Legal Landmarks: 32 Unique Laws & Acts Enacted Worldwide

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26Height of Buildings Act

Height of Buildings Act

The reason Washington, D.C. has no skyscrapers is because of the Height of Buildings Act passed in 1899 in response to the construction of the city's tallest building, the Cairo Hotel in 1894.


27. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was one of the first laws passed in the US to prevent a specific ethnic group from entering the country.


28. Ontario's Dog Owner's Liability Act ('DOLA') stipulates that a dog owner(s) assumes liability for damages caused by dog bites or attacks. This is a strict liability test because it does not depend on an owner's negligence, fault, or the animal's known propensity to act aggressively.


29. Eisenhower passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 after gaining an appreciation for the German Autobahn system after serving as Commander during World War 2. The act included a 10-year, $100 billion programs, which would build 40,000 miles of highways across America.


30. Seatbelts in cars first surfaced around 1950-55 (Model T was first widely available car in 1908). It wasn't until 1966 that the US Congress passed National Traffic and MV Safety Act which made manufacturers comply with safety standards. New York was the first state to enact a seatbelt requirement in 1984.


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31Contagious Diseases Act

Contagious Diseases Act

The Contagious Diseases Act in the mid-late 1860s allowed police to detain and inspect any woman they thought might have an STD, leading to many innocent women being inspected.


32. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act (Pub.L. 90–363, 82 Stat. 250) is an Act of Congress that amended the federal holiday provisions of the United States Code to establish the observance of certain holidays on Mondays (including Memorial Day, formerly May 30th). It was signed on 6/28/1968 and was effective from 1/1/1971.

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