December 07, 2016
An Indiana city is poised to legalize pinball, the nostalgic arcade game immortalized in song by The Who nearly five decades ago.
Kokomo, a city of nearly 60,000 people located in central Indiana, likely will reverse an ordinance that outlawed the famed game several decades ago, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The law made it illegal for anyone to operate or permit to operate any pinball machine within the city, the newspaper reports. The penalty? Try a fine of up to $300 and six months in jail.
Passed in 1955, the law labeled pinball machines "devices for gaming" that "tend against peace and good order, encourage vice and immorality and constitute a nuisance." But it reportedly mostly went unenforced until the late 1970s, when the city faced a budget crunch.
For what it's worth, Philadelphia has at least 114 pinball machines in 19 venues, according to Pinballmap.com, a website that tracks the locations of pinball machines across the country.
But before we laugh too much at the good folk in Kokomo, remember Philadelphians are subjected to a few arcane, if not completely outdated, laws as well.
Five years ago, PhillyMag.com compiled a short list of absurd laws still on the books in the City of Brotherly Love, noting it is illegal to spit on city streets, feed pigeons in public spaces or locate a newstand within 30 feet of a church, synagogue or mosque. Not that anyone still buys newspapers, anyway.
The magazine took a broader look two years later, listing 12 Pennsylvania laws no longer worth defending. Among them — laws that make it unlawful to use dynamite to catch fish, sing in the bathtub and for a fortuneteller to disclose the location of buried treasure. So, if you're still looking for the alleged gold buried in Society Hill, cross that option off your list.
And if you wish to serve as a paid tour guide in Old City, you'll need to pass a local history test to gain a license to tell a story of the Liberty Bell.
