A Chicago law once banned 'ugly' people from being in public
An 1881 law in Chicago made it illegal for 'ugly' people to be in public, in an attempt to eradicate street begging. The law stated that no person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or in any way deformed would be allowed in public places. Beggars were reportedly fined $1-$50 or shipped off. The law was later abolished in the 1970s. 