Michigan Dumb Laws

No Alligators on Fire Hydrants

Detroit has a local law that makes it illegal to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant. We don’t know who tried it, or why, but the rule made its way into the city’s legal code — just in case someone gets the urge to leash a reptile downtown. Source

No Drunks on a Train

If you’re visibly intoxicated, Michigan law says you can’t be on a train. Period. An early 20th-century law still prohibits anyone in an “offensive state of intoxication” from boarding or remaining on railcars. It may sound outdated, but technically, your beer-fueled Amtrak singalong could land you in trouble. Source

No Serenading

There’s an old ordinance in Kalamazoo that bans men from serenading their girlfriends. This strange rule likely came from efforts to limit public disturbances, but it’s still cited as one of the more romantic (and ridiculous) laws left over from a different era. Source

Vintage Radio Protections

Also in Detroit: it’s illegal to willfully destroy an old radio. Whether it’s a nod to preserving electronics or simply a strange artifact of local history, smashing your grandpa’s AM/FM relic could put you at odds with the law. Source

No Sunday Car Sales

Like in many states that we’ve researched, In Michigan it’s illegal to sell cars on Sundays. This “blue law,” enacted in 1953, was meant to give car dealership workers a guaranteed day off. And it’s still on the books. While neighboring states have scrapped similar laws, Michigan remains one of the few where Sunday browsing is fine, but closing the deal will have to wait until Monday. Source