At one time, it was illegal for a man to wear mismatched jackets and pants in public in Carmel, N.Y. And Staten Islanders could only water their lawns if they held a hose in their hand.

In Georgia, donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs. In Crippe Creek, Colo., it is taboo to bring horses or mules above the ground floor of any building.

These are just a few of hundreds of "dumb laws" compiled by Jeff Koon and Andy Powell, the brains behind dumblaws.com. Arranged by state and country, the Web site offers visitors a glimpse into some of the most laughable laws ever put on paper.

Koon and Powell began compiling the laws in 1998 for their own amusement, and the site just grew. It now has advertising, links to the laws themselves and a "random law" link that can take visitors to silly statutes all over the world.

A recent "randow law" trail brought these to the attention of Courttv.com:

Koon and Powell do not vouch for the current applicability of any law that they highlight, but they make an effort to note when a provision is revised or repealed. In other words, don't use dumblaws.com to try to write a law school thesis.

"Keep in mind that this is an entertainment site, we wouldn't recommend using our laws as evidence in court, unless you'd like the judge to laugh you into jail!" the co-creators advise visitors on their homepage.

The site also has an extensive reader discussion board, an online jury room of sorts where people can discuss what they consider to be good legislation or poor public policy.

Recently, a visitor with the screen name "MP" gave the thumbs up to an Arizona law imposing a hefty prison term and fine for anyone convicted of cutting down cacti.

"The law forbidding cutting down cactus is a good one. See, the endangered Sagauro Cactus only grows in the Sonoran Desert ... and takes hundreds of years to grow," MP wrote. "There still are problems with people shooting them down and committing other vandalism."

Some of the discussion is quite serious. "Artsmass" submitted a comment about laws and policies created in the wake of the school-violence wave.

"I'm talking about the latest zero tolerance weapon laws that our illustrious school systems have adopted. I'm as horrified as anybody about the recent school shootings, but these laws would have done exactly SQUAT to prevent any of them," Artsmass wrote. "They are the epitome of our politically correct 'we HAVE to do SOMETHING' reactionary way of pseudo-dealing with problems that are obviously more than surface deep."

Some readers submit prospective "dumb law" entries via the discussion boards. Koon and Powell get around to researching them eventually but offer no guarantees they are current.

"This is pretty funny," a reader named JeReMy wrote in. "In one town in IL it is illegal to go ICE skating on outside ponds and lakes. In the months of July and August."

Koon and Powell are not lawyers, not even law students. They are both 17-year-old seniors at Columbus High School in Columbus, Ga.

"A lot of people mistake us for actual lawyers or legal professionals, Legal Aid or something like that. It's just a hobby for us," Koon said.

As for his personal favorite among the many dumb laws, Koon said he is asked that a lot.

"I really don't have a favorite," he said. "There's so many of them, it's hard to pick."

Koon and Powell are busy researching some of the sillier laws in anticipation of writing a book. They asks visitors to their homepage for help with the origins of four mandates: a law in New Orleans making it illegal to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant; a ban in Indiana against men appearing publicly in an aroused, "discernibly turgid state," even while fully clothed; a regulation in California granting lizards the same rights as dogs; and an Alabama provision making it illegal to maim yourself in order to make people sorry for you and give you money.

If dumblaws.com doesn't tickle your funny bone, other Web sites belonging to the "Dumb Network" just might. Dumblaws.com's sister sites include dumbbumpers.com (bumper stickers), dumbfacts.com, dumbcriminalacts.com and more.

More Caught on the Web