In a whim­si­cal explo­ration of the world’s most pecu­liar reg­u­la­tions, “Crazy Laws” unveils a col­lec­tion of statutes that, although may once have held sig­nif­i­cance, today large­ly bemuse. From the 1872 Scot­tish man­date for­bid­ding drunk­en­ness while super­vis­ing cows, hors­es, car­riages, or steam engines—interestingly omit­ting sheep—to Mis­souri’s pro­hi­bi­tion against trav­el­ing with an uncaged bear, the chap­ter high­lights the diverse ways soci­eties attempt to main­tain order and safe­ty. In locales as var­ied as Vic­to­ria, Aus­tralia, and Barcelona, Spain, pub­lic behav­iors are tight­ly con­trolled, from fly­ing kites to shirt­less­ness, reflect­ing each soci­ety’s unique con­cerns and moral com­pass.

The chap­ter fur­ther delves into laws that anchor them­selves deeply in cul­tur­al and reli­gious beliefs. For instance, the strin­gent adher­ence to con­ser­v­a­tive val­ues in the Unit­ed Arab Emi­rates, where not only pub­lic swear­ing but also send­ing offen­sive emo­jis are out­lawed. Sim­i­lar­ly, the con­cept of blue laws in the Unit­ed States, which restrict­ed com­mer­cial activ­i­ties on Sun­days to hon­or the Sab­bath, under­scores the inter­twin­ing of faith with gov­er­nance.

Arkansas’s insis­tence on the pro­nun­ci­a­tion of its name, the pecu­liar reg­u­la­tions against sand­cas­tle build­ing in places like Spain and the US, and Carmel, Cal­i­for­ni­a’s stip­u­la­tion for high-heel per­mits exem­pli­fy local­ized attempts at pre­serv­ing com­mu­ni­ty stan­dards and safe­ty. More eccen­tric laws, such as Ska­ma­nia Coun­ty, Wash­ing­ton’s pro­tec­tion of Big­foot and Chi­na’s ban on rein­car­na­tion with­out gov­ern­ment con­sent, reflect the broad­er soci­etal and polit­i­cal con­texts influ­enc­ing leg­is­la­tion.

The chap­ter also touch­es upon out­dat­ed or seem­ing­ly irrel­e­vant laws still on the books, like Okla­homa’s ban on sim­u­lat­ed sex acts with buf­faloes, and Sin­ga­pore’s strict reg­u­la­tions around chew­ing gum. This dive into leg­is­la­tion that ranges from sen­si­ble to sur­re­al illus­trates not just the ever-evolv­ing nature of soci­ety, but also the unique quirks that char­ac­ter­ize dif­fer­ent com­mu­ni­ties around the globe. Whether dri­ven by prac­ti­cal­i­ty, cul­tur­al preser­va­tion, or out­right whim­sy, these laws serve as a tes­ta­ment to the com­plex tapes­try of human civ­i­liza­tion.