10 Weird Pacific Northwest Laws Still on the Books

Killing Bigfoot Is a Felony in Skamania County, Washington

A local law, adopted by Skamania County on April 1, 1969, made it illegal to kill or harm Sasquatch within county limits. It sounds like a joke, but the ordinance was entirely serious, with fines of $10,000 and up to five years in prison. In 1984, the ordinance was updated, downgrading the killing from a felony to a misdemeanor and establishing a Sasquatch refuge. It covers a stretch of the Cascade Range east of the Columbia River Gorge.

In 1991, Whatcom County adopted its own version, formally declaring the county a Sasquatch protection and refuge area to prevent what the resolution called “monster hunts.” It means that two separate Pacific Northwest counties independently decided that the most pressing wildlife conservation issue of their era was a creature whose existence has never been confirmed. The laws remain in effect today. Somehow, they were never broken.

Dancing and Drinking at the Same Time Is Still Regulated in Lynden, Washington

Lynden is a small agricultural town located in Whatcom County, close to the Canadian border, and for most of its history, it has adhered to a stringent local ordinance prohibiting the simultaneous consumption of alcoholic beverages and dancing. You can drink. You can dance. Doing both at once was where the law drew the line.

The ordinance traced back to the town’s conservative Dutch Reformed roots, and one city councilmember on record described dancing as something “evil” and likely to lead to adultery. Some accounts credit the law as partial inspiration for the 1984 film Footloose, though that connection is disputed. Lynden became slightly less rigid in 1995; nevertheless, people need to have a city permit to organize public dances, which must end by 1 a.m. (midnight on Saturdays), and the city also officially forbids “immoral or indecent dancing.” The permit costs $10 and is a real document you can download from the city’s website.

Displaying a Hypnotized Person in a Shop Window Is Illegal in Everett, Washington

This one is specific enough to make you wonder what happened for the law to be enacted in the first place. Under Everett Municipal Code 9.24.010, it is unlawful to display a person under hypnosis in any shop window or any public space outside the hall or theater where the performance is taking place. The code is a remnant of the early 1900s, when hypnosis shows were a popular form of entertainment and, apparently, some performers found creative ways to advertise. The code has never been repealed.

If you are thinking about putting on a hypnosis show in Everett and want to use your subject as window dressing, the city of Everett is one step ahead of you.

X-Ray Shoe Fitting Was Banned in Washington in 1957

From the 1920s through the 1950s, shoe stores across the country used fluoroscope machines to fit customers. You would slip your foot inside, look through a viewer, and see a live X-ray image of your foot inside the shoe. Salespeople loved them. Customers found them fascinating.

Eventually, radiologists pointed out that nobody was tracking the cumulative radiation dose being absorbed by the feet of children shopping for school shoes. Washington outlawed the practice in 1957, and it remains banned under state safety regulations.

The machines were never intended to be used for any medical purposes, meaning that there was no dose limit or any kind of oversight. The legislation that replaced this practice is, in hindsight, among the more sensible entries on this list, though it reads strangely now that the machines no longer exist and even more so for those who don’t know why the law exists in the first place.

Juggling Without a License Is Illegal in Hood River, Oregon

Hood River sits at the western end of the Columbia River Gorge and is well known for windsurfing and fruit orchards. Apparently it’s also known for a very specific concern about unsanctioned juggling. A local law prohibits juggling in public without a license. It’s not clear how many juggling licenses have been issued or whether a juggling license has ever been revoked. Either way, just make sure your paperwork is in order if you get the urge to toss multiple objects in the air in a synchronized fashion.

Ministers in Marion County, Oregon Cannot Eat Garlic or Onions Before Sunday Sermons

At some point, someone in Salem, the capital city of Oregon, decided that clergy members needed dietary guidance ahead of their Sunday duties. This law states that it is illegal for ministers to eat garlic or onions before performing a sermon on Sundays. The practical concern is obvious enough. The fact that it required legislation is less obvious. It makes you wonder just how bad ministers’ breath had to get for this to end up on the books.

Marion County is also known for the walking-backward-while-eating-a-donut law. Do with that information what you will.

Selling Dyed Chicks and Rabbits Is Illegal in Oregon

Each spring, pet stores in other states used to provide baby chicks and rabbits dyed in pastel colors for Easter, a marketing practice that sold well and ended badly for the animals involved. It’s illegal to offer artificially colored chicks, ducklings, or rabbits in Oregon, a prohibition aimed directly at the impulse-buy holiday animal trade.

It is one of the less funny entries on this list, but it does have a very clear purpose. It also reflects Oregon’s longstanding agricultural tradition and an early recognition that novelty animals tend to be released or neglected once the holiday passes. It is still on the books, and that’s probably a good thing.

Fishing from the Back of a Camel Is Illegal in Idaho

Idaho has exceptional fishing. Thousands of miles of rivers and streams and a world-class trout habitat. But somewhere along the line, it seemed appropriate to the government of Idaho to declare that fishing while sitting on the back of a camel was forbidden in the whole state. This statewide prohibition exists alongside a separate Boise city ordinance banning fishing from the back of a giraffe, which raises more questions than it answers about the state law.

No one knows where the law came from. Some believe it’s the result of circus traveling through the region, when exotic animals were occasionally used in publicity stunts. Whether that is the origin or not is hard to confirm. In any case, if you find yourself in Idaho with a camel and a fishing rod, you have a hard choice ahead of you.

Frowning in Public Is Technically Illegal in Pocatello, Idaho

In its efforts to promote itself as the “Smile Capital of the World,” the city of Pocatello decided to back that claim with some real legislation. A local law makes it unlawful for either pedestrians or drivers to exhibit any “frowns, grimaces, scowls, threatening and glowering looks, gloomy and depressed facial appearances,” because such expressions reflect unfavorably on the city’s reputation.

Pocatello is just an ordinary city in southeastern Idaho, with no signs of compulsory cheerfulness anywhere. While the ordinance is not enforced, it’s still in the municipal code, meaning that having a bad day in Pocatello will bring you dangerously close to being a criminal. The city has leaned into the history with some good humor over the years, which seems like the right response to passing a law about frowning.

Cannibalism Is Legal in Idaho Under Certain Conditions

Most states don’t have laws specifically addressing cannibalism because the offenses linked to it are already covered. Idaho is one of the few states that made a statute concerning cannibalism, and according to it, it’s an offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

There’s a twist, though. The law allows cannibalism “under life-threatening conditions as the only apparent means of survival.” It is the one entry on this list where the law is stranger than the rule it was trying to establish. It’s illegal to eat someone. Unless you really have to.