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Many famous books (especially those critical of government or people in power) have been banned in various countries and at various times, but here are 16 cases of books banned for bizarre reasons, often in head scratching locales. Take Candide, banned in 1929 in Boston:
So why was the book seized in America in 1929? Surely, at that point, we were okay with making snide remarks about the jesuits? Apparently customs in Boston disagreed, stopping the book from reaching a Harvard french class on the grounds of it being “obscene”. The official who made the decision to capture the novel said “… But about ‘Candide,’ I’ll tell you. For years we’ve been letting that book get by. There were so many different editions, all sizes and kinds, some illustrated and some plain, that we figured the book must be all right. Then one of us happened to read it. It’s a filthy book …”
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by 
Popular Mechanics has assembled a list of five popular toys that were eventually banned in the US. Among the toys on the list is the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, marketed between 1950-51, which contained actual radioactive materials:
Called “the most elaborate Atomic Energy educational set ever produced” by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, this sophisticated science kit contained four types of uranium ore, its very own Geiger counter and a comic book called Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom. A form on the back of the instruction manual allowed a burgeoning Ernest Rutherford to send a note to New Haven, Conn., bearing the message, “Gentlemen: I need replacements for the following radioactive sources, (check which): ALPHA____, BETA _____, GAMMA ______ or CLOUD CHAMBER SOURCE____.”
Mechanical engineer and inveterate tinkerer Bill Gurstelle fondly recalls the Atomic Energy Lab, saying, “everybody wanted that kit.” Nowadays, he adds, “science kits are just sugar and salt.” This kit appeared 21 years too soon—the as-yet-nonexistent CPSC never got a chance to ban it. In the meantime, here are the results of our recent experiments with eight new, and decidedly less radioactive, science kits.
Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Did you know that if you buy yellow margarine in Missouri you’re commiting a crime? A 19th century state law banned the sale of yellow margarine, though "it’s been years since any violator was ordered to spread ‘em."
Most of Missouri’s restrictions on imitation butter date to 1895, and they were last amended in 1939. Although the state no longer enforces them, the penalties could still make dealers in contraband dairy product toast: up to a month in jail and a $100 fine for first-time offenders and six months in jail and a $500 fine for repeat offenders.
Enforcement of the law falls to the state Agriculture Department, and officials there didn’t know when someone was last prosecuted under it. Case records from the late 19th and early 20th century show that Missouri courts upheld the constitutionality of the restrictions in several appeals.
Agriculture Department spokeswoman Misti Preston said it’s likely that the Legislature restricted margarine and other imitation butter products to protect Missouri’s dairy industry, which was a key business for the state in the early 20th century.
Link (yep, I got the the funny title from there) – via Bits & Pieces
