Weird Laws in Idaho: 10 Strange Rules You Won’t Believe Exist!

Introduction

Idaho doesn’t get talked about much outside of potatoes and mountains. But buried in its legal code is one of the strangest collections of laws in the country including one that addresses cannibalism directly, by name, with an actual exception built in.

We went through Idaho’s actual state code, court reporting, and municipal records to separate what’s real from what’s just internet noise. Some of these laws will surprise you. A couple of them are genuinely hard to believe were ever necessary to write down.

Let’s go through some of the weird laws in Idaho in the blog post.

🤠 8 Strange Laws You’ll Only Find in Idaho & 2 Famous Myths Debunked

Idaho’s legal code goes back to before statehood in 1890. Most of what’s in there is exactly what you’d expect traffic rules, property law, criminal statutes. But scattered through it are a handful of provisions that genuinely stop you mid-read. And just as interesting as the real laws are the fake ones because Idaho is one of the most “weird law” listicle-mythologized states in the country, and almost none of those internet lists bother checking their sources.

We did. Here’s what’s actually true.

🍖 Law #1: Cannibalism is Addressed Directly in Idaho’s Criminal Code

Source: Idaho Code Section 18-5003

This is the law that puts Idaho on every “weirdest state laws” list, and for once, the internet got it right.

Idaho Code 18-5003, found in the section of the criminal code titled “Mayhem,” states plainly that any person who willfully ingests the flesh or blood of a human being is guilty of cannibalism. The penalty is up to fourteen years in state prison.

Here’s the part that makes it genuinely unusual: the statute includes a built-in legal defense. If the act was committed under extreme, life-threatening conditions as the only apparent means of survival, it’s an affirmative defense against the charge.

In other words, Idaho is one of the only states that has actually written down, in plain legal language, the Donner Party scenario and decided in advance how the law should treat it.

There has been at least one real, active case in northern Idaho involving this exact statute in recent years, which is part of why the law gets cited so often. It isn’t a forgotten relic. It’s part of the active criminal code, and it has been tested in court.

💔 Law #2: Adultery Has Been a Crime in Idaho Since at Least 1905

Source: Idaho Code Title 18, Chapter 66, Section 18-6601

According to research published by the Twin Falls Times-News, Idaho’s adultery statute has been on the books since at least 1905. The law states that a married person who has sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse and the unmarried person involved with a married person is guilty of adultery.

A local legal expert quoted in that reporting pointed out something interesting about the wording: the statute as written specifically describes opposite-sex scenarios. Same-sex situations wouldn’t fall under this particular statute though they could potentially fall under a separate, even older provision.

That separate provision is Idaho’s “crime against nature” statute (Idaho Code 18-6605), which broadly covers a range of sexual conduct in extremely vague, century-old language.

Neither law is actively enforced as a routine matter. But as the legal expert in that reporting put it: the law is the law. If a complaint is filed and it falls within these statutes, it’s technically something law enforcement has the authority to look into.

This is a useful example of something true across many states: an unenforced law is not a repealed law. Idaho’s adultery statute has outlived several generations of lawmakers who simply never got around to taking it off the books.

😊 Law #3: Pocatello Passed a Law Requiring Residents to Smile (Then Forgot About It for 40 Years)

Source: Pocatello, Idaho municipal ordinance, 1948

In 1948, the city of Pocatello, Idaho passed an ordinance requiring residents to smile in public.

The reported reason is almost sweet: Pocatello had just gone through a particularly bleak winter, and city leadership apparently decided that mandatory cheerfulness was the answer. The ordinance was passed, filed away, and never enforced.

Then in 1987, nearly forty years later researchers going through old municipal records rediscovered it.

By that point it had become exactly what it sounds like: a piece of local trivia rather than an active rule anyone takes seriously. But the way it was found is part of what makes it a great example of how “weird laws” actually survive. Nobody is hunting people down for frowning in Pocatello. The ordinance simply sat in a filing cabinet for four decades because removing old ordinances has never been anyone’s priority in Pocatello or anywhere else.

⛺ Law #4: You Cannot Camp on the Sidewalks in Eagle, Idaho

Source: Eagle, Idaho Municipal Code

The city of Eagle, Idaho has a municipal code provision that prohibits camping on public sidewalks.

Unlike some entries on this list, this one isn’t a historical leftover, it reflects a genuinely current issue that cities across the western United States have been dealing with for years: how to regulate public space use as homelessness and outdoor living have become more visible in growing communities.

Eagle is one of the fastest-growing small cities in Idaho, sitting just outside Boise. Its municipal code has had to address modern urban issues that didn’t exist when the city was founded and sidewalk camping is one of them.

What makes it land on a “weird laws” list at all is mostly the contrast: a small, affluent Idaho suburb having a specific sidewalk-camping ordinance sounds unusual until you realize it’s actually a sign of how much that area has grown.

🧹 Law #5: Don’t Sweep Your Dust Into the Street in Eagle

Source: Eagle, Idaho Municipal Code

The same Eagle municipal code that addresses sidewalk camping also includes a provision against sweeping dust, dirt, or debris from your property into the public street.

This is a classic example of a law that sounds absurd in isolation but makes complete sense in context. Street sweeping, storm drain maintenance, and dust control are real municipal concerns, especially in a region where dry conditions and wind can turn swept dust into a genuine air quality and drainage issue.

The ordinance exists for the same reason most “don’t put your trash in the street” rules exist anywhere, it’s just that “dust” sounds funnier than “debris” when you read it out of context.

🚻 Law #6: Public Urination is Explicitly Banned in Boise and Idaho Falls

Source: Boise and Idaho Falls Municipal Codes

Both Boise and Idaho Falls have municipal code sections that explicitly state it is unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in any place open to public view.

This is one of the more actively enforced laws on this list. It’s a standard public order ordinance that exists in some form in nearly every American city but Idaho’s two largest cities both spell it out in direct, unambiguous language rather than burying it inside a broader “public nuisance” clause.

The reason it makes a “weird laws” list at all is really just the directness of the wording. Most cities phrase this kind of rule euphemistically. Idaho’s municipal codes don’t bother.

🔊 Law #7: Idaho Falls Has a Detailed “Nuisance Noise” Code

Source: Idaho Falls Municipal Code, Title 5

Idaho Falls’ municipal criminal code includes an entire section dedicated to defining “nuisance noise” described as plainly audible sound that, due to its volume, duration, or location, disturbs the comfort, repose, health, or peace of people who are not voluntarily listening to it.

What stands out about this code section is how thorough it is. It separately defines categories like construction noise, demolition noise, and noise from emergency work, each with its own framework for what’s considered acceptable and when.

It’s not a funny law in the traditional sense. It’s included here because it’s a genuinely well-written piece of municipal code that most residents have no idea exists in this much detail until their neighbor starts a construction project at 6 a.m. on a Sunday.

🏜️ Myth #1: “You Can’t Fish From the Back of a Camel” is Not a Real Law

Source: Wikipedia’s “Strange Laws” entry, listed under “Misrepresented“

This is, by far, the most repeated “Idaho law” on the internet and it’s confirmed false.

Wikipedia’s own page on strange laws specifically lists “you cannot fish while riding on the back of a camel in Idaho” under a section called “Misrepresented” laws that circulate widely online but have no actual legal basis.

There’s no Idaho statute, no municipal ordinance, nothing. It appears to be one of those internet-era jokes that got repeated so many times across “weird laws” listicles that it eventually started being treated as fact.

We’re including it here specifically because it’s the law most people expect to see on an Idaho list and because pointing out what’s fake is just as useful as confirming what’s real.

🎹 Myth #2: “Lawyers Can’t Charge Widows for Moving Pianos” — Unverified

Source: Multiple “weird laws” lists, no statute located

This one shows up constantly in Idaho weird-law roundups: supposedly, lawyers in Idaho are prohibited from charging a widow a fee for moving her piano from one room to another.

We could not locate this in Idaho’s actual state code, and no legal researcher we found has cited a specific statute number for it. That doesn’t necessarily mean it never existed in some form Idaho’s legal history goes back to territorial days, and old session laws aren’t all digitized. But as it currently circulates, it has no verifiable source.

It falls into the same category as a lot of “weird law” content: a story that’s repeated so often it feels true, without anyone checking whether it actually is.

📌 Quick Facts List

👉 Search about Idaho State Legislature Official Code

🏔️ Final Thoughts

Idaho’s legal landscape is a charming blend of practical modern statutes and relics from a frontier past. Most of the time, these laws are harmless and entertaining – great for trivia nights and awkward family conversations. But they’re also a reminder: laws reflect history, and sometimes history left us comic gold.

If you like this article about some of the weird laws in Idaho, then also check out Alabama’s and Michigan’s weird laws.

Think Idaho’s laws are wild? These weird laws in Idaho are just the beginning. Share this with a friend who loves strange U.S. facts, and explore more unbelievable American laws you won’t believe still exist.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and ordinances can change over time and may vary by city or county. Always consult official state statutes, local municipal codes, or a qualified attorney for the most accurate and up-to-date legal guidance.

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