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Sometimes certain laws in a country can make you wonder if they are fact or fiction.
Some rather bizarre “laws” are nothing more than a myth, while others are clearly defined.
Like any other country, Connecticut has some strange laws.
If you review the laws of any state, including Connecticut, you’re bound to find some confusing ones. (iStock)
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One rather famous strange Connecticut “law” concerns pickles.
Many articles online discuss the law in Connecticut that says a pickle must bounce to be considered a pickle.
The topic has been researched by many sources, including the Connecticut State Library and NBC CT.
Both point to the same article written in the Hartford Courant in 1948 as the source of the myth, where two pickle packers found themselves in legal trouble for selling pickles “unfit for human consumption.”
A strange “law” from Connecticut, which is actually a myth, stipulates that pickles must bounce. (iStock)
When “rotten” pickles were being tested, the then Food and Drug Commissioner, Frederick Holbrook, stated that a good test to determine whether a pickle was good or not was to “drop it with one foot” and see if it bounced.
A bouncy pickle is a good pickle.
When these pickles were dropped, they didn’t bounce but exploded, although the test wasn’t the cause of the legal problems. Numerous laboratory tests were also carried out.
Even though the pickle law is fictional, there are other strange laws in the state that are real.
Read about a few below.
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1. Limitations of a dumb array
In Meriden, Connecticut, minors are not trusted with stupidity.
Dumb string is often used to celebrate, but it can quickly cause a big mess.
In the city of Meriden, dumb rope cannot be sold to minors unless they are accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Details are provided in Chapter 175 of the Meriden Code.
The kids of Meriden, Connecticut aren’t allowed to sell dumb strings without their parents. (iStock)
If a store sells dumb string or products similar to it, it must be locked, kept behind the sales counter or “in some other way that restricts public access to such products.”
The fine for violating this law is $99.
2. Do not release balloons
There are many occasions where balloons are intentionally released. Many states have cracked down on this practice and passed laws restricting balloon releases or banning the act altogether.
To date, there are ten states, including Connecticut, that have some type of balloon release law, according to CBS News. Rhode Island, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware are the others.
Section 26-25C of the Connecticut General Statutes describes this law in detail.
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The law prevents the release of ten or more “helium or lighter-than-air gas balloons” into the atmosphere during a 24-hour period.
Although balloon releases may seem harmless, and the law against it may seem rather strange, celebratory balloons could represent danger to wild animals.
Animals could mistake the balloons for food, causing harm or, in certain cases, death, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes on its website.
Balloon strings can also be dangerous for animals because they could become entangled in them, the federal agency further notes.
Ten or more balloons may not be released into the air in Connecticut. (iStock)
3. Arcade Game Limitations
Did you know that Rocky Hill, Connecticut has a law that includes arcade games?
Details are provided in Chapter 81 of the city legislation.
The law describes a provision that “no more than four mechanical amusement devices” are allowed.
As part of the law, individuals, partnerships, corporations, clubs or associations may not “at any place within a permanent structure open to the general public or on the property of any club or association have any mechanical device for amusement without first obtaining a permit therefor.”
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“Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, no person shall have in any place within a permanent structure open to the public more than four mechanical amusement devices,” the law also states.
Violators of this law face a fine of $25 for each day of violation.
South Carolina is another state that has a strange arcade law. His law is specific to pinball. People under the age of 18 are not allowed to play the popular game.
