I was at a 4-way stop in Silver Lake yesterday and watched four cars in a row do that thing where you slow down to maybe 8 mph, look both ways, and just keep rolling. Including me. Nobody stopped. Nobody honked. We all just understood the assignment. And it got me thinking about how much of daily life here is technically against the rules but is so universally ignored that actually following the rule would make you the weird one. Like if I came to a full stop at every stop sign in this city the person behind me would lose their mind. A few I can think of off the top of my head:
- CAR SEX. SO MUCH.
- the California roll, obviously
- jaywalking literally anywhere in this city, especially after they relaxed the law but also way before that
- U-turns at intersections that don't say no U-turn but also kind of imply it
- smoking weed on the beach, on a hike, on your balcony, in your car at a red light
- parking in a red zone for "just a sec" to run into a coffee shop
- using the bus lane on Wilshire when you're "almost" at your turn
- street parking on the wrong side overnight and gambling on the sweeper
- driving 80 in the carpool lane with one person and a strategically placed jacket in the passenger seat
- crossing into Malibu past the gates of a "private" beach that legally isn't private
- SEX IN POOLS!!
- having a side gig you don't report because the platform 1099 is a suggestion, apparently
I'm not talking about real crimes. I'm talking about the stuff where if a cop actually pulled you over for it you'd be genuinely shocked, like the rule technically exists but the social contract has quietly voted it out of relevance.
What's yours? I feel like every neighborhood has its own unwritten "yeah we all do that here" rulebook and I want to read the whole thing.