23. Connecticut: Bouncing Pickles
Commercial food standards were severely tested decades ago when fraudulent vendors were caught selling basic, raw cucumbers and marketing them at a premium as fully cured pickles. The state food commissioner intervened directly and established a highly specific scientific test to determine the validity of the agricultural product. By strict legal definition, a pickle must physically bounce when dropped from a specific height in order to be officially considered a pickle. If the vegetable splatters or breaks upon impact, it is legally just a cucumber. The law was designed to protect consumers from fraudulent vendors selling unripe, improperly preserved foods.