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Watering Your Lawn on an Odd-Numbered Day in Minnesota is a Crime

November 20, 2014

When you water your lawn, do you think about your house number? How about the date on your calendar? If you’re planning on moving to Minnesota, you must have these details in mind or else risk a fine.

Many towns in Minnesota institute something called “odd-even sprinkling.” On odd-numbered calendar days, only even-numbered addresses may water their lawns. On even-numbered calendar days, only odd-numbered addresses may turn on the sprinkler. Why can’t even-numbered addresses water on even-numbered days and odd addresses water on odd days, you ask? Don’t be ridiculous!

Since some months have 31 days, you might be thinking that people with even-numbered addresses get to water their lawns for an extra day, and thus have an unfair advantage over folks in odd-numbered dwellings. Fortunately, Minnesota lawmakers have anticipated this discrepancy by banning all watering on the 31st. Also, some cities have banned watering between the hours of 11am and 3pm, as that’s when the water is most likely to evaporate rather than soak into the soil.  

Yes, it’s kind of complicated. To recap, a Minnesotan must consider his house number, the day on the calendar, the time of day, the position of Mercury, the number of freckles on his mother’s left arm, and the current value of Indian Rupees before watering his lawn.

Unfortunately, this law does nothing to prevent Minnesotans from over-watering their lawns on their designated watering days as compensation for non-watering days. Still, Minnesota’s strange watering laws appear to save water. It’s a good thing, too—after all, Minnesota doesn’t have an overabundance of lakes or anything.

Such a strict law might actually be useful in Arizona, where water is in short supply. If you are accused of a crime in or around Tucson, let Janet Altschuler and her legal team help you mount a strong defense.

This article is part of a collection of The Most Ridiculous Laws in the United States! Some of these laws are downright hard to believe. Do you know what might be illegal in your state?

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