Dumb Maryland Laws That You've Maybe Violated

From the "Craziest Laws in America" blog—here are some wacky Maryland laws.

• A woman may not go through her husband's pockets while he is sleeping.
• Men may not buy drinks for female bartenders.
• It is illegal to sell condoms from vending machines with one exception: prophylactics may be dispensed from a vending machine only "in places where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises."
• Thistles may not grow in one's yard.
• Eating while swimming in the ocean is prohibited.
• In the entire state, it is illegal to give or recieve oral sex.
• It is a violation to be in a public park with a sleeveless shirt, including joggers. $10 fine.
• You cannot swear while inside the city limits of Baltimore.
• Maryland requires that alcohol beverage writers be certified as experts by an agency of the state before they can receive product samples, which it limits to three bottles per brand.
• Baltimore City: Though you may spit on a city roadway, spitting on city sidewalks is prohibited. You may not curse inside the city limits.
• Baltimore: It's illegal to throw bales of hay from a second-story window within the city limits.
• Baltimore: It's illegal to take a lion to the movies.
• Baltimore: (1898) -Park Rule 6 It is a violation of city code to sell chicks or ducklings to a minor within 1 week of the Easter holiday.
• Baltimore has regulations governing the disposal of hog's heads, pet droppings and oyster shells.
• Columbia: You can not have a antenna exposed outside of your house yet you can have a 25' satellite dish. Though clotheslines are banned, clothes may be draped over a fence.
• Gypsies should steer clear of Caroline County, Md., where it's a $100 fine or six months in the can for "forecasting or pretending to foretell the future."
• In Baltimore it's illegal to block the sidewalk with a box. But the offense only carries a $1 fine.
• In Baltimore it is illegal to throw bale of hay (or of anything else) out a second-story window. That gets you a $20 fine.
• In Baltimore it's illegal to play professional croquet before 2 p.m. Sunday. The law also applies to professional quoits.
• In Baltimore it is illegal to mistreat oysters.
• In Baltimore, it is illegal to wash or scrub sinks no matter how dirty they get.
• In Halethrope, Maryland kisses longer than one second are illegal.
• Ocean City: A law from the early 1900's prohibits men from going topless on the Boardwalk.

Editor's Note: Some of these laws are no longer enforced or have been repealed.