All of us who attended school probably have memories of the "rules" the school had and that you were supposed to abide by. But, some schools put rules in place that make zero sense, and Reddit user u/SoLe123456 wanted to hear about them when he asked the AskReddit community: "What's the dumbest rule your school ever enforced?"
The thread quickly went viral with thousands of replies, as people shared some weird rules their schools had. Here are some of the top-voted and best comments:
1. "Couldn't be standing around in groups of more than four — 'gang mentality.'"
2. "They outlawed bracelets because there was an article in a magazine somewhere saying they advertised what sexual acts you were open for based on their color. Then someone tried to outlaw wrist watches for the same reason."
3. "We weren’t allowed to wear thongs. I don’t know how they caught people who did, TBH."
4. "No slow dances at the prom."
5. "When I was in junior school (UK boarding school in the '80s), we were not allowed to say 'OK' as it was considered slang and not befitting the young ladies and gentleman that we should aspire to be."
6. "Our school had a rule against colored shoelaces because of gang affiliation. 🙄"
7. "Locked the only boys bathroom because someone wrote on the wall in Sharpie. It wasn't even anything rude or inappropriate either. It was just the word 'hi' or something like that. Didn't unlock the door until one boy wet himself and parents threatened to sue."
8. "Playing cards at lunch was prohibited because it 'promoted gambling.'"
9. "Banned all backpacks/bags on campus. Students were expected to somehow carry everything they needed in hand. This was especially challenging if you had a locker in a non-ideal location."
10. "You have to wear your tie all the way home. Some sad bastard teachers would stand on the main road away from the school and try to hand out detentions in presumably their own time."
11. "Suddenly one day we weren’t allowed to stand in circles during recess because, and I quote, 'We could be dealing drugs.' I will add that for the years prior we had been standing in circles no problem."
12. "Different staircases for boys and girls."
13. "We were not allowed to put our coats on until we were outside. During winter when we would have a storm, we had to go outside in the rain to put our coats on or face receiving a detention if we put them on in the corridor."
14. "If you were cold, you had to buy a school jacket, which was $30. Students and their parents had a $%**."
15. "We once had a rule that we could only go to the bathroom during class. Not in the breaks. Only during class."
16. "If you were caught on your phone, they’d take it until the end of the week. You’d get it back at half-past three on Fridays. Parents went mental. They ditched that rule after two weeks."
17. "My friend is an administrator at a private school in New Jersey and the faculty has to sign in and out of the bathroom using Google sheets."
18. "Girls weren’t allowed to show their ankles. The dean had a pack of socks in her office she would give the students and make them wear. Only girls though. This was the '00s."
19. "My school made it compulsory to wear uniform during online classes."
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.