6. Monkeys can’t smoke in Indiana
In 1924, smoking in public was proscribed in the state of Indiana, and in the city of South Bend a performing chimpanzee, as part of a show, lit and smoked a cigarette. The story was recounted in an article in the Notre Dame Law Review in 1927, which also reported that the chimpanzee was prosecuted for the offense, under the law which was meant to prevent humans from smoking in public. According to the author, Joseph P. McNamara, in an article entitled Animal Prisoner at the Bar, the chimpanzee was “arrested, tried, and fined five dollars”. Obviously, the animal didn’t have five dollars and it is believed that his owner paid his fine.
Indiana has other laws which can be regarded as, shall we say, somewhat pointless. One cannot purchase a drink at an Indiana bar and carry it to a table. A server must carry it instead. An automobile may not be purchased or traded on Sunday in Indiana (and several other states) as a result of Blue Laws, which were enacted and upheld in courts many times due to their causing, according to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Stephen Johnson Field, “periodical cessation of labor”. Because most Blue Laws are in effect on Sundays they are also known as Sunday Laws. Indiana also makes particularly vicious gossip illegal, though how it enforces that particular law and detects violations is a mystery.
