Don't forget: no Silly String in Hollywood on Halloween

A gentle reminder that Silly String is banned in Hollywood on Halloween. This ban has been in effect since 2004.

Hollywood's ordinance calls for a maximum $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail for use, possession, sale or distribution of Silly String in Hollywood from 12:00 a.m. on October 31 to 12:00 a.m. on November 1.

While the whole thing sounds "silly," it's not to the LAPD. It was, at least prior to the ordinance, a major issue and expense for the city, and for business owners, who asked for the ordinance to be put in place. The press release from 2004 says:

On a typical Halloween night, up to 100,000 people come to Hollywood Boulevard in search of something to do. Given the lack of a formal event, hundreds of illegal vendors flock to the street and sell Silly String which then becomes the sole source of entertainment for the night.

Loa Angeles City personnel are deployed from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Department of Transportation, Bureau of Street Services and Department of Sanitation to protect and clean up the Silly String "event." The financial costs to the city are detrimental as they exceed $200,000 for this one night.

Silly String, for those who don't know it, is supposed to be a toy, but it used by adults as well. Basically, it's aerosol string: a stream of liquid shot from an aerosol can sets quickly into a flexible, brightly-colored plastic string, in mid-air. It gets used for various celebrations, parties, and the like.