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We need rules. Apart from our bodies following some very strict and complex biological laws, without which we would not even be, even the very words we use follow universally agreed principles. Like this one, called English.

The political economist Elinor Ostrom (who shared the Noble Prize for economics in 2009) observed the phenomenon of spontaneous rule construction when people had to collectively manage resources such as land, fisheries, or water for irrigation.

She found that people construct rules together about, say, how many cattle a person can graze, where, and when; who gets how much water, and what should be done when the resource is limited. These agreements often arise from the needs of mutually consensual social and economic interactions.

But on the other end of the spectrum, we have the powerful, imposing their way of doing things from the top down. This is exceptionally evident in institutions. To show that it's not necessarily effective, let's take a look at a Reddit thread created by user ObviousEntertainer with the question, "What's the dumbest rule you had in school?"

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#1

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread Needing to wait 10 minutes before and after classes have started to use the restroom.

My adolescent body with developing Crohn’s Disease did NOT take kindly to this rule, and got
Into fights with the bathroom monitor often (someone who would make sure nobody was in
the bathroom for too long doing drugs, having sex, other things of the sort).

Thankfully the Principal had a heart of gold and gave me a special pass to use his personal private bathroom which was so nice and clean. In a high school of 5000 teenagers, being able to poop in peace at the rate you go with Crohn’s Disease made my life somewhat less sh*tty (pun intended).

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#2

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread No gloves, because only gang members wear gloves.
It's freezing cold and your gloves are bright pink? Take them off before someone thinks you're a member of the notorious pink gloves gang.

StrangeJourney , Eren Li Report

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Lara Verne
Lara Verne
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's freezing cold and your gloves are blue? Wait, no, those are my hands.

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#3

In high school, they tried to implement a rule that guys weren't allowed to wear pink that was definitely targeted at a guy who was "one of the freaky people" who would wear a pink hello kitty shirt to school. It didn't work, though, because a large portion of the guys came in the next day wearing pink (including a lot of the football players, which shocked me a little) and the decision was overturned before the day was over.

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#4

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread We could not touch each other. All physical contact was banned.

There was one teacher that claimed if it wasn't for this rule, we would all be running around raping each other. Ah, yes, truly the time of my life.

MyrMilfordMeanswell , Spikeball Report

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Nea
Nea
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sickos projecting their own perversions on kids.

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#5

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread In grade school. We weren't allowed to fight back. That was the actual rule. A kid pinned me down with the help of his friends and started going at it. It was winter and he was wearing his big puffy gloves so it wasn't too bad, but I kicked him off of me and I got in an equal amount of trouble as him. A different kid a few years younger got suspended for a similar instance that same year.

When I pressed them as to what I was supposed to do, apparently I was supposed to "use my words". Yes because the most effective tool to stop someone beating the s**t out of you is to ask them nicely to stop. I loved that school, amazing teachers and support staff, but f**k the administration was terrible.

PopeOfDestiny , Mike Hauser Report

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Mrs.Pugh
Mrs.Pugh
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bro, I'm remembering what they told us to do at my first elementary school if we were ever bullied. Put your hand out IN THEIR FACE and say "stop". Yeah, that totally wouldn't have gotten anyone's hand chopped off 🤷🏽‍♀️

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#6

If you were absent too many days out of the year you got a 2 day suspension. Nothing like kicking kids out of school for not being in school.

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#7

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread My kindergarten had no doors on the toilet cubicles, but huge mirrors on the opposite wall. We all had to go at the one time. *everyone could see what you were doing. I have lifelong anxiety from this*

coma-toaste , ttarasiuk Report

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saltypancakes
saltypancakes
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s disgusting that adults think kindergarten children don’t need any privacy.

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#8

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread Couldn't wear flip flops because they were considered a weapon but you could wear stiletto heels...

TheenotoriousVIC , madaise Report

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Alexia
Alexia
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That reminds me... Our class had a small celebration in high school at the end of the year (it was something common). The janitor reported to the principal that we had brought condoms in school, which was outrageous, and that we were noisy and messy. The principal decided to ban such "parties". Bonus: those were not condoms. They were balloons. But nobody would to listen to us.

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#9

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread In middle school, if we said sorry we got in school suspension. The teachers claimed that apologizing is a form of lying and lying is bad.

Edit: We also weren’t allowed to have water bottles or to to a water fountain. The only time we got a chance to drink was during our lunch. We could also only to go the bathroom once a semester, or we would be have in school suspension.

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Lara Verne
Lara Verne
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Logic has left the chat. Common sense has left the chat.

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#10

At an all girls high school: No ankle socks because ankles can attract boys and make them have sex with you.

Ankles lead to legs. And legs lead to.... up there.... and we ALL know what's in that area.

(which also, according to the school was rape on the girl's part because you were making the boy want to have sex with you and boys, as you know, cannot resist so....)

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#11

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread Clear or mesh backpacks only. This was from 1st grade through high school in the late 90s to early 2000s.

We also had to wear a safety vest as our bathroom pass in high school. It was such a joke that the first year the rule was introduced, our year books were a giant safety vest on the outside. Honestly the thought of a shared unisex safety vest for bathroom visits still grosses me out as I know those things were never washed properly.

Edit: This was before Columbine happened.

TheHolyZarquon , Wendy Harman Report

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Fluffy mommy panda
Fluffy mommy panda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think all through middle school we had to to do this. In highschool we didn't crazy.

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#12

I wore the skull misfits shirt and they called me to the deans office and told me to turn it inside out. They said it was because it represented death.

I said “so it represents something that inevitably happens to every person, so I’m not allowed to wear it?” Then walked out. Never caught any flak for it, was pretty proud of my punk 16 year old rebellious self.

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#13

In high school we had what they called "lock-out". If you were 1 second late for class the teachers would lock the doors and you were supposed to go to the cafeteria to get a detention for being late. Instead of getting a detention I would just leave school and skip the whole day and not get in any trouble. All because I was a few seconds late for class. Pretty dumb.

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#14

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread No Simpsons anything. This was when it premiered, and there was this national scare that Bart was a bad influence. There were to popular Bart shirts that were banned, one that said "I'm Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?" and another that said "Bart Simpson, underachiever and proud of it"

This eventually evolved into banning all Simpsons shirts, school supplies, stickers, etc. after some of the teachers started watching the show.

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#15

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread No water bottles because a few girls 4 years ago snuck vodka into the bathroom.

thelastdodobird01 , bd914 Report

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Kayjunmoon
Kayjunmoon
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Banning bottles for that reason is ridiculous, there is always a way round the regulations, especially ridiculous ones.

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#16

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread In primary school, we weren’t allowed to use erasers. We were never told why.

Whose_cat_is_that , Ralf St. Report

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Irish woman abroad
Irish woman abroad
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I work, some teachers will take the erasers away from certain kids, because they get so bogged down with trying to write the date and heading perfectly, and so caught up with perfectionism in total, that they get nothing done. Plus, they want to see where this child is getting stuck. A child who always writes a couple of letters and immediately starts rubbing stuff out is a bit of a red flag. (they do give them back, they're not monsters!)

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#17

The boys weren’t allowed to wear shorts at my middle school, but the girls could wear ‘culottes’ (basically shorts with a fancy name). One day about a hundred boys came to school wearing culottes. The Man had it stuck to him hard that day

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#18

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread We couldn’t wear winter clothing in class (coats, gloves, hats). Even with the heat on, it got cold in the winter inside the school so we just had to freeze. They said it was because winter clothing were gang symbols. This was a farm town in Wisconsin.

gouwbadgers , Alvin Mahmudov Report

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Mrs.Pugh
Mrs.Pugh
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's up with schools and normal clothing looking like gang symbols? Do the administrators not wear clothes?

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#19

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread My middle school banned hugs. At least, they banned front hugs--the rule was against "chest to chest" contact, regardless of context or gender. No chest bumps after a game. Several girls got in trouble for hugging their female friends goodbye after school. It was a strange place.

Edit: To clarify, this was a public school in a suburban area in a liberal part of the country (US). I don't remember whether there was a ban against hugs from behind--I'll try to ask some old classmates when I get home and update if any of them remember.

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#20

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread Well 3 of them.

No mechanical pencils or any pens that click. Teachers found that s**t annoying.


No peeing outside the toilet or urinal. Common decency but if your caught, you would get a call to your parents. The rule isn't stupid, its actually really good, but the people who its targetted at are.

Zero tolerance policy. It's in nearly every school. I haven't had any encounters but it does strike people hard. Imagine getting beat up.... and getting punished for being beat up because you happened to be involved even though you did nothing. It's a d**k of a rule.

anon , mr_t_77 Report

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OwenHasADHD
OwenHasADHD
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who in their right mind would take a p**s just...not in the toilet or urinal??? Where else would you go, on the floor??

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#21

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread We weren't allowed to wear shirts with pictures on them. That includes embroidered logos like you might see from Nike, Champion, or Polo shirts. Kids were wearing those shirts that had Bugs Bunny and Taz dressed up as Kris Kross and some parent or teacher thought they looked like gangsters. So the shirts were dubbed gang paraphernalia and the school wanted them banned but didn't know how to just ban those without some kid feeling targeted so they banned all shirts with pictures. We'd have free dress day about every two weeks (which devolved into whenever they felt like it) where you could wear a picture shirt, except for those dubbed "gang paraphernalia" (? why they didn't do that to begin with, over Kris Kross Bugs Bunny of all things I don't know). If you wore something with a logo on it you had to either cover it with masking tape or buy special labels from the school to cover it.


Yay for insane Christian private schools.

scarletnightingale , Karola Riegler Report

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#22

My middle school had a rule; if you were sent to the office for misbehavior, you remained in the office for the rest of the day.

Knowing this, my first period teacher found every escuse to send me to the office. I missed all of my lessons and nearly failed 7th grade.

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#23

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread Non American here, We need to pay fine when we don't speak English in school. In every class, class leader used to note down student names who ever speak their native language other than English. This rule went on for 2 years and then they finally removed it.

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#24

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread In middle school, had a stupid as all hell "one way hallway system", where students could only walk in the halls one direction. Made me late twice actually since my class was the first one behind the exit door, but forced to go in the entrance door. Was enforced even when halls were empty. One stick in the mud teacher threatened to write me up if I questioned the rule.

cakefaice1 , Joe Wolf Report

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FakeOptimist
FakeOptimist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure : write a kid up for questioning the rules. Should report that teacher to whoever taught them ethics and have his/her diploma revoked.

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#25

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread In elementary school, we couldn't kick a ball at recess because the school was afraid we would kick the balls to the top of the building.

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Dan Padgett
Dan Padgett
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think a single school in the UK is allowed to operate without a ball on the roof.

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#26

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread At any point you may not talk during lunch, and may not laugh at large stools in the bathroom.
I s**t you not. (Excuse the pun)

Edit: I am from the UK

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#27

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread We weren't allowed to be indoors for more than five minutes at recess. This was in Canada and indoor recess started when it was below -25C. Instances of school-wide diarrhea really shot up during the winter.

punkterminator , gfpeck Report

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Remi (He/Him)
Remi (He/Him)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our temp limit was -15°C. Above that you needed to go out during recess. Our teacher also liked to play this weird power trip where we couldn't check the temp ourselves and, if we asked it always seemed to be -14,5°C even when the news were saying it was gonna be a -20 something day

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#28

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread We could play Magic TG but we had to remove any offensive cards. Yes they looked through our decks to make sure. Good ol' Oklahoma.

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Remi (He/Him)
Remi (He/Him)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What makes a card offensive? And I bet someone tried to report a card to be offensive if they lost because of it too many times. "Teacher teacher! I think Wally's black lotus is really offensive!" 😄

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#29

When I was a freshman in high school (late '80s) there was a designated smoking area on campus. It was a square, maybe 10' x 10' painted on the ground in the courtyard. Students could only smoke in that box on campus. The next year they decided that you could only smoke in that box if you had a note from your parents. The year after that, no students were allowed to smoke on campus. My senior year, staff wasn't allowed to smoke on campus. This resulted in the box metaphorically moving to someone's driveway across the street, where students and teachers were all smoking together.

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BluEyedSeoulite
BluEyedSeoulite
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Smokers' Corner was also directly across the street on public sidewalk. I didn't see any teachers smoke there but my sister was a smoker and has different nemories

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#30

30 Of The Most Bizarre And Just Straight Up Dumb Rules That People Had In Their Schools, As Shared On This Thread When i was in middle school that god awful " Shrek is love Shrek is Life" video came out and the student council wanted to have a shrek spirit day because of it. So the school banned shrek and anyone who talked about it got a detention.

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