I'd love to know how it first came up, but let's agree that this shouldn't be allowed.
America's weirdest local laws have long been a stable of trivia books and viral Internet articles since the Web was in its infancy, but this may be the first attempt to put these bizarre codes to music. YouTube songsmith Jonathan Mann has been creating a song a day on his channel, and so he's had the chance to tackle a lot of subjects. When we last saw Mann, he was turning Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's amazing dissent in the notorious 'Hobby Lobby' case into a protest song. So, the law is clearly one of his favorite subjects, even if today's topic is of slightly less monumental importance.
Mann took his list from a Wired article on the subject, and the photos come from Olivia Locher, who was featured in that article. Locher is a photographer and artist who is doing a photo series entitled "I Fought The Law" that illustrates these bizarre regulations and laws, showing how absurd they are. If you recognize the photos, it's because they have been popular on the Internet since 2012, and are used to illustrate pretty much every single article about weird laws that has been written since.
This is a combination of Born To Run and my childhood fantasies. (via Olivia Locher)
I can't wait for Mann to update the song in five years, when hopefully a new verse will read "And in Texas, it's still illegal to use marijuana." Sorry to single you out, Texas. Feel free to prove me wrong.
(by Johnny McNulty)