No, sleeping on a refrigerator in your Oregon backyard is not illegal. This appears to be a myth or misattributed “quirky law” often linked to Pennsylvania, particularly Pittsburgh, where urban legends claim it’s banned outdoors due to public nuisance or safety concerns from abandoned appliances.
Oregon Backyard Sleeping Rules
Oregon cities like Eugene and Myrtle Point allow overnight sleeping in backyards of single-family homes, but only in tents, camping shelters, vehicles, campers, or trailers—with owner/tenant permission and limits like one family per yard. No state or local codes specifically mention refrigerators or appliances as sleeping surfaces; general safety rules apply, such as sanitary facilities and no nuisances.
Related Appliance Laws
Oregon requires removing doors from discarded refrigerators left outdoors to prevent child entrapment deaths, a nationwide safety measure from the 1950s Refrigerator Safety Act. Sleeping on one wouldn’t violate this directly, but it could raise issues under nuisance, zoning, or fire codes if unsafe.
Why the Confusion?
Lists of “bizarre laws” wrongly attribute the refrigerator rule to various states, including Oregon, but verified sources trace it to Pennsylvania without an exact statute—likely folklore from vagrancy or disposal laws. Oregon’s odd laws focus elsewhere, like hotel bath restrictions or juggling licenses in some towns.
