Weirdest Supreme Court Cases

United States V. Ninety-Five Barrels, More or Less, Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar
This case was during the Prohibition era. During that time, food companies were often involved in shady activities, like misbranding. In this case, the U.S. government sued the Douglas Packing Company because they used dried apples rehydrated with water to make apple cider vinegar, instead of using traditional fresh apples. I understand the government is trying to protect our health, but I don't think this case was big enough to go to the SUPREME COURT.

Birthday Song Case
This series of trials began in the mid-1900s when the happy birthday song was officially patented. This required anyone who used this song to owe the patentes a certain sum of money. A series of restaurants in 1980 was sued for using the song without permission. Restaurants now have their own patents on these songs.a

Buck v. Bell
This case is less weird and more just shocking. In the 1900s, John and Alice Dobbs sent their foster daughter Carrie Buck to an insane asylum on the grounds of promiscuity and feeble mindless, This girl had been sexually assaulted by the Dobb’s nephew, and they thought that this would avoid the embarrassment that would come to their family name. In Indiana, it was a common practice for the “feeble-minded” to be sterilized. Since Buck’s mom was originally institutionalized, the line of argument was easier and they could blame it on some hereditary disorder.

Nix v. Hedden
In Hedden, the Court ruled on a New York state statute that was taxing tomatoes as vegetables. The Nix family imported large numbers of tomatoes, so they sued to try to lessen their tax burden. The court was forced to rule on whether the tomato was a fruit or vegetable. The court ruled that it was a vegetable.

United States v. Approximately 64,695 pounds of Shark Fins
This case resulted from statutes meant to clamp down on shark hunting. Sharks are more commonly taken for their dorsal fin, and the rest of the meat is left to spoil in the ocean. 64,695 is a lot of pounds. The fact that one defendant could be responsible for this many shark fins, is weird and incredible.