It seems that giving away ice cream has been illegal in Tennessee since 1957, when state legislators were trying to combat alleged unfair trade practices by the dairy industry. Upon its being alerted to the existence of this law, the state Senate and House unanimously passed a bill to repeal the law, sending it to the governor for signature. Aha, but it’s not as simple as you think.
The bill as written would have eliminated an entire section of state law covering unfair trade practices and frozen desserts.
The bill was withdrawn after some lawmakers got calls from dairy company officials who feared the bill was too broad.
It is unclear whether an amended bill will pass in time for Baskin-Robbins’ free cone day, planned for April 28.
(Links courtesy of Fark. It’s not news. It’s Fark.)
April 16th, 2004
Sorry, no free ice cream in Tennessee; it's illegal
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Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.
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