The Humpty-Hump and the Tootsie Roll may be protected by the First Amendment ... But, alas, we may never know, because a woman in Marshall, N.C., recently received a $275,000 out-of-court settlement to not dirty dance in public.

Eight years ago, Rebecca Willis, then 56, was asked to please leave and never, ever come back after doing some serious dirty dancing at her local community center. She was accused of getting down and nasty, gyrating all over the place and generally bringing the house down, to the extent of showing her underpants and pantomiming sexual intercourse.

The townspeople of Marshall were not amused, claiming that they'd rather "burn the place down" than see the panty peepshow again. Whoopsies! A very lengthy legal battle ensued, questioning whether or not the ban violated Willis' constitutional rights.

The town has finally settled, but the ban is still in place. Willis is cool with that (duh), but she's not done dancing yet.



Also on Lemondrop: Getting your groove on may be protected by law, but we think the faces some people make while they're dancing are felony offenses. Check out these hilarious shots of people caught mid-boogie.

Tragic Dancing Faces

    He looks just like a guy we saw on "Intervention" one week.

    Flickr

    He just saved a bunch of money on his car insurance by switching to GEICO!

    Flickr

    And in that moment, she was no longer a middle-class housewife in small-town Ohio, but a Prima ballerina starring in "Swan Lake" before an audience of adoring fans.

    Flickr

    The seductive tug of the belt coupled with that glassy stare makes you wonder if this nightclub has a proper screening process.

    Flickr

    You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the Old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Jim, DDR extraordinaire.

    Flickr

    Proof that nirvana can be achieved, even in techno clubs.

    Flickr

    One picture is worth 1,000 Divinyls jokes.

    Flickr

    Captured at the exact moment the pee-pee dance went awry.

    Flickr

    No matter what you do, there's no hiding from those "Night at the Roxbury" creeps. They'll devour you whole.

    Flickr

    "Not now chief, I'm in the friggin' zone. Now go get me some Jagerbombs stat."

    Flickr