Twenty popular things in the world that are prohibited in the USA

The USA is a country of laws, and some of these laws are simply strange. For example, in Alabama, fighting bears is illegal. You cannot give rats in Montana, or fish in a barrel in Indiana. Writes about this The stacker.

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Some laws, like the ones just mentioned, are strangely comical to such an extent that you might wonder how legislators could write them at all. Other prohibitions can be attributed to religious laws that survived the era when piety was passed by law. In other cases, archaic and primitive laws that once met the norms of the times simply never erased from the laws as society modernized. For example, in Michigan, a woman cannot have her hair cut without her husband’s permission.

In many other cases, prohibitions make sense and are used to ensure public safety, strengthen public health, protect the environment, and prevent accidental killing, mutilation, poisoning, infection, arson or undermining. Federal law is universal in every corner of the United States, but the country as a whole is a collection of laws that are often controversial in one state and even in one municipality. Things that are perfectly legal for sale and possession in one state may lead to imprisonment in another. So what is banned in the USA?

Cuban cigars

Cuban cigars have long been considered the best in the world, but they were banned under the embargo of President John F. Kennedy in Cuba during the Cold War in 1962. However, when Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died in 2016, President Barack Obama eased some restrictions, which allowed some Americans to visit Cuba, buy cigars, smoke them and give them to friends and family or use them for personal consumption. However, it is still illegal to buy and sell Cuban cigars in the United States.

Red fish

By 1989, the population of red fish was so depleted that most Gulf states imposed strict limits on their catch. Also, red fish has long been one of the main dishes in New Orleans and throughout the south. However, fish extinction takes precedence over taste buds and traditions, and in 2007, President George W. Bush declared red fish to be protected from catch, which made it illegal to sell or consume fish caught in federal waters. Today, all Gulf countries, with the exception of the Mississippi, prohibit commercial fishing for red fish and limit the possibility of sport fishing.

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Spoil the money

You do not even need to destroy money with fire in order to be on the wrong side of the law. According to the Department of Finance, it’s illegal to even spoil the money, which means that a small mustache, painted on the face of George Washington on a $ 1 bill in your wallet, can entail up to six months.

Color photocopy of money

Color copying money is also illegal, even if it is not for fraudulent purposes. You should not only make color copies of money, but you cannot. The bill has a secret security code called a counterfeit protection system that warns photocopiers, printers, and even Photoshop that someone is trying to duplicate U.S. currency, which prevents machines and software from making copies.

Kinder Surprise

It's hard to imagine that there is a child in the world who doesn't smile when someone mentions Kinder Surprise eggs, but in the US it is true. Hollow chocolate eggs with a surprise toy are a childhood staple in England and other parts of Europe. However, US law dating back to the 1930s prohibits any candy with inedible ingredients inside due to the choking hazard it may pose, so you'd be hard-pressed to find an American child who's ever heard of a Kinder Surprise. To get around this ban, in 2017 Kinder developed a similar product called Kinder Joy for the US market, in which the toy and chocolate are sealed separately in an egg.

Foie gras

Foie gras are obtained by force-feeding ducks and geese with corn until their liver is enlarged and saturated with fats. In California, it is forbidden to use this dish, which was critically accepted by many in the restaurant industry, and in 2019, the US Supreme Court rejected all claims against the ban.

Alcoholic Energy Drinks

According to the American Psychological Association, alcoholic beverages should not contain caffeine—no alcohol-based energy drinks can contain stimulants. The makers of Four Loko came under intense attack in the late 2000s, when many deaths were attributed to the drink, which the company heavily marketed to young people.

Raw milk

In 1987, the FDA obligated first to pasteurize all milk sold for human consumption, which prohibited unpasteurized or raw milk. Milk laws vary from state to state, but most of them prohibit the sale of raw milk outside of business situations, but almost all states prohibit its sale in grocery stores.

Ham Turkey Ham

In 1976, The New York Times reported a strange but significant rivalry in the food industry with the advent of a new product known as turkey ham. They made it from turkey, but made it in such a way that it looked similar in appearance and taste to ham. This product has so angered the pig and cattle breeding industries that they have taken successful legal action, and this law remains strict and specific to this day. Among the many rules associated with this, it is indicated that the producers of the product should call it “turkey ham” and not just “ham”, and these words should immediately add the phrase “turkey jerky” on the label.

Lawn darts

Lawn Darts was a popular game in the 1980s that followed the same fundamental principle as the horseshoe game, but instead of horseshoes, large and heavy metal darts should be thrown. In 1987, unattended children in Riverside, California threw a lawn dart high in the air, and when it fell, it hit the 7-year-old girl in the head. This killed her, and darts on the lawn were banned forever.

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Candy cigarettes

Many middle-aged and older Americans grew up when candy-cigarettes were one of the main elements of childhood. When national tobacco sentiment began to change, the apparent marketing of cigarettes for children became taboo, but several attempts at a national ban failed. Although the word “cigarette” disappeared from packs after 1970, some states explicitly prohibit them.

Masks

According to Mid-Tennessee State University, "About 15 states have laws against masks, like many counties and municipalities." The first laws against wearing masks appeared in New York to deter crime in the mid-XNUMXth century, but the movement gained momentum with the advent of the Ku Klux Klan and similar terrorist organizations that flourished in anonymity. Today, mask laws are not targeted at specific groups, but are applied neutrally, mainly in attempts to prevent terrorists from acting during protests.

Cigarette machines

Once upon a time, cigarette vending machines were ubiquitous, serving smokers everywhere: from billiard rooms and bowling alleys to rest stops and campuses. Today, the FDA bans all cigarette machines, with the exception of businesses that prohibit minors from entering, such as strip clubs and bars. However, in some states, smokers are 21, not 18 years old, and many states generally prohibit cigarette machines, regardless of age.

Human clones

There are no federal laws prohibiting human cloning, but there are several regulations restricting the funding of projects related to human cloning.

Dog and cat fur

In the United States of America, it is illegal to import, sell, buy, manufacture, advertise, distribute, or transport any goods made from the hides or fur of dogs or cats. The only exception is deceased personal pets preserved through taxidermy.

Ivory

According to National Geographic, poachers kill around 30 elephants a year, mainly because of ivory in their tusks, despite bans from around the world that have existed for decades. The ivory trade has long been banned in the United States, but there are loopholes that allow, for example, people to legally sell old ivory items that were made or purchased before the ban was introduced.

Speed ​​Radar Detectors

For decades, radar detectors have been giving drivers instant notification that they need to press the brakes before the police appear in the rearview mirror. Radar jammers are everywhere illegal, and radar detectors are also banned in some states.

Flavored cigarettes

In 2009, the FDA banned the sale of flavored cigarettes under the Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The ban was based on evidence that young smokers are much more likely to start using flavored tobacco than regular cigarettes. The ban includes flavors or aromas such as peach, chocolate, lime, rum and pineapple.

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Exposing Animal Cruelty

Several states have laws in place to punish and prosecute whistleblowers and other abuses in the American meat industry. The laws criminalize the filming or audio recording of any agricultural facility or farm, the disclosure of what you saw at the enterprise as an employee, or the use of fraud to gain access to a room where animals are raised and housed.

Call non-meat meat

Some states, in particular the agricultural and livestock states of Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, are trying to ban the labeling of vegetarian food as "meat." As vegan and vegetarian food is gaining popularity every year, the collective meat industry wants labels like burger, sausage, jerky and hot dog to be made only for foods made from meat of animals.

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