Sometimes, even the most law-abiding citizen can make a mistake and do something illegal without knowing it. Surprisingly, however, something that feels illegal may not be. We’ve compiled a list of 15 things that aren’t illegal, but you might think they are, so that you don’t fall into the category of ignorance.
Recording A Conversation
Recording conversations is not illegal, as long as you live in a one-party state. Keep in mind, however, that the laws about mixed consent states or two-party states are quite different. If you live in a one-party state, this can be beneficial in situations where you need to prove your innocence.
Marrying Your Step-Sibling
While not illegal, you’re definitely going to get some side-eye. Society frowns on this, especially if you’ve grown up together, as people tend to have concerns about romantic relationships between step-siblings, but the truth is, if you genuinely want to marry your stepbrother or stepsister, there’s nothing in the US that says you can’t.
Overtaking A Police Car
As long as you aren’t speeding or breaking any law, you can pass a police car and it’s not illegal, and they can’t pull you over. It will probably feel illegal and be scary, but as long as you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re fine, so don’t sweat it and go ahead.
Sleeping In Your Car
Now, to be fair, this is illegal in some states. However, in 14 states, you can do this at a rest stop without issue. As far as generally sleeping in your car, it’s only considered illegal if you’re parked somewhere you shouldn’t be or if you’re drunk. While it would seem to be the right thing to sleep it off and not drive, you could still get in trouble.
Marrying Your Cousin
Again, you’ll get side-eye and tons of judgment, but it’s not illegal in 25 states. The real issue is which cousin? Only 25 states will let you marry your first cousin, and other states will only let you under certain circumstances. Like the step-sibling situation, the biggest argument will be that people feel this crosses boundaries of appropriate family relationships, and they won’t approve.
Spanking
Believe it or not, some states allow spanking in school, and it’s not illegal. Spanking at home is legal in every state, but this is another issue where people judge like crazy. Some view it as child abuse, while others view it as a necessary step in instilling discipline in children. Whatever you believe, it’s not illegal.
Burying People
In most states, it’s okay to bury someone in your backyard. However, you need to be sure of the zoning laws in your area, and in some states, you have to inform the next person living in your house that someone is buried in the backyard. If you’re unsure of the rules, a specialist can help.
Walkers
Baby walkers are legal, but many people feel they shouldn’t be. They limit your baby’s mobility and can prevent their muscles from developing properly. They could also create issues with learning to crawl properly, and some children have died as a result. While they’re illegal in other countries, people can still use them here.
Arsenic In Food
Arsenic causes cancer and heart disease, and while it’s been shown that the FDA has released statements about the presence of arsenic in organic fruits (all of them), rice, and apples, to name a few, it has not banned it. So, people trying to eat more healthily could be ingesting arsenic.
Owning A Monkey
If you were a fan of Friends, you saw that Ross had a monkey named Marcel and said it was illegal to have him. In real life, it’s okay in certain states. In fact, Oregon lets you have a monkey as a service animal. So if you’ve ever wanted a monkey, maybe now is the time.
Wild Animals
In my opinion, a wild animal shouldn’t be kept as a pet. Exotic animals, either. But if you want one, depending on the state you live in, you can keep lions, cheetahs, and tigers as pets if you have the right licensing. You can even get a bear. However, there are warnings as all of these animals could be dangerous to you or your children.
Surgery On No Sleep
While this one probably should be illegal, unfortunately, it’s not. A surgeon is allowed to do surgery if they haven’t slept. They can also do surgery if they’ve been going all night and haven’t had an opportunity to sleep. While this is dangerous because we know that lack of sleep impairs cognitive performance, it is allowed.
Driving With The Inside Light
So when we were kids, our parents always told us that we couldn’t turn the light inside the car on because it was illegal. However, it’s not illegal, and you won’t get in trouble for it. Most people still don’t do it out of fear that they’re going to get in trouble, but honestly, nothing is going to happen; people worry for nothing.
Talking About Wages
Companies will try to tell you that talking about your wages is illegal, but it’s not. In fact, most of the time, the reason that they don’t want you to do this is because they don’t want people to know that they’re paying some employees a better wage or paying people less than they should.
Taking Your Own Food
So while it’s frowned upon to take your food into the movie theater with you, there’s no law against it. It’s against their rules and policy, and they may kick you out if you do it, but legally, you won’t get in trouble. People do this all the time; I, however, do, which is why most theaters have implemented bag checks.
Following The Law
Now that you know some of the things you thought were illegal aren’t actually against the law, you can stop worrying about driving with the light on, talking about your wages, or any other issues. With our list, you can see that sometimes our parents were wrong, and now we can educate them.
Like our content? Follow us for more.
