ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Crazy Laws in Massachusetts and Fun Facts Part One

Updated on October 13, 2015
This is my 'good' side.
This is my 'good' side. | Source

Crazy Laws in Massachusetts and Fun Facts Part One

Crazy Laws in the State of Massachusetts

Did you know that Massachusetts has a crazy state law that prohibits a woman from utilizing a certain position?

And another crazy law that bans Quakers and witches? I am not making this up.

Read on to learn about these and another 15 crazy laws in the state of Massachusetts. Part Two will include the crazy laws still on the books in the cities of Massachusetts.

Quakers and witches are banned.

That sorta gives you an idea of where Quakers fall in the scheme of things.

Candy may not contain more than 1% of alcohol.

Now I have to check out my favorite candy bars: Almond Joy, Rocky Road, and Mr. Goodbar. Those bars produce such euphoria, the manufacturers may be breaking the law.

It is illegal to give, sell or deliver beer to hospital patients.

One more good reason to avoid a hospital stay whenever possible.

Shooting ranges may not set up targets that resemble human beings.

How about targets that resemble sleazy politicians? That could work.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz! | Source

Taxi drivers are prohibited from making love in the front seat of their taxi during their shifts.

Not to worry. So far, there does not appear to be any restrictions for using the back seat.

All men must carry a rifle to church on Sunday.

Advice to religious leaders: If on Sunday, you preach, don’t give too long a speech.

Hunting on Sundays is prohibited.

But, apparently, not in church.

Alcoholic drink specials are illegal.

Make your whiney (get it?) patrons pay full price.

Would ya throw me a towel?
Would ya throw me a towel? | Source

It is illegal to go to bed without first having a full bath.

So … who monitors this activity? Just wonderin’.

A woman cannot be on top in sexual activities.

Excuse me, on top of what? (The debbil made me write this.)

Public boxing matches are outlawed.

Spouses and others must battle in private.

Children may smoke, but they may not purchase cigarettes.

I know, life is not fair.

Are you the one who is gonna tell me where I can sit in the car?
Are you the one who is gonna tell me where I can sit in the car? | Source

No gorilla is allowed in the back seat of any car.

What about gorillas in the front seat? Especially if they are driving!

At a wake, mourners may eat no more than three sandwiches.

You gotta keep an eye on those moochers. They can eat you out of house and home.

Tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder.

Thank goodness the state didn’t ban clams.

Bullets may not be used as currency.

Use wampum like the rest of us.

An old ordinance declares goatees illegal unless you first pay a special license fee for the privilege of wearing one in public.

No fee, no goatee.

Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock | Source
The Mayflower II
The Mayflower II | Source

Fun Facts and Illustrious Information in Massachusetts

The visible portion of Plymouth Rock is a lumpy fragment of glacial moraine about the size of a coffee table, with the date 1620 cut into its surface. It rests near the head of Plymouth Harbor.

The first English settlers in Massachusetts were the Pilgrims who arrived via the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the local native Americans, the Wampanoag.

A pilgrim (from the Latin, ‘peregrinus’) is a traveler who has come from afar who is on a journey, typically, to a holy place.

The Mayflower II is a full-size replica of the Mayflower which brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620. It is located at the State Pier in Plymouth Center, and is open as a museum.

The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in Plymouth in 1621. Wild turkey and cranberries were probably on the menu.

Plimouth Plantation
Plimouth Plantation | Source
Interior of Old Ship Church
Interior of Old Ship Church | Source

Plimouth Plantation is a living history museum located In Plymouth which consists of a re-creation of the Plymouth settlement in 1627.

The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were strict Puritans with negative views on religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter. They were particularly contemptuous of Christmas and banned its celebration throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett. The name has been translated as ‘near the great hill,’ ‘by the blue hills,’ or ‘at the little big hill.’

Hingham's Old Ship Church built in 1681 is the oldest church structure in the U.S. in continuous use as a house of worship.

Boston Cream pie
Boston Cream pie | Source
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem | Source

The Boston Cream Pie was invented at the Parker House in Boston. It is the state's official dessert. The owners state that the Boston cream pie was first created at the hotel by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian in 1856.

Didja know that the Boston Cream pie is not a pie. It is a cake! A cake filled with custard or cream filling and frosted with chocolate.

In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. Twenty people were executed, most of them women.

552 original documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum.

Boston Harbor Lighthouse
Boston Harbor Lighthouse | Source
Boston Tea Party Museum
Boston Tea Party Museum | Source

The first American lighthouse was built in the Boston Harbor in 1716.

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston on December 16, 1773. Disguised as native Americans, they destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773.

They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The colonists believed that the Tea Act violated their right to be taxed only by their own elected representatives and not by a British parliament.

Remember your American History class in school? ‘No taxation without representation.'

The Boston Tea Party Museum is located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston. It features reenactments, a documentary, and a number of interactive exhibits.

The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th.

The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables | Source

Nathaniel Hathorne, a famous novelist and short story writer, was born in Salem.

No, I did not misspell his name.

His great-grandfather was John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a ‘w’ to make his name ‘Hawthorne’ in order to hide this relationship.

The House of the Seven Gables in Salem was built in 1668 and is now a museum open to the public.

The seven-gabled house inspired Hawthorne to write his famous novel of the same name in 1851.

In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the ‘Cradle of Liberty’ for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution and independence of the U.S. from Great Britain.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775 within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Cambridge and Menotomy (present-day Arlington).

John Lee Richmond 1857-1929
John Lee Richmond 1857-1929 | Source

John Lee Richmond, a left-handed pitcher for the Worcester Ruby Legs, pitched the first Major League Baseball ‘perfect game’ in Worcester on June 12, 1880.

Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith in Springfield. The Basketball Hall Of Fame is located in Springfield.

In Holyoke, William G. Morgan created a new game called ‘Mintonette’ in 1895. After a demonstration given at the YMCA in nearby Springfield, the game became known as volleyball.

The Volleyball Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke.

Holyoke is home to the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the U.S. surpassed only by the New York City parade.

Hood Milk Bottle
Hood Milk Bottle | Source
Source

The Children's Museum in Boston displays a giant milk bottle on the museum's wharf.

If it were real it would hold 50,000 gallons of milk and 8,620 gallons of cream.

At 40 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter, the structure now known as the Hood Milk Bottle was originally constructed in 1933 on the banks of the Three Mile River in Taunton.

The bottle was cut into three sections and moved by barge to Boston in 1977. Re-assembled on the wharf, the structure resumed its original function as an ice cream stand and snack bar.

Archibald Query of Somerville started selling his version of the sweet treat, Marshmallow Fluff, door-to-door in 1917.

Soon afterward Query sold the recipe to two candy makers in Lynn: H. Allen Durkee and Fred Mower for $500. The product first hit supermarket shelves in cans as Toot Sweet Marshmallow Fluff.

Marshmallow creme and peanut butter are used to create a fluffernutter sandwich.

Since 2006, an annual Fluff Festival, ‘What the Fluff?’, is held to celebrate the invention of Marshmallow Fluff, and the crowning of the Pharaoh of Fluff.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country with 2.5 divorces per 1000 people.

I wonder who that half a person is.

Elias Howe's first sewing machine
Elias Howe's first sewing machine | Source

Charles Goodyear first produced vulcanized rubber in 1844 in his small factory in Springfield. This achievement is considered one of the major ‘firsts’ that contributes to the city of Springfield's nickname, ‘The City of Firsts.’

Elias Howe of Spencer was awarded the first U. S. patent for a sewing machine using a lockstitch design in 1846.

Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone, made the first phone call in his Boston laboratory in 1876 to his assistant.

What did he say? “Mr. Watson, come here – I want to see you.”

Theodor Seuss Geisel 1904-1991
Theodor Seuss Geisel 1904-1991 | Source

Theodor Seuss Geisel better known as ‘Dr. Seuss,’ was born in Springfield. His popular children’s books have sold more than 600 million copies.

Dr. Seuss's honors include two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award, and the Pulitzer Prize.

Dr. Seuss wrote many of his books in anapestic tetrameter, a poetic meter consisting of two weak syllables followed by one strong syllable.

Example: "And today the Great Yertle, that Marvelous he, Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see." Just thought you would like to know.

The Paper House

Elis F. Stenman began building his house in 1922 in Rockport with a timber frame, roof, and floors. But to construct the walls, he decided to use a much different form of wood: newspaper.

The Paper House has walls, doors, and furniture made of varnished newspapers – roughly 100,000 of them. 215 layers of paper were stuck together with a homemade glue of flour, water, and apple peels to make 1-inch-thick panels for the walls.

When Stenman moved out in 1930, the house became a museum and still stands today.

Boston University Bridge
Boston University Bridge | Source

State song – ‘All Hail to Massachusetts’ by Arthur J. Marsh

State building stone – Granite

State muffin – Corn muffin

State cat – Tabby cat

State folk dance – Square dance

State game bird – Wild turkey

State dessert – Boston cream pie

State reptile – Garter snake

State cookie – chocolate chip cookie

State polka –‘Say Hello To Someone From Massachusetts’ by Lenny Gomulka


The Boston University Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is the only place in the world where a boat can travel under a train . . .

traveling under a car . . .

traveling under an airplane.

Speaking of 'under,' Boston built the first subway system in the U.S. in 1897.

Massachusetts residents are called Bay Staters.

State Symbols

State flower – Mayflower

State tree – American elm

State bird – Chickadee

State beverage – Cranberry juice

State horse – Morgan horse

State insect – Ladybug

State fish – Cod

State dog – Boston Terrier

State gem – Rhodonite

State marine mammal – Right whale

State fossil – Dinosaur track

State mineral – Babingtonite (jet black mineral with brilliant luster)

Favorite Boston one-liner:

Q: What are the only two seasons in Boston? A: Winter and Construction.

BOLO – Be On the Look Out for Part Two – ‘Crazy Laws in the Cities of Massachusetts’ and more fun facts.

© Copyright BJ Rakow, Ph.D. 2015. All rights reserved. Author, "Much of What You Know about Job Search Just Ain't So."

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)