42. Missouri: Bachelor Taxes
In the nineteenth century, lawmakers decided to aggressively and financially penalize individuals who refused to settle down and start a traditional family. A strange historical law mandated that if a man remains single while between the ages of 21 and 50, he must pay an annual penalty tax of exactly one dollar. The municipal revenue generated from this bachelor tax was supposedly funneled directly into the state education fund to support local schools. The law was a highly heavy-handed legislative attempt to strongly encourage marriage and rapid family expansion to help populate the rapidly growing western region.