Inside SF's Odd List of Banned Items

As one of America’s most liberal cities considers banning the sale of all pets, the Atlantic Wire decided to take a look at stops along San Francisco's "unending quest to be a place of populist values"—a journey in which "the city sometimes legislates itself into ridiculousness." After all, San Francisco was named after the patron saint of ... animals. Other items the city has banned:

• Plastic shopping bags: SF was the first in the country to ban these. The 2007 move has been a success, with 5 million fewer bags consumed each month in the ban's first year, and copycat bans following in Boston and Portland, Oregon.
• Phone books: Yellow Pages phone books can no longer be deposited on the porches of residents who haven't OKed the delivery, thanks to a May law.
• Smoking: This city's ban is more extreme than most. Thanks to a March 2010 extension of its smoking ban, lighting up while at an ATM or an outdoor cafe isn't permitted.
• Sitting on the sidewalk: In a move intended to curb aggressive panhandling by loafers, sitting and lying on the sidewalk between 7am and 11pm is not permitted thanks to this measure, which was approved in November.

Click to read the entire list.