The "Hangman's Knot"

Has anyone heard about it being illegal to fashion a rope into a "hangman's knot" (ie noose)? I remember hearing rumors like that when I was little, and the whole issue about the Jena 6 has brought it up in some of the forums I frequent.

Anyone?

[CenTex]

I always heard that it was illegal to tie a 13 knot noose. It was okay to tie one with fewer knots, but a 13 knot one was illegal. I have no idea of the validity of this, but I doubt if it is true.

Back in college, I was living with a roommate and we got into an argument about how to make a hangman's knot. Eventually, we figured it out and hung the resultant knot from the ceiling air vent. We thought it was funny and forgot about it.

Sometime later, my roommate, who worked at a local factory, got the job offer he had wanted. His college education was paying off. So on the way to work that night, he decided to blow off work (didn't need the job anymore) and just go driving around the country.

At his factory, his boss got worried because my roommate had never missed a single day of work. So he calls my roommate's Mom and she goes over to our place. I was out of town that weekend, so she looks in the apartment window and sees our noose hanging from the ceiling. She immediately panics, thinking my roommate did NOT get the job offer and was now suicidal.

She has my roommate's brother break into the apartment to look for him (he's not there). She and my roommate's boss are able to convince the police that he is "missing" (he would never just run off like that).

My roommate eventually shows up at the apartment to find the police, his whole family, his Mom's minister, his boss, and various other friends and relatives all worried sick about him.

That's what you get for always being responsible and on-time....and having a hangman's noose in your apartment.

Note, we didn't get arrested for the knot.

[snopes]

Noose-a-chow