Georgia’s Finger Lickin’ Good & Woke Fried Chicken Law
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In Gainesville, Georgia, there is an ordinance that requires people to eat fried chicken with their fingers. Eating fried chicken with a knife, fork, spoon or any other utensil is strictly forbidden and illegal. I love food and am very particular about it. The idea that a town has gone so far as to codify a LAW about how to eat is WONDERFUL.
A little history about this magical law. Gainesville calls itself The Poultry Capital of the World. They even have a chicken monument in the center of town. I was surprised to hear them referred to as the Poultry Capital because I’d never associated Georgia with chicken. Call me naive, but I would have assumed the Poultry Capital was someplace in Kentucky.
Like Corbin, Kentucky where KFC was started. Or, Louisville, Kentucky where KFC is headquartered. Heck, the Poultry Capital sounds like it could maybe even be some place in Louisiana, like New Orleans, where Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits was founded. But nope, it’s Gainesville Georgia.
The reason? Chickens are apparently Georgia’s biggest agricultural crop making them over $1billion a year! Okay, Georgia, I see you, respect.
But just how serious is Gainesville about this fried chicken law? From my research, pretty serious. Even though the town insists that this law is mainly a publicity stunt, people have actually been ARRESTED for breaking this law — I kid you not!
The first person arrested was the former President of the University of Georgia. The most famous person arrested was…wait for it…wait for it… Colonel Sanders! Yes, don’t you love it? Mr. Kentucky Fried Chicken himself was arrested for eating fried chicken with utensils — you’d think he’d know better.
The most recent arrest was of a 91 year old woman named Ginny Dietrek in 2009. Her citation required her to not get up from the table until she’d eaten the chicken with her hands “down to and including the licking of the…
