This Day in History: The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the possession of cards, dice, shuffleboard and gaming tables on this day in 1630. Sleeping during church services and engaging in any number of activities on the Sabbath was also a crime. One man was ordered to spend two hours in the public stocks because he kissed his wife on the Sabbath. Smoking tobacco, abusing one's mother-in-law, profane dancing, pulling hair and celebrating Christmas was also unlawful.
The making of toasts—not drinking, just making toasts while drinking was also banned, as was the “excessive wearing of lace.”
Over the centuries, most of the Puritanical "blue laws" have been repealed or simply ignored, but in Connecticut, it is still illegal to sell alcohol on Christmas day, unless you’re in a casino.
Presently, in Boston, it is illegal to swear inside city limits. It is also illegal to eat peanuts in church, and tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder. False teeth must be removed during sex, and it is illegal to play the fiddle. Goatees are illegal unless you obtain and pay for a license to wear your goatee in public.
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