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People used to mail their children through the post office. This isn’t a joke or urban legend – it actually happened, and it was completely legal. The past holds countless examples of head-scratching practices that make us wonder: “How was this ever allowed?”
From radioactive medicine and toys containing uranium to killing someone for sleeping with your spouse in Texas, these ten historical practices show just how wild the legal landscape used to be. What’s even more surprising is how recently some of these laws changed. While some practices like trial by combat ended centuries ago, others like mailing children through the postal service happened in the early 1900s! We’re covering ten bizarre things that used to be perfectly legal – either explicitly or through loopholes in laws.
10. Mailing Your Kids
The U.S. Postal Service launched its Parcel Post service in January 1913, allowing Americans to send packages through the mail for the first time. Parents quickly discovered they could mail their children to relatives, taking advantage of the fact that no rules specifically prohibited sending humans. The first documented case involved Jesse and Mathilda Beagle, who mailed their 8-month-old baby to his grandmother a few miles away for less than $5 in postage.
The practice spread quickly, with the most notable case being May Pierstorff, a 5-year-old girl who traveled 73 miles by train in the mail compartment to visit her grandparents in Idaho. Postmaster General Albert Burleson ended child mail delivery in 1914 by explicitly barring humans from being sent through the postal service. The total number of children mailed remains unknown, but newspaper archives show several documented cases during this brief period.
9. Baby “Farming”
Victorian Britain’s industrialization created a crisis for working mothers who couldn’t care for their children. Baby farmers emerged as a solution, accepting infants in exchange for payments around £30 (equivalent to $3,800 today). These arrangements often started with good intentions, with mothers believing their children would receive proper care while they worked to support themselves.
An 1870 investigation revealed widespread neglect and intentional harm in baby farming operations. Many caregivers took in more children than they could properly feed and house, leading to high infant mortality rates. The British government responded with the Infant Life Protection Act of 1872, requiring baby farmers to register with authorities. The stronger 1897 version of the act gave officials the power to inspect facilities and remove children from dangerous situations.
8. Radioactive Toys
A.C. Gilbert Company released the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab in 1950, marketing it as an educational science kit for children. The kit contained four samples of uranium ore and encouraged children to measure radioactivity levels and observe decay patterns. Each kit retailed for $50 (equivalent to $600 today), making it as expensive as modern gaming consoles.
The company pulled the product from shelves in 1951 due to poor sales rather than safety concerns. Scientists now understand that even small amounts of uranium can cause severe health problems, including bone, liver, and lung cancer. The U.S. government finally addressed dangerous toys through the 1966 Child Protection Act, which banned the sale of toys containing hazardous substances.
7. Radioactive Medicine
Radithor emerged in 1925 as Bailey Radium Laboratories’ flagship product, marketed as a cure for various ailments including impotence. The drink contained radium-226 and radium-228 dissolved in water, selling over 400,000 bottles at $20 each. Wealthy customers believed small doses of radium could revitalize their organs and boost their energy levels, making it popular among the elite.
The dangers became clear through the case of Eben Byers, a wealthy industrialist who consumed multiple bottles daily for two years. Byers experienced severe radium poisoning symptoms, including weight loss, headaches, and tooth loss. His jaw began to disintegrate as the radium replaced calcium in his bones, leading to his death in 1932. The 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act gave the FDA power to regulate such products, ending the era of radioactive medicine.
6. Texting and Driving
State governments didn’t begin regulating texting while driving until 2008, sixteen years after the invention of SMS messaging. Studies show that texting removes a driver’s eyes from the road for five seconds – enough time to travel the length of a football field at highway speeds. The delay in regulation allowed dangerous driving practices to become commonplace before states took action.
Montana remains the only U.S. state without laws against texting while driving. Research demonstrates that texting bans reduce crash-related hospitalizations by 7%. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identifies texting as the most dangerous driving distraction, combining visual, manual, and cognitive disruption of safe driving practices.
5. Drunk Driving
New Jersey enacted the first drunk driving law in 1906, nearly two decades after motorized vehicles appeared on American roads. Early laws left the definition of “intoxicated” to individual police officers’ judgment, creating inconsistent enforcement. Law enforcement lacked reliable testing methods until the invention of the Drunkometer in 1938 and the more accurate Breathalyzer in the 1950s.
All 50 states now enforce a blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.08%, roughly equivalent to four beers. First-time offenders face up to two years in jail and fines exceeding $6,000. States adopted these unified standards in 2004, establishing clear consequences for impaired driving and ending decades of inconsistent enforcement.
4. Over The Counter Dynamite
Hardware stores sold dynamite without restrictions through the 1960s, allowing any customer to purchase explosive materials without age limits or background checks. Nitroglycerin in dynamite can “sweat” and crystallize, making old explosives dangerous to touch.
The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 established federal oversight of explosives. The law required manufacturers, importers, and dealers to obtain licenses, ending over-the-counter dynamite sales. These regulations remain in effect today, controlling the transport, storage, and distribution of explosive materials.
3. Polygamy
Mormon religious leader Orson Pratt practiced polygyny in the mid-18th century, marrying ten wives and defending the practice as religious freedom. The Mormon church promoted polygamous marriage as divine revelation, establishing communities where multiple-wife households became common. The U.S. Constitution’s religious protections initially shielded these practices from government interference.
The Edmunds Act of 1882 criminalized polygamy, imposing five-year prison sentences for practitioners. The Human Rights Committee supported the ban, citing concerns about women’s dignity and equal treatment in marriage. Today, 58 countries, primarily in Africa and Asia, still permit polygynous marriages.
2. Trial By Combat
Medieval courts recognized trial by combat as a legitimate method of settling disputes, including marital conflicts. These duels set specific rules to balance combat advantages, such as requiring male participants to fight from holes in the ground. The practice persisted in British law through oversight rather than intentional preservation.
Abraham Thornton’s 1817 case exposed this legal loophole when he demanded trial by combat in London. Parliament abolished the practice in 1819 after Thornton avoided prosecution because his accuser refused to fight. Modern legal systems reject violence as a method of determining guilt or settling disputes.
1. Texas Article 1220
Article 1220 of Texas law permitted husbands to kill men caught in intimate relationships with their wives from 1856 to 1973. The statute extended protection to cases based on circumstantial evidence, such as hearing suspicious noises or finding partial undress. The law explicitly denied wives the same rights regarding their husbands’ affairs.
Modern Texas law treats such killings as crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The 1973 repeal aligned Texas with other states’ homicide laws, maintaining self-defense provisions while eliminating gender-based killing privileges. Current law emphasizes equal protection regardless of gender or marital status.
