Book review: The Emergency Sasquatch Ordinance by Kevin Underhill
This book leads to important questions, like "would zombie George Washington automatically outrank everyone in the US army?"
I did originally buy this for my uncle for Christmas, but, whaddya know, I kept hold of it. Don't worry, he got a book token instead.
This is a run through some very odd laws that have been passed throughout history. Better structured than most books of its type, it's arranged by date for older laws, then alphabetically by US state for modern American laws and then alphabetically by country for international laws. The book has also been checked, these laws aren't factoids the author has read in a source or heard through word-of-mouth, he's gone and checked that they were all actual laws at some point. The translation of the German is decent too.
I think the ancient laws are the most interesting, because, as the author hints at, if we could understand what was behind some of them, we understand those cultures better, but the whole book is interesting.
It's bitty, the way compilation books are, but it's good fun to dip in and out of, and gives backgrounds for most of the laws which mean, well they don't make sense, but at least make more sense. Definitely recommended.
(Note - I have followed the author's website (Lowering the Bar) since the days where this book was the odd law project. I would definitely recommend the website as well.)
The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities: Pizza Police, Illicit Fishbowls, and Other Anomalies of the Law That Make Us All Unsuspecting Criminals by Nathan Belofsky
The Book of Useless Information by Noel Botham
Uncle John's Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader by Bathroom Readers' Institute
You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News: Shocking but Utterly True Facts by Cracked.com
Zombie Fairy Tales: The Complete Collection by Kevin Richey
Wacky Laws, Weird Decisions, & Strange Statutes by Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts
Ludicrous Laws and Mindless Misdemeanors: The Silliest Lawsuits and Unruliest Rulings of All Times by Lance Davidson
You May Not Tie an Alligator to a Fire Hydrant : 101 Real Dumb Laws by Jeff Koon
When Do Fish Sleep? and Other Imponderables of Everyday Life by David Feldman
Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business by Fred S. Steingold
Not unexpectedly, I have read none of those, nor are they on my to be read list.
I did originally buy this for my uncle for Christmas, but, whaddya know, I kept hold of it. Don't worry, he got a book token instead.
This is a run through some very odd laws that have been passed throughout history. Better structured than most books of its type, it's arranged by date for older laws, then alphabetically by US state for modern American laws and then alphabetically by country for international laws. The book has also been checked, these laws aren't factoids the author has read in a source or heard through word-of-mouth, he's gone and checked that they were all actual laws at some point. The translation of the German is decent too.
I think the ancient laws are the most interesting, because, as the author hints at, if we could understand what was behind some of them, we understand those cultures better, but the whole book is interesting.
It's bitty, the way compilation books are, but it's good fun to dip in and out of, and gives backgrounds for most of the laws which mean, well they don't make sense, but at least make more sense. Definitely recommended.
(Note - I have followed the author's website (Lowering the Bar) since the days where this book was the odd law project. I would definitely recommend the website as well.)
The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities: Pizza Police, Illicit Fishbowls, and Other Anomalies of the Law That Make Us All Unsuspecting Criminals by Nathan Belofsky
The Book of Useless Information by Noel Botham
Uncle John's Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader by Bathroom Readers' Institute
You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News: Shocking but Utterly True Facts by Cracked.com
Zombie Fairy Tales: The Complete Collection by Kevin Richey
Wacky Laws, Weird Decisions, & Strange Statutes by Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts
Ludicrous Laws and Mindless Misdemeanors: The Silliest Lawsuits and Unruliest Rulings of All Times by Lance Davidson
You May Not Tie an Alligator to a Fire Hydrant : 101 Real Dumb Laws by Jeff Koon
When Do Fish Sleep? and Other Imponderables of Everyday Life by David Feldman
Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business by Fred S. Steingold
Not unexpectedly, I have read none of those, nor are they on my to be read list.