The most ridiculous laws still circulating across the country – 24/7 Wall St.

The United States prides itself on being a nation of laws, and it is almost universally agreed that laws are essential to ensuring the structure, order, security, and safety of society.

Most of the laws in the books are based on precedent, logic and common sense. However, some measures are puzzling and raise the question of how they became law in the first place and why they weren’t repealed.

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of some of the country’s most absurd and illogical laws, reviewing several legal and public-interest sources that have cited goofy legislation that remains in effect to our knowledge.

The origins of many of these laws are a mystery. A number of them involve animals. Although they may seem silly to read, do we really need a law to stop us from throwing a live moose out of a plane? – many were obviously adopted with the best intentions of protecting our non-human friends. For example, public-minded Arizona citizens saved a donkey from drowning after it fell asleep in an abandoned bathtub, then passed a law in hopes of preventing it from happening again. (These are the official pets and animals of each state.)

Some of the legislation was used to control women. In Michigan, women are not allowed to cut their hair without their husband’s permission. In California, they are prohibited from driving while wearing a dressing gown.

Click here to see the most ridiculous laws still in effect across the country

Other laws govern alcohol consumption, which may have roots in America’s temperance heritage. Profanity, meanwhile, is banned in funeral homes in Georgia — and if you’re at a wake in Massachusetts, you better watch your sandwich consumption. (You’d better be extra careful in the cities where law enforcement makes the most arrests.)