Community Corner

Crazy Maryland Laws You've Probably Violated

Did you ever look through your husband's pockets while he's asleep? That's illegal. So is taking a lion to the movies in Baltimore City.

From the "Craziest Laws in America" blog—here are some wacky Maryland laws.

  • A woman may not go through her husband's pockets while he is sleeping.
  • Men may not buy drinks for female bartenders.
  • It is illegal to sell condoms from vending machines with one exception: prophylactics may be dispensed from a vending machine only "in places where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises."
  • Thistles may not grow in one's yard.
  • Eating while swimming in the ocean is prohibited.
  • In the entire state, it is illegal to give or receive oral sex.
  • It is a violation to be in a public park with a sleeveless shirt, including joggers. $10 fine.
  • You cannot swear while inside the city limits of Baltimore.
  • Maryland requires that alcohol beverage writers be certified as experts by an agency of the state before they can receive product samples, which it limits to three bottles per brand.
  • Baltimore: Though you may spit on a city roadway, spitting on city sidewalks is prohibited.
  • Baltimore: It's illegal to take a lion to the movies.
  • Baltimore: It is a violation of city code to sell chicks or ducklings to a minor within one week of the Easter holiday.
  • Baltimore has regulations governing the disposal of hog's heads, pet droppings and oyster shells.
  • Columbia: You can not have an antenna exposed outside of your house yet you can have a 25' satellite dish. Though clotheslines are banned, clothes may be draped over a fence.
  • Gypsies should steer clear of Caroline County, MD, where it's a $100 fine or six months in the can for "forecasting or pretending to foretell the future."
  • In Baltimore it's illegal to block the sidewalk with a box. But the offense only carries a $1 fine.
  • In Baltimore it is illegal to throw bale of hay (or of anything else) out a second-story window. That gets you a $20 fine.
  • In Baltimore it's illegal to play professional croquet before 2 p.m. on Sunday. The law also applies to professional quoits.
  • In Baltimore it is illegal to mistreat oysters.
  • In Baltimore it is illegal to wash or scrub sinks no matter how dirty they get.
  • In Halethrope, MD, kisses longer than one second are illegal.
  • Ocean City: A law from the early 1900s prohibits men from going topless on the Boardwalk.


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