Crazy Laws in Connecticut and Fun Facts

Was the Colorado law requiring cats to wear taillights at night the craziest law you ever heard of? Wait until you read these 11 crazy laws still on the books in Connecticut – including the one about the 25 mph speed limit for fire trucks.

• In order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce.

I confess I had to read this crazy law twice. Well, rules are rules. If you want official pickles, run and test yours NOW.

• You can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour.

If you can ride a bike over 65 miles per hour, you can easily win the Tour de France.

(Footnote: Average speed of Tour de France cyclists is 25-28 mph.)

• You may not use a white cane unless you are blind.

If you are blind, how will you know if you are obeying the ‘white cane’ law?

• Town records may not be kept where liquor is sold.

I am willing to bet that the actions of an alcoholic town clerk were responsible for that crazy law.

• In Devon, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset.

Were citizens really doing that?

• In Hartford, you are not allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands.

Were citizens really doing that, too?

• You may not educate dogs.

Do you suppose that crazy law was enacted by cats?

• In Simsbury, it is illegal for a politician to campaign at the town dump.

On the other hand, the town dump is perfect for politicians. Both are full of crap.

• In Southington, silly string is banned.

Not to worry – just teach your string to be more serious.

• In Waterbury, it is illegal for any beautician to hum, whistle, or sing while working on a customer.

Must be a lotta music critics in that town.

This is such a doozy, I saved it for last:

• In New Britain, it is illegal for fire trucks to exceed 25 mph, even when going to a fire.

Let me see if I understand this one. It is okay for your house to burn down to the ground while you are waiting for the fireman driving the fire truck who must be careful not to exceed the 25 mph speed limit. Unbelievable!

Funny one-liner:The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.

• Connecticut is often called 'The Nutmeg State' since Connecticut residents were so ingenious they could sell wooden nutmegs as real nutmegs to unsuspecting buyers. (Nutmeg was a valuable spice in colonial America).

• In 1895, the basketball technique of dribbling was developed at the New Britain YMCA.

• Connecticut's motto is Qui Transtulit Sustinet – ‘He Who Transplanted Still Sustains.’

• The State of Connecticut is named after the River Connecticut, the largest river in New England. The word is derived from 'Quinnehtukqut', a Mohegan Indian word for ‘Long river place.’

• The first insurance company, ITT Hartford Group, Inc., opened for business in 1810.

• There are 106 insurance companies based in Connecticut.

• In 1898 the first car insurance in America was issued at Hartford.

• The first automobile law was passed by the state in 1901. The speed limit was set at 12 miles per hour.

• In 1937, Connecticut became the first state to issue permanent license plates for cars.

• Nathan Hale, a hero of the Revolutionary War, is the state hero of Connecticut. As Hale was about to be hanged by the British, he said: ‘I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.’

• The Scoville Memorial Library is the oldest public library in America. Richard Smith started this library in 1771 using community contributions to buy 200 books in London.

Fees were collected for damages, the most common being ‘greasing’ by wax dripped from the candles by which the patrons read.

• The Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport had been supplying the hungry students of Yale University with pie for many years.

At some point a student discovered that the empty pie tins made for great throwing. Ergo, the ‘Frisbie' was born on Yale's campus.

• The first telephone book ever issued contained only 50 names. It was published by the New Haven District Telephone Company in February 1878.

• PEZ® Candy is made in the city of Orange, CT; the factory was built in 1973.

• The town of Washington, incorporated in 1779, was named in honor of General George Washington.

• The first law school in the United States, Litchfield Law School, was established in 1784. Graduates included John C. Calhoun, Aaron Burr, Horace Mann, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. and Noah Webster.

• West Hartford is the birthplace of Noah Webster, the author of the first American English dictionary published in 1807.

• Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket is the largest casino in the U.S. It is a complex of 6 casinos with 17 different types of table games including 100 for poker.

• Connecticut and Rhode Island never ratified the 18th Amendment (Prohibition).

• Connecticut's most important crops are dairy, poultry, forest and nursery, tobacco, vegetables and fruit.

• Bristol is considered the ‘Mum City’ of the U.S. because of the many chrysanthemums grown and sold to various states and Canada.

• Cattle branding in the United States began in Connecticut when farmers were required by law to mark all their pigs.

• In 1794, Eli Whitney patented a device, the cotton gin, to separate cotton from its seeds and set up a factory in New Haven.

• Charles Goodyear of New Haven is responsible for vulcanized rubber invented in 1843.

• In 1858, Ezra Warner of Waterbury created an intimidating contraption featuring a bayonet and sickle to open cans – the first version of a can opener.

• In 1872, Samuel Colt invented the Peacemaker – the gun that tamed the West. Colt’s Mfg. Company was and is located in Hartford, the state capitol.

• In 1893, George C. Blickensderfer of Stamford, CT invented the first portable typewriter or '5-pound secretary' as it was called.

• The first lollipop-making machine opened for business in New Haven in 1908. George Smith named the treat after Lolly Pop, a popular racehorse.

• On January 28, 1878, 21 adventurous citizens of New Haven became the world's first subscribers to a telephone exchange service.

• The USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear powered submarine, was built in Groton, Connecticut in 1954. The Submarine Force Museum in Groton is the official submarine museum of the U.S. Navy.

• The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the world.

• The wire coat hanger was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain.

• Connecticut is home to the oldest U.S. newspaper still being published: The Hartford Courant, established in 1764.

• There are approximately 144 newspapers published in the state – daily, Sunday, weekly and monthly.

• Mary Kies of South Killingly was the first woman to receive a U.S. patent on May 15, 1809 for her method of weaving straw with silk.

• The first golf tournament in Connecticut for women only was held in Waterbury on June 12, 1917.

• In colonial New Haven, cut pumpkins were used as guides for haircuts to ensure a round uniform style.

New Englanders were subsequently nicknamed ‘pumpkin-heads.’

• Although West Haven is Connecticut's youngest city, incorporated in 1972, it is a community that dates back over 360 years, making it one of the oldest settlements in the country.

• B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill in Mystic is the only steam-powered cider mill in the U.S.

• The World Wrestling Federation (the WWF) is headquartered in Stamford.

The Rock paid his dues as a champion wrestler for the WWF before becoming a movie star.

© Copyright BJ Rakow, Ph.D. 2015. All rights reserved.

Author, "Much of What You Know about Job Search Just Ain't So."

State bird: American Robin

State tree: White Oak

State flower: Mountain Laurel

State animal: Sperm Whale

State insect: Praying Mantis

State ship: USS Nautilus submarine

State song: Yankee Doodle written by Richard Shuckburgh