The St. Louis Beer Bucket Law That Never Was

You've probably seen it on one of those viral "weird laws" lists: It's illegal to drink beer out of a bucket while you're sitting on a curb in St. Louis! It sounds oddly specific, hilariously random, and just plausible enough to believe. But here's the thing—it's almost certainly not true.

Despite being repeated across dozens of websites cataloging bizarre municipal codes, this supposed law has a glaring problem: nobody can find the actual ordinance. Not the statute number, not the legal text, not even a historical reference to when it might have been passed. It's a legal ghost story.

Where Do These Myths Come From?

The internet loves a good "weird law" list. Sites dedicated to collecting bizarre legal oddities often copy from each other without verification, creating an echo chamber of unchecked claims. Once something appears on enough sites, it gains an air of credibility through sheer repetition—even when there's no evidence behind it.

Some of these laws were real at some point in history. Cities passed hyper-specific ordinances to address local problems that seem absurd today. But others? Pure fiction, misremembered rules, or jokes that took on a life of their own.

What St. Louis Actually Bans

St. Louis does have real public drinking laws. The city prohibits open containers of alcohol in certain public spaces, and Missouri lacks a statewide open container law, leaving it up to municipalities to regulate. But nowhere in the official St. Louis Revised Code is there mention of buckets, curbs, or any combination thereof.

If this law ever existed, it would likely fall under the city's general alcohol ordinances—but those focus on standard containers and public intoxication, not bizarre bucket-and-curb scenarios.

The Appeal of Absurdity

Why do we love these fake laws so much? Because they're entertaining. They make us imagine a world where legislators sat around debating the dangers of curbside bucket-drinking. They suggest that somewhere, at some point, bucket-on-curb beer consumption was such a rampant problem that the city council had to intervene.

The truth is less colorful: this law probably never existed. But the myth persists because it's more fun than reality.

The Takeaway

Before you repeat a "weird law" at your next party, do a quick fact-check. If there's no ordinance number, no legal citation, and no credible source—it's probably fake. St. Louis has plenty of real quirks without needing to invent imaginary beer bucket legislation.

So go ahead, drink responsibly from whatever container you'd like. Just maybe not while sitting on a curb in public—not because it's illegal, but because, well, sidewalks are kind of gross.