Michael Lloyd | The Oregonian/OregonLive

That's on the books?

Many laws make sense. But then there are those that are just plain random, quirky and extremely micro, or at least they appear to be.

In Carmel, California, for example, people technically need a permit to wear shoes with heels taller than two inches. In South Dakota, it's legal to use fireworks or pyrotechnics to keep birds away from sunflower crops, as long as you're farther than 660 feet from an occupied home, church or schoolhouse.

So what about Oregon? Here are 25 state or city laws that are a bit more obscure than others. Information is from published city code manuals or state databases available online as of March 9.

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Brian Feulner/The Oregonian

Odd Portland 'rules'

Before we dive into actual quirky laws, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves that everything we read on the Internet isn’t exactly true. In this case, several sites have claimed that Oregon and its cities are beholden to some strange laws that just aren’t real.

For example, one site stated that it's unlawful for Portlanders to whistle underwater, wear roller skates in public bathrooms, get married on an ice rink or have your shoes untied while walking on the street.

But, an employee with the city auditor's office couldn't find mention of any of those rules in code or charter documents. I guess I'll now go gleefully jump in a pool and practice my whistling skills.

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Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

Fishing with corn

Sites have also claimed that it’s illegal for Oregonians to fish using canned corn.

Not quite the case, said a spokesman with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. You can fish with corn if you'd like (it's actually popular bait for kokanee, he said) but so-called chumming is not allowed — it's against the rules to empty cans of corn out into the water in an effort to attract fish to the area. Also, some spots might be designated for fly-fishing or fishing with lures only.

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Juggling in Hood River

Others are a bit of a toss up. Several sites say that you must have a license to juggle in Hood River. City representatives said the rule does exist, but it is not enforced and couldn't be located in any city documents. So sounds like it's sort of, maybe, kind of a legit rule. Do with that what you will.

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AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper

Use public restrooms as intended

In Portland, a person is in violation of city code for laying, standing, sitting or climbing on any fixtures located inside a public restroom that are not intended for that purpose. It’s also unlawful for two or more people to occupy a public restroom designed for one person, unless the person is helping a child, elderly person or disabled individual. You know what public restrooms are designed for, so use them for their rightful purpose.

Read it here.

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Associated Press

Highways are not for human waste

A person can get knocked with a misdemeanor for “improperly disposing of human waste” by operating a motor vehicle and throwing waste out the window or leaving it on the roadside. So if you're desperate for a bathroom, don't turn the highway into one.

Read it here.

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Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

Don't leave the ice box open

Now onto some real laws.

In Vale, a small Eastern Oregon town nearly in Idaho, if you want to abandon an icebox or refrigerator where children could access it, take the door off first. Other cities, like Salem, also have rules against abandoned iceboxes. So make sure your old refrigerator can serve another purpose aside from ensnaring small children.

Read it here.

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Keep the kids in the car

Carrying a minor on the hood, fender, running board, open truck bed or any other external part of a motor vehicle on a highway is a Class B traffic violation. A few exceptions to the rule-- parades, for employment or a hunting trip, if a minor is in a truck bed and secured with a seatbelt or if all other available seat belts are in use. It's logical, but really, keep the kids buckled up and in the car.

Read it here.

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No 'Bean Shooters and Slingshots'

In Salem, it’s against the code for a person to use any “bean shooter, slingshot or any other contrivance used in shooting beans, stones, pebbles, or other substance or thing, in or upon any street, alley, or public place within the city.” OK, then ... we are putting the bag of rocks and the rubber slingshot away now.

Read it here.

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Lynne Sladky/The Associated Press

No 'Fore!' in the park

Marion County park ordinances forbid people from hitting a golf ball in any park, unless the area is expressly designated for the activity. Sorry, Tiger!

Read it here.

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Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian

Turn down the piano!

In the tiny town of Hines, Oregon, and other cities, it’s prohibited to use or operate an “automatic or electric piano, phonograph, loudspeaker or sound-amplifying device” so loud that it “disturbs” those in the general vicinity. A piano can be too loud these days?

Read it here.

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Nuran Alteir | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Close the car doors

It’s illegal in Oregon to leave a car door open in the way of traffic or pedestrians "for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.”

Read it here.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Keep the tinsel out of the kite

In Salem, kites with wire or tinsel strings or tails are outlawed, and kites in general must be kept at least 50 feet away from a power line. In the words of Mary Poppins and friends, "let's go fly a kite!" (without tinsel, she means.)

Read it here.

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No hitching a ride

It’s illegal in Portland for anyone on roller skates, a sled, a skateboard or other item with wheels to hold onto a vehicle for the purpose of being towed.

Read it here.

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Dave Killen/The Oregonian

No cruising

In Portland, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., vehicles are not allowed to pass along or across an area designated by signage as a “traffic congestion thoroughfare” more than twice, according to city code. No dawdling, folks, go straight there and back.

Read it here.

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No swearing in public

In Klamath Falls, it’s against city rules to use any “abusive language or gesture(s)” in a public place to puposefully cause alarm or annoy people. So if you must swear, mumble to yourself.

Read it here.

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Hannah Leone/The Oregonian

Separate the animals

In Oregon City, “all domestic animals in the act of copulation exposed to public view” are categorized with other “nuisances affecting morals.” Take it inside, Fido!

Read it here.

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Janet Eastman/The Oregonian

Keep the garage sales to a minimum

In the coastal town of Coos Bay, city ordinances limit residents to two garage sales a year per household, and the sale can’t last longer than five days. In Salem, sales are limited to three a year, lasting no more than three days each. So, if you're going to sell your junk, make it snappy!

Read it here.

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No spitting, please

The city of Sheridan has an ordinance outlawing any “expectoration,” a.k.a. spitting or coughing stuff up, on the street, sidewalk or any public buildings, aside from receptacles provided for the purpose. Save your spitballs and all things related for once you're home, then.

Read it here.

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Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian

No bridge sitting here

Portland’s bridges look pretty, but you aren’t allowed to sit, stand on, or lean over a bridge railing across the Willamette River unless you have permission from a government agency or you are completing bridge maintenance work, according to city code.

Read it here.

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Vincent Tremeau/The Associated Press

Hide the "burglar's tools" out of town

In Hines ( and other towns, like Tigard) it is against city rules to possess a so-called “burglar tool” or anything else with the intent of using it to steal or forcibly enter a premise. For this ordinance, burgular tools include “an acetylene torch, electric arc, burning bar, thermal lance, oxygen lance or other similar device capable of burning through steel, concrete or other solid material, or nitroglycerine, dynamite, gunpowder or any other explosive, tool, instrument, or other article adapted, designed or commonly used for committing or facilitating a forcible entry into premises or theft by a physical taking.” Whew. That is quite a list.

Read it here.

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Isaac Brekken/The Associated Press

Don't test the limits

Per Oregon law, a person is guilty of speed racing on a highway if they drive a vehicle as a test of physical endurance. So don't get caught long-distance racing.

Read it here.

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Stay in the present

City code in Yamhill outlaws any "occult arts," meaning any action of astrology, fortune telling, clairvoyance, and so on, to attempt to tell the future, locate stolen property, give advice, and other actions. Hide the ouija board!

Read it here.

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The Associated Press

Limit your car repair

In Gresham, there is a pretty specific rule about car repairs, and apparently, you can't do it whenever you'd like. A person can't work on vehicle repair "on a property with a single family dwelling or duplex on more than two days" within a week.

Read it here.

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Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian

Don't dye the chicks

In Eugene, city code forbids selling or giving away any baby chicks, rabbits or goslings that have been dyed or artificially colored. Did the birds and bunnies ask for this one?

Read it here.

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Dillon Pilorget | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Bees and cats are free to run

In Springfield, bees and cats are the only farm animals allowed to run at large around the city. Also, you have to have a license to own a pot-belly pig, and it must be spayed or neutered and weigh less than 95 pounds. Time to get rid of the cat leash...hooray!

Read it here.

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Mike Zacchino/The Oregonian

No nighttime cemetery parties

It’s against Eugene city code to be in a cemetery between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Read it here.

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Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

No dead animals

In Vale, it’s against city rules to let an animal carcass remain on public property or in view on private property “for a period of time longer than is reasonably necessary to remove or dispose of the carcass.” Other cities have similar rules about nuisances such as animal carcasses, some with more definitive timelines than Vale.

Read it here.

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Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian

Dog limits

An Oregon law caps the number of "sexually intact" dogs over the age of 2 that a person can have at 50. The 2009 law was geared toward adding guidelines for dog breeding.

Read it here.

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Randy L Rasmussen/The Oregonian

What did we miss?

So, we of course didn’t peer into every nook and cranny of Oregon city and state laws. Do you know of obscure laws in your home town? Feel free to weigh in in the comments.

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