Strangeness

• For hundreds of years, the Chinese zealously guarded the secret of sericulture; imperial law decreed death by torture to those who disclosed how to make silk.

• In the state of Queensland, Australia, it is still constitutional law that all pubs must have a railing outside for patrons to tie up their horse.

• Lawn darts are illegal in Canada.

• Theaters in Glendale, California can show horror films only on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.

• No building in DC may be taller than 13 floors. This is so that no matter where in the city you are, you can see the monument to our first president, Washington.

• During the time that the atomic bomb was being hatched by the United States at Alamogordo, New Mexico, applicants for routine jobs like janitors, were disqualified if they could read. Illiteracy was a job requirement. The reason: the authorities did not want their trash or other papers read.In Turkey, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, anyone caught drinking coffee was put to death.

• In Italy, it is illegal to make coffins out of anything except nutshells or wood.

• Impotence is grounds for divorce in 24 U.S. states.

• The murder rate in the United States is 200 times greater than in Japan. In Japan no private citizen can buy a handgun legally.

• In Montana, it is a felony for a wife to open her husband's mail.

• In Arkansas, a man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month.

• In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth. In Mesquite, Texas it is illegal for kids to have unusual haircuts.

• Golf was banned in England in 1457 because it was considered a distraction from the serious pursuit of archery.In Alabama, dominoes may not be played on Sunday.

• It's against the law for a woman to drive in a house coat in California.

• In New Orleans, Louisiana, fire trucks are legally required to stop at all red lights.

• In Louisiana, biting someone with your natural teeth is "simple assault," while biting someone with your false teeth is "aggravated assault." Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

• The only acceptable sexual position in Washington D.C. is the missionary position. Any other sexual position is considered illegal.