provide accidental up-skirt glimpses.

I don't know if this is still true, but Florida at one time had a law that made it illegal to shave while driving! They were worried about distracted driving decades before the cell phone was invented!

Many communities ban throwing candy from floats in parades due to safety issues. Too many kids get run over for candy.

I live in Emporia KS and there is or was a law the stated that before a woman could drive in-to town her husband had to call the police and fire department to let them know then when driving the husband had to walk in front of the car waving flags.

*all state songs should be easily identifiable even whilst played on a kazoo*

BEAUTIFUL OHIO is the official state song of Ohio. Decades ago I was a member of the All-Ohio Boys Band. We played that tune over and over and over for what seemed like hours during the Miss Ohio beauty pageant at the Ohio State Fair. Needless to say I still cringe when hearing it.

Perhaps people can come up with songs about these laws and then weird Al can do a parody of McCartney: You'd think that people would have had enough of silly law songs. As for New Hampshire and Tennessee sounds like they could have a music festival simply around their state songs.

Knowing there is a law against bear wrestling means at one time someone said: "TOO MANY OV MY BOYS ARE DYING WRESTLING THE BEAR!" That is hiSTORY that deserves to be remembered!

I grew up in Oklahoma. When I was a teen we found that it was illegal for a girl to take a bite of her boyfriend's hamburger, it was illegal for a girl to sit in her boyfriend's lap (that wouldn't stand up in court), and the bizarre "if one train meets another train on the same track, one can't leave until the other is gone". There were many more and I hope some legislature has gotten rid of them. In Texas, it's still illegal to sell non-food items on Sunday. You can't even buy toilet paper.

This is very entertaining. As the history guy I would like to see you do a deep dive into the following laws throughout the South prohibiting "reckless eyeballing," specifically aimed at preventing black men from ogling attractive white women without severe consequences. I first heard of these laws from a Washington Post article back in the 90s. Initially I thought it was a joke, some reporter pulling the public's leg. But then I realized it was real and rather sinister. Just a suggestion. Keep up the good work

Just a tiny name quibble. The state senator was Rose Anne Vuich (pronounced VOO ich). She was my state senator when I became old enough to vote, and as a Democrat in what is the most conservative part of the state, she never got less than 70% of the vote, because she was so damned good at her job. In fact, in her final election, the Republicans didn't even bother to field a candidate.

I never knew I was such a rebel at 11 years old! Wore pants every single day in Paris when we visited there in 1970 lol! I was a tomboy and I honestly don't remember a time when I was forced to wear dresses. No, not even to school.