I'm in awe of the amount of research and then editing that you put into these. You make it look so easy - but there's *so* much work that must go into them. It's really appreciated. Thank you.
dude at 1.6 m a year she has a team do it all lol and that is why google her net . she should give credit to them as an american i would nd dissagrree with lot she talks about and im only 3 hrs away fromwhere shes from
Well Done Amanda Obviously I am a fan of yours, so I suggest this: Take some of these weirdest facts, and make a concentrated video about them One which you didn't mention is: Welshman are prohibited from entering Chester (England's Border) before the sun rises and have to leave before the sun goes down. Because of this, in Chester, it is technically OK to shoot a Welshman after midnight on Sunday with a crossbow, as long as it's within the city walls. Quite Right Too, Rebels that they are 😄
Agreed. The voice, humour, pace etc all add up to create a pleasant, relaxing and educational experience while also encouraging us to think about things we wouldn't necessarily.
Oliver Cromwell banned mince pies and other Christmas treats in the 1650's in order to tackle gluttony. The ban didn't survive for long and the act of eating mince pies is now just a myth. Nowadays it is virtually compulsory to eat mince pies on Christmas Day!
Interesting fact about Harrods, I suppose in those days taking a trip to Harrods had a totally different meaning. Enjoyed your Monty Python moment also
The red lion is the most common symbol used on coats of arms. With the red lion in such widespread use by those entitled to bear arms, who were almost by definition landowners and lords of the manor, it was likely that the red lion was used a lot as a sign of respect or obedience, particularly if the landowner subsidized the beer, to keep the peasants happy.
I believe that it's still on the statute books that a taxi must carry hay. This dates back to when the hackney carriages were pulled by horses and they had to be fed.
Sausages used to be called bags of mystery because the butcher used to put anything and everything in them to make them go further (from a selling point of view). All sorts of scraps, organs, rat meat etc. Basically, you never knew what you were getting.
I don't find the rules regarding children and alcohol strange. It means that parents train their children in safe and sensible drinking practices long before peer pressure can get a hold of them. It also means that drinking isn't associated with rebellion. It's something you do with your family, at a meal. I was permitted a sip of what my parents were drinking from the age of 5, and by the time I was 11 I would be drinking a glass of cider or wine with Sunday roast, and a glass of sherry or port on special occasions. As far as I know, only 1 of my siblings ever got so drunk that they were disruptive, and he only did it a couple of times during his teens, he got over that phase quickly. My family instilled safe, restrained drinking habits into us, and all of us as adults drink seldom and responsibly. Its normal in European culture. Drinking is associated with socializing and a meal, not getting blind drunk and doing stupid things. There are definitely people in the UK that do do that, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was because their own parents hadn't trained them up in healthy alcohol use as children.
Number 48 is the cutest thing I’ve seen on RUclips😂 Great video. I’m in central Wiltshire and you can pretty much know which town you are in by the accents but Devizes is in a different league👩🏻🌾
I'm deaf. I know my fact not crazy. British Sign Language has strong regional variation, but the variants are better considered to be dialects rather than accents. There 22 ways to sign "Purple" in British Sign Language.
This is understand. I can hear but still know a little sign. Often I'm like Stop, what's that sign ? then out comes the phone and the bsl dictionary. LOL signing with drunk deaf people is particularly fun
great bunch of info there Amanda, and lots of comments :) Apparently the monarch owns all unmarked Mute Swans on parts of the River Thames. An annual census of Mute Swans on the Thames is taken in the Swan Upping ceremony. This came to light when a young girl wrote to the queen asking if they could have one, and a royal representative explained that it was just the unmarked mute swans on the Thames, rather than the whole of the UK. still funny though
From a born and bred English man it was very insightful. Many of the perculiar laws you mentioned were made many many years ago, they are not observed or enforced and wouldn't stand up invcort. There was an ancient law saying it was legal to shoot a welshman inside Chesters walls at night with a bow and arrow. I'm glad you like Brighton, its my home town. Keep up the good work.
Interesting! There must several myths around the Red Lion motif! I'd been led to believe that it was down to a number of ships' captains during the late 17th century who decided to set themselves up as tavern owners after their discharge from the Navy, and came back with the trophies of red lion emblems that decorated the bows of captured Dutch ships.
Even more complicated - the Lion Rampant (standing, forelimbs out etc.) is the Scottish coat-of-arms. 'Three Lions' )actually Leopards, heraldically speaking) is English and goes all the way back to Henry II's father.
The weirdest fact we have about the uk concerns counties. We have TWO counties that are 'smallest' due to a bizarre geographical entity. At High tide the Isle of wight is smaller (and yes that is it's own county) but at low tide Rutland is smaller so we have two counties that for half the year each are smaller.........only in the UK.
The Queen and Swans: the monarch owns all unmarked Mute Swans on parts of the River Thames. An annual census of Mute Swans on the Thames is taken in the Swan Upping ceremony. Windsor Castle is the oldest Royal Residence in constant occupation.
Hi, Amanda, the red lion is the most common name for a pub, because King James 1st of England/ 6th of Scotland decreed that the red lion of Scotland should be put on every inn and important building in England. Also, Polish potatoes were banned from being imported, because their potatoes had ring rot disease.
10:37 is possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen on RUclips that didn't include a cute furry animal and made all the better by quoting Monty python. A true Brit if ever there was one.
In my home town of Carlisle in the north west, there is still a law saying that a Scotsman found at large within the area bounded by the old city walls during the hours of darkness can be summarily hung without trial from the nearest tree. The only condition is that it must be done by a pure blood Carliol (the word for a native of the city as Mancunian is to Manchester or Glaswegian to Glasgow). The trouble with that is, there hasn't been a pure Carliol in about 500 years or more.
The Polish potato ban was because there was a 'ring rot' outbreak in Poland in 2004 which affects part of the potato and spreads to other potato's if planted as it is a bacterial thing. Basically, the potato's go soft and squishy like they are rotting and nobody will buy them.
Common Law in England and Wales is extremely old, so there’s a number of laws which are not enforced and haven’t been for years that were logical many hundreds of years ago but not today. They just haven’t been repealed for some bizarre reason. Statute law with acts passed by Parliament with its various sections and subsections is more modern but there are still many old laws of common law that haven’t been repealed some of which go back to at least the 13th century :).
Love interesting facts about Britain, I did know some of them, as I spent many summers there with my Poppop (who live there most of the time). But on another note. the Celtic thing (it's pronounced Keltic if you're discussing the cultural heritage, and Seltic if you're talking about sports).
My mother used to call sausages bags of mystery and she reckoned it came about as a result of rationing in WW2 when nobody knew what was in them. For similar reasons soup was often referred to as cream of mystery.
The 2004 potato ban was introduced because of an outbreak of Ring Rot in Poland (I suspected something like this, but had to check). I also had a friend tell me that in Somerset, if you find a Welshman on your land you can shoot them, but I've never verified this. 🙂
Hello Amanda, I love watching your videos, even though I live in Ireland. Such a wonderful list of mad and amazing facts! A couple of things in relation to the ones about Ireland; the Celtic festival you mentioned 'Samhain' is pronounced sow-win (sow as in the female pig); Ireland as you said has no snakes, moles or weasels and it is thought the reason is that as the landbridge that once existed between these islands and the continent was gradually submerged by the rising sea level after the melting of ice at the end of the ice age 10,000 ago, certain animals got as far as Great Britain but not as far as Ireland, hence Britain has snakes and Ireland does not (we don't have the slow worm either). The wet boggy soil found in many parts of Ireland wasn't a suitable habitat for moles. We don't have weasels but we do have the Irish Stoat which is a very similar looking animal. God bless... Beannachtaí 😃
Hi Amanda, Just started watching your videos, they’re brilliant so thanks for posting them. The most obscure and fun ‘fact’ I can add to you list is that (apparently) it’s illegal for women to eat chocolate on an escalator. This is an old law that’s never been repealed. Also being drunk in charge of a cow isn’t just Scottish, my uncle was summoned to court for being drunk while bring the cows in for milking on the family farm in Devon back in the 1950’s. I the the charge was something like being drunk in charge of a herd of cattle. I don’t think he got fined or anything but being drunk in charge of cattle was quite a regular thing back in the 40’s & 50’s apparently.
You cracked a "Welease Woger" joke.... definitely becoming one of us! :) There are two "Houses" which own swans on their land as opposed to the Queen. Look up the origins of pubs called "The Swan With Two Necks" It actually should be "Two Nicks" as they use to carve into the swan's bills to tell them apart from the Queen's.
The tax year starts on 6 April because it used to start on 26 March and got moved 11 days when the Gregorian calendar got introduced. Although the calendar year started on Lady Day (25 March) the tax year was a day out, I don't know why either. Up to and including 5 April 1998 an employee could claim a deduction against earnings for the cost of keeping and maintaining a horse to enable him or her to perform the duties of the employment.
I would be given a tiny sherry glass of beer at my grandparents house when I was 4/5 years old. Hated the taste of course but it did feel very grown up so I put up with it.
Me too, but b he time I was 7 I had to work for my booze. My job was going down into the filthy cobwebby wine cellar to bring up the drinks for Christmas Dinner - my aunt lived in a medieval village in Suffolk. The cellar was an old priest hole - and a very spacious one too
I'm 32 and been driving since i was 17 but only had my licence 4 years, it gets to a point where you think f*ck it ill do it all legal now, the driving bans, points & fines aren't worth it after awhile... lmao
Great list. I think that there is a subspecies of mice on the London Underground as well. Bags of mystery for sausages - maybe because no-one really knows what goes in the cheapest ones?
The London Underground mosquito is one of 34 native species of mosquito in the UK. And malaria has been endemic in the UK the past (although we have not had a case caught in the UK in 70 years)
Sheffield University has a building with a Paternoster lift, this is a type of elevator that has no doors and doesn't stop moving, you just step on or off when you get to the floor you want.
Hi, loving your videos, especially you appreciation of British humour. I thought you'd be interested in a few more old laws which have never been repealed. In the 16th century, all men over 14 were required to practice archery for 2 hours a week, England had no standing army and so people had to be ready if their local lord called them up. Apparently it is legal for residents of York to shoot a Scotsman, but not on a Sunday!!! Keep up the good work
If you didn't practice on the butts after church on Sunday (The only "day off" you had) a fine of one shilling was imposed and that was a lot of money back then!
Red Lion - When King James VI of Scotland become James I of England in 1603 he required all important buildings (and that obviously included pubs) to show the heraldic symbol of Scotland, the Red Lion. Hence the numerous pubs called the Red lion, even though the majority will not be 17th Century pubs. Other popular names include the Ivy or the Bush. This comes from the time when each house in a village would brew beer and when the brew was ready they would put a bush or ivy outside the house so others could come and drink. I always liked the pig and whistle as a pub name. This comes from the Anglo Saxon, Piggen. A piggen was a a large container that the beer was put in and you would dip your beer mug in it to get a drink. Whistle may have come from Wassail, (meaning good health) or from the Anglo Saxon for throat (hence wet your whistle).
@Red Pill Bachelor no but since men don't have a vagina I doubt the policeman would believe you if you said you are a pregnant lady lolz Can't believe you made me explain that! Hahaha
"Bags of mystery" is all about food adulteration. Stiff legal penalties were introduced first to combat adulteration of bread, and later adulteration of sausages, as most bread had very little bread in it, and most sausages had very little meat in them. In sausages it was common place at one time to for them to be up to 30% saw dust. Bread often had poisonous substances added to it make it look more white. Once they started hanging bakers for putting junk in the bread they made, food standards improved markedly across the whole country. During World War 2, they started bulking out sausages with water. When cooked the sausages would explode as a result, which is why they are now called "bangers"
The 'Red Lion' is probably the most common name for a pub and originates from the time of James I and VI of Scotland who came to the throne in 1603. James ordered that the heraldic red lion of Scotland be displayed on all buildings of importance - including pubs !
When you said it was illegal to walk down the street with a plank, I thought of my ex. My heart is still pounding, oh and the Welsh with loads of sheep, that's another story.
There are two pub names Red lion and The white Hart they are the inns the mail coach would stop at. Going from red lion to red lion or white Hart to white Hart. The pubs would be in a line ie London to Yorkshire or Southampton to Plymouth. Xx
There are a few very old laws that I have read about that were never changed as they no longer have any relevance. It is still illegal not to go to church on christmas day, and it is still legal to eat someone if they have given you permission.
And this did happen in Germany a couple of years ago. It was not murder as the muderee gave written permission to his eater. I suppose that made him an eatee.
I'm from Scotland and I had heard there was a law in York if you saw a Scotsman with a crossbow you kill him. I think it still exists. I was in York over the summer but I was only armed with a camera. Loved it.
"What a job title and what a job" - That seemed like a very English accent you have going on there Amanda :) And your 'welease Woger' line was so funny. Love that you the thought to put that in there after 'wesidence' :D
English Monarchs used to have a Groom of the Stool, a very prestigious role held by a nobleman to help the King with his visits to the privy chamber (toilet). It's not certain if they went as far as wiping the Royal bottom but due to the intimate nature of the role, the Groom of the Stool was a powerful and highly trusted member of the Royal household.
The early 1900s was known as the great binge, you could buy a kit that included cocaine, heroin and syringes from Harrods and send it to a soldier fighting WWI, which was called the great war before WWII.
My recollection of the phrase Bags of Mystery for sausages is simply nobody had a bloody clue what the ingredients were, could be horsemeat, dogs or God knows what. There was nobody overseeing what went in. We Brits call 'em bangers because they used to explode when frying them.
This would make a great pub quiz. Maybe at the Ole Red Lion. Truth Myth or False. Most of those were myths, a lot not true some true and we're proud 😂, not sure which ones though. Love the vids though, cross Atlantic ASMR.
In England & Wales, you can be found 'drunk in charge of' many things other than cattle. Motor vehicles, carriages, bicycles and horses, shopping trollies, also babies and children under 7. Also - look up how Ulster got its symbol of the 'Red Hand'.
Our local rag and bone man had a horse and cart. He used to tie the horse up outside our local pub which was called 'The Wagon and Horses'. He came out one day, unhitched the poor old nag and galloped off up the road. A police car came along and he was done for being drunk in charge of a horse. We thought it was a joke but he got a fine and was told not to do it again!
I don't think you can be charged with being drunk in charge of a horse (or waggon) because the horse will simply go back to its stable if not "under control". N.B. My grandfather was a "holster" Who used to run "six in hand" waggons and coaches along the East Kent coast. He also ran horses in the Royal Ordinance Corps during WW1
Dear Manda, Yes britain has no constitution which means that the government can introduce laws that change things without spending millions on constitution al lawyers to tell us we cannot do this. THINGS CHANGE, PEOPLE CHANGE!. THE WORLD CHANGES, ACCEPT CHANGE FOR THE GOOD if voted democratically, Hugs, Julian
Bags of Mystery for sausages... in olden times anything could be put into a sausage by unscrupulous butchers, meat from any animal as well as things like sawdust or chalk to bulk them up. I seem to remember reading or hearing that the meat content could be as low as 8% and it was best not to ask where the meat came from!
'Bags of mystery'. My guess is you never knew what was in them; not much in the way of actual meat, just 'butcher's scraps'. I remember when sausage was synonymous with poor quality food; not nearly so much these days.
@@Stevelives13 Sorry Steve but I have to disagree there. You can still get the diabolical ones but there's some proper gourmet ones out there now. Wild boar 95% meat and Ostrich! To name a few lol
@@Stevelives13 I don't believe that at all. Most of the sausages you see now are far better than the crap of days gone by. Just go in Tesco and you'll see the majority of sausages for sale have a minimum of 80% meat. Granted Wold boar, Venison and Ostrich etc are rare but the average banger, even butchers choice have high meat in them now. But to say 0.0001 is a stretch I can't reach to Steve.
@@DarrenHarrison7160 Lol you obviously dont know what the definition of meat is for these companies. Its basically any animal matter, that includes fat, skin etc. Any decent meat is sold as steaks or fillets, chops. Anything thats going to be wrapped in pastry or a sausage skin or minced is just the leftover crap. I was being generous with the 0.001%, go to any average grocery shop, its highly unlikely they'll be selling your ostrich and wild boar sausages. But they will definitely have factory farmed intensively raised ones that are full of nitrates, additives and have a unhealthy level of salt and saturated fat.
Regarding pooper scoopers, if you take your dog for a walk and it poops you MUST clean it up - but if you ride a horse down the street and it poops you don’t have to clean it up because horses can LEGALLY poop in the street and there’s nothing anyone can do about it despite when a horse poops it’s absolutely massive compared to a dog. My neighbour complained to the local council about a woman’s horse pooping on our estate and got nowhere with because they said there was nothing that they could do despite being given the woman’s name and address.
It’s very odd indeed , it’s probably because the Queen rides a horse and she can do whatever she wants - she doesn’t have to have a driving license either. ! Love your videos
@@Welderady It's because hrses are herbivores, dogs are carnivores & their faeces can have nasty parasites, horses on the other hand don't poop out parasites.
One crazy fact I heard about somewhere in America. I was against the law to hang men's and women's underwear together on the same drying line. I wonder what dirty mind thought that one up.
No 51: when bridges in London are being worked on they have to hang bails of hay underneath. I have no idea why this is the case, but it’s true. As of today you can see them on Blackfriars Bridge.
Not really - most of it has been repealed and\or replaced - more of it survives in American state constitutions than in UK law, whilst what remains is still recognised as a constitutional statue, it's far less important than eg. the 1688 bill of rights or eg. the 1998 human rights act amongst others, these days. Wikipedia actually has a really good page on the UK constitution: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom
The British have tight restrictions on other countries potatoes Poland being just one. This is because of the Colorado Beetle a potato pest that can wipe out vast amounts of the potato crop here in England, the eggs and sometimes the beetles can be introduced with imported potatoes.
@@cosimodemedici1530 Oh it is surprising some people still think that. Ireland has been out of the British Isles for a long time now. And no it is not a geological term that includes Ireland.
@@ajc5479 Yes it does, the British isles is the name of the region. It includes Ireland, UK, isle of man and the channel Islands. It's just a name of a European region
@@cosimodemedici1530 You blew away you own reasoning. The Channel Islands are off the coast of France, not quite in the same region, is it? lol And you won't find Ireland being part of the British Isles in any Irish, British or EU legal documents.
Sausages, burgers, etc, bags of mystery . I've never heard of that but it's a perfect summary, I worked in an abattoir as a teen and all the crap all the waste ( well there is no waste) it all ends up in burgers and sausages, how much depends on price and quality, always buy the beef or whatever and make your own.. I can't eat anything like that unless home made after what I saw during that time . :)
Wales does indeed have a lot of castles. Partly because the princedoms of Dyfed and Gwynedd hated each other so built a whole load of castles against each other, and partly because when Edward II came a knocking, it turned out us Welsh were a belligerent lot and took every opportunity to stick it to the English (not much has changed! :-P ) And on the sausages, just think about it for a second, they're little bags of unidentifiable meat that could honestly be anything! We just trust what it says on the package ;-)
I think you will find that many of those laws have been rescinded as there was was a clear out some years ago. One of those laws was all taxis need to carry a bundle of hay on the roof for the horses. 😁
The most interesting one for me was revealed by Professor Richard Werner where since 1688 after a Dutch invasion, the royal monarch has to ask permission to enter the Corporation of the City of London area, which has its own police force and own mayor among other things. Oh! It's also not part of the U.K. nor part of the E.U. You can find this in RUclips by searching on "Richard Werner City of London". I'm sure the Queen only pays lip service to the permission law but it'd be great to have a surly police officer holding them up sometimes and asking for identity.
I'm in awe of the amount of research and then editing that you put into these. You make it look so easy - but there's *so* much work that must go into them. It's really appreciated. Thank you.
dude at 1.6 m a year she has a team do it all lol and that is why google her net . she should give credit to them as an american i would nd dissagrree with lot she talks about and im only 3 hrs away fromwhere shes from
Thanks for the great video and necessary research. Also love that you leave in your “outtakes” 😄
haah thank you 🙂
The Michael Rosen "Nice!" had me in stitches, was not expecting that!!
Well Done Amanda
Obviously I am a fan of yours, so I suggest this: Take some of these weirdest facts, and make a concentrated video about them
One which you didn't mention is: Welshman are prohibited from entering Chester (England's Border) before the sun rises and have to leave before the sun goes down. Because of this, in Chester, it is technically OK to shoot a Welshman after midnight on Sunday with a crossbow, as long as it's within the city walls. Quite Right Too, Rebels that they are 😄
There's just something in the fun of your vids that relaxes me and makes me chuckle. Unlike so much of RUclips.
😁
Glad you like them!🙂
Agreed. The voice, humour, pace etc all add up to create a pleasant, relaxing and educational experience while also encouraging us to think about things we wouldn't necessarily.
Thank you 😊
I'm from Britain and I love seeing how well your channel is growing because the content you make is always very interesting and enjoyable
Thank you very much! I really appreciate that 🙂
Oliver Cromwell banned mince pies and other Christmas treats in the 1650's in order to tackle gluttony. The ban didn't survive for long and the act of eating mince pies is now just a myth. Nowadays it is virtually compulsory to eat mince pies on Christmas Day!
He banned Maypoles, the theatre and Christmas decorations too ! Miserable old bugger !
That's because he was a Puritan; and you know what a miserable lot they were.
It should be compulsory EVERY day 😁
Amanda, your snorting laugh is sooo comical. it's very endearing and always makes me chuckle. 🤣🤣
They used to encourage feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square when I was younger - you used to be able to buy pigeon food. They used to go mad for it!
Yes .... I remember that
I have a photo of my parents in the 1960s in which tje photographer threw seeds on them so the pigeons landed on them.
Feed the birds - tuppence a bag..
@@wessexdruid5290 I came to say that, you beat me to it 🤣
I still have the pictures from the 1970's. There were several little stalls that sold food in plastic cups
Interesting fact about Harrods, I suppose in those days taking a trip to Harrods had a totally different meaning. Enjoyed your Monty Python moment also
The red lion is the most common symbol used on coats of arms. With the red lion in such widespread use by those entitled to bear arms, who were almost by definition landowners and lords of the manor, it was likely that the red lion was used a lot as a sign of respect or obedience, particularly if the landowner subsidized the beer, to keep the peasants happy.
The red lion was the emblem of King Richard the First's shield. He fought in the crusades. For reference, any Robin Hood movie tells more.
I believe that it's still on the statute books that a taxi must carry hay. This dates back to when the hackney carriages were pulled by horses and they had to be fed.
the get out on this is that they must have at least a quarter tank of fuel!
Sausages used to be called bags of mystery because the butcher used to put anything and everything in them to make them go further (from a selling point of view). All sorts of scraps, organs, rat meat etc.
Basically, you never knew what you were getting.
Amanda, another great video keep them coming 👍
Drunk in the pub is the best one ever !!
I must break the law every weekend😂😂😂
😂😂
I am new to your Channel I have been Catching up on all your videos the last two days 👍
Haha I hope you’ve enjoyed them 😊
Yes they are most entertaining and educational, let’s hope you get to one million subscribers ASAP 😊
That would be incredible! Haha
I don't find the rules regarding children and alcohol strange. It means that parents train their children in safe and sensible drinking practices long before peer pressure can get a hold of them. It also means that drinking isn't associated with rebellion. It's something you do with your family, at a meal. I was permitted a sip of what my parents were drinking from the age of 5, and by the time I was 11 I would be drinking a glass of cider or wine with Sunday roast, and a glass of sherry or port on special occasions. As far as I know, only 1 of my siblings ever got so drunk that they were disruptive, and he only did it a couple of times during his teens, he got over that phase quickly. My family instilled safe, restrained drinking habits into us, and all of us as adults drink seldom and responsibly. Its normal in European culture. Drinking is associated with socializing and a meal, not getting blind drunk and doing stupid things. There are definitely people in the UK that do do that, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was because their own parents hadn't trained them up in healthy alcohol use as children.
Number 48 is the cutest thing I’ve seen on RUclips😂 Great video.
I’m in central Wiltshire and you can pretty much know which town you are in by the accents but Devizes is in a different league👩🏻🌾
I'm deaf. I know my fact not crazy. British Sign Language has strong regional variation, but the variants are better considered to be dialects rather than accents. There 22 ways to sign "Purple" in British Sign Language.
I didn’t realise that! That’s really fascinating. Thanks for sharing x
yes!
This is understand. I can hear but still know a little sign. Often I'm like Stop, what's that sign ? then out comes the phone and the bsl dictionary. LOL signing with drunk deaf people is particularly fun
here's one:
It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour.
great bunch of info there Amanda, and lots of comments :)
Apparently the monarch owns all unmarked Mute Swans on parts of the River Thames. An annual census of Mute Swans on the Thames is taken in the Swan Upping ceremony. This came to light when a young girl wrote to the queen asking if they could have one, and a royal representative explained that it was just the unmarked mute swans on the Thames, rather than the whole of the UK. still funny though
Ah I didn’t know that, thanks for sharing 👍🏻👍🏻
From a born and bred English man it was very insightful. Many of the perculiar laws you mentioned were made many many years ago, they are not observed or enforced and wouldn't stand up invcort. There was an ancient law saying it was legal to shoot a welshman inside Chesters walls at night with a bow and arrow. I'm glad you like Brighton, its my home town. Keep up the good work.
thanks so much :)
Red Lion is because of James I and VI of Scotland who wanted the Heraldic red lion of Scotland to be put on any building that was important.
Interesting! There must several myths around the Red Lion motif! I'd been led to believe that it was down to a number of ships' captains during the late 17th century who decided to set themselves up as tavern owners after their discharge from the Navy, and came back with the trophies of red lion emblems that decorated the bows of captured Dutch ships.
The lion has long been the commonest animal to appear on heraldic coats of arms which is what many old pubs are named after.
@Abe Steinberg nope it's the reason for the two lions on the royal crest
Even more complicated - the Lion Rampant (standing, forelimbs out etc.) is the Scottish coat-of-arms. 'Three Lions' )actually Leopards, heraldically speaking) is English and goes all the way back to Henry II's father.
Please tell us how it is that James could be both James I and VI of Scotland at the same time.
The weirdest fact we have about the uk concerns counties. We have TWO counties that are 'smallest' due to a bizarre geographical entity. At High tide the Isle of wight is smaller (and yes that is it's own county) but at low tide Rutland is smaller so we have two counties that for half the year each are smaller.........only in the UK.
The Queen and Swans: the monarch owns all unmarked Mute Swans on parts of the River Thames. An annual census of Mute Swans on the Thames is taken in the Swan Upping ceremony.
Windsor Castle is the oldest Royal Residence in constant occupation.
Hi, Amanda, the red lion is the most common name for a pub, because King James 1st of England/ 6th of Scotland decreed that the red lion of Scotland should be put on every inn and important building in England. Also, Polish potatoes were banned from being imported, because their potatoes had ring rot disease.
"Welease Woger" You had me with that one haha
😂😂
What about woderwick ?
@@davidtemple5934 the wobber?
@@scotty-837 no scotty , the wascal !!
thwow him to the gwound wuffly centuwian
10:37 is possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen on RUclips that didn't include a cute furry animal and made all the better by quoting Monty python. A true Brit if ever there was one.
haah thank you 🙂
@@LADYRAEUK he’s a wobber!
In my home town of Carlisle in the north west, there is still a law saying that a Scotsman found at large within the area bounded by the old city walls during the hours of darkness can be summarily hung without trial from the nearest tree. The only condition is that it must be done by a pure blood Carliol (the word for a native of the city as Mancunian is to Manchester or Glaswegian to Glasgow). The trouble with that is, there hasn't been a pure Carliol in about 500 years or more.
The Polish potato ban was because there was a 'ring rot' outbreak in Poland in 2004 which affects part of the potato and spreads to other potato's if planted as it is a bacterial thing. Basically, the potato's go soft and squishy like they are rotting and nobody will buy them.
Common Law in England and Wales is extremely old, so there’s a number of laws which are not enforced and haven’t been for years that were logical many hundreds of years ago but not today. They just haven’t been repealed for some bizarre reason.
Statute law with acts passed by Parliament with its various sections and subsections is more modern but there are still many old laws of common law that haven’t been repealed some of which go back to at least the 13th century :).
I heard that it was illegal to sell peas on Sundays. Or maybe eat them.
You've got such a nice voice to listen to
Thanks 😊
I think it's so sweet that you can hear the English accent popping up here and there.
Hey she's married lol...but isn't she the most prettiest woman ever! (And very informative)
She seems like a genuinely nice person .
@@grahamrsparker no Charlize Theron is.
Love interesting facts about Britain, I did know some of them, as I spent many summers there with my Poppop (who live there most of the time). But on another note. the Celtic thing (it's pronounced Keltic if you're discussing the cultural heritage, and Seltic if you're talking about sports).
THanks 👍
Amanda you should be a voiceover in adverts or animated movies with your voice !! Can definitely hear some British twang in there as well !! 🇬🇧🇺🇸
Thank you so much :)
@@LADYRAEUK I agree with Paul. That voice is verbal honey.
My mother used to call sausages bags of mystery and she reckoned it came about as a result of rationing in WW2 when nobody knew what was in them. For similar reasons soup was often referred to as cream of mystery.
Yes 100% true
Not sure about the WW2... they are STILL bags of mystery because nobody knows what is in them.
Harrods also had the first escalator...with staff positioned with glasses of brandy for people who felt overwhelmed by the ride.😊😎
haah brilliant!
The 2004 potato ban was introduced because of an outbreak of Ring Rot in Poland (I suspected something like this, but had to check).
I also had a friend tell me that in Somerset, if you find a Welshman on your land you can shoot them, but I've never verified this. 🙂
a few people mentioned that one! 😂
Another great and impressive video keep up the great work and hope your weekend has been good enjoy this warm weather whilst you can 😂🤣
haha that's an odd one!
A strange one indeed but a true one hahaha
Hello Amanda, I love watching your videos, even though I live in Ireland. Such a wonderful list of mad and amazing facts! A couple of things in relation to the ones about Ireland; the Celtic festival you mentioned 'Samhain' is pronounced sow-win (sow as in the female pig); Ireland as you said has no snakes, moles or weasels and it is thought the reason is that as the landbridge that once existed between these islands and the continent was gradually submerged by the rising sea level after the melting of ice at the end of the ice age 10,000 ago, certain animals got as far as Great Britain but not as far as Ireland, hence Britain has snakes and Ireland does not (we don't have the slow worm either). The wet boggy soil found in many parts of Ireland wasn't a suitable habitat for moles. We don't have weasels but we do have the Irish Stoat which is a very similar looking animal. God bless... Beannachtaí 😃
Thank you so much for sharing, I hope you’re having a lovely night
Good vid amanda ..quite a few i had not heard of.. i liked how you went into your monty python routine lol😁😁😁😁
😂😂I was losing the plot !
Thank you, I hope you're having a lovely weekend
@@LADYRAEUK To be thought properly cultured in the UK you need to be able to recognise quotes from Monty Python and Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Hi Amanda,
Just started watching your videos, they’re brilliant so thanks for posting them. The most obscure and fun ‘fact’ I can add to you list is that (apparently) it’s illegal for women to eat chocolate on an escalator. This is an old law that’s never been repealed. Also being drunk in charge of a cow isn’t just Scottish, my uncle was summoned to court for being drunk while bring the cows in for milking on the family farm in Devon back in the 1950’s. I the the charge was something like being drunk in charge of a herd of cattle. I don’t think he got fined or anything but being drunk in charge of cattle was quite a regular thing back in the 40’s & 50’s apparently.
haha that's crazy, I love hearing them so thank you so much for sharing :)
You cracked a "Welease Woger" joke.... definitely becoming one of us! :) There are two "Houses" which own swans on their land as opposed to the Queen. Look up the origins of pubs called "The Swan With Two Necks" It actually should be "Two Nicks" as they use to carve into the swan's bills to tell them apart from the Queen's.
Lol 🤣😊
Ah ok, thank you
I think the pigeon one was also due to their poo being corrosive, and it was destroying the marble statues etc.
no more tuppence a bag :(
The tax year starts on 6 April because it used to start on 26 March and got moved 11 days when the Gregorian calendar got introduced. Although the calendar year started on Lady Day (25 March) the tax year was a day out, I don't know why either. Up to and including 5 April 1998 an employee could claim a deduction against earnings for the cost of keeping and maintaining a horse to enable him or her to perform the duties of the employment.
Section 54 (8) of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 only makes it a crime to carry a plank of wood on the streets of London. Perfectly legal elsewhere!
"Prohibition of nuisances by persons in the thoroughfares."
10:35 "Welease Wojer"! LMAO! So glad you know about that!
I would be given a tiny sherry glass of beer at my grandparents house when I was 4/5 years old. Hated the taste of course but it did feel very grown up so I put up with it.
I bet it did ! haha 🙂
Me too, but b he time I was 7 I had to work for my booze. My job was going down into the filthy cobwebby wine cellar to bring up the drinks for Christmas Dinner - my aunt lived in a medieval village in Suffolk. The cellar was an old priest hole - and a very spacious one too
From about 9 I was allowed a small sherry at Sunday dinnertime
Bless, the video is fantastic but when she pronounced Celtic Samhain as it’s spelled I thought ‘oh lord there’ll be trouble’ 🤣
Anybody can drive without a driving licence - its getting caught without one is the problem with the Plods
....tell me about it! We had some risky fun borrowing my friends parent's car in my youth
😂😂😂
Legally is the question
I'm 32 and been driving since i was 17 but only had my licence 4 years, it gets to a point where you think f*ck it ill do it all legal now, the driving bans, points & fines aren't worth it after awhile... lmao
@@chrissheldon8708 how do you get points on a licence you didn't have?
Great list. I think that there is a subspecies of mice on the London Underground as well. Bags of mystery for sausages - maybe because no-one really knows what goes in the cheapest ones?
The London Underground mosquito is one of 34 native species of mosquito in the UK.
And malaria has been endemic in the UK the past (although we have not had a case caught in the UK in 70 years)
Every city with an underground system has flora and fauna specially adapted to it.
The British drink Gin and Tonic because of Malaria.
Sheffield University has a building with a Paternoster lift, this is a type of elevator that has no doors and doesn't stop moving, you just step on or off when you get to the floor you want.
That sounds interesting lol
Hi, loving your videos, especially you appreciation of British humour. I thought you'd be interested in a few more old laws which have never been repealed. In the 16th century, all men over 14 were required to practice archery for 2 hours a week, England had no standing army and so people had to be ready if their local lord called them up. Apparently it is legal for residents of York to shoot a Scotsman, but not on a Sunday!!! Keep up the good work
Thanks for sharing! I haven’t heard those 😊
If you didn't practice on the butts after church on Sunday (The only "day off" you had) a fine of one shilling was imposed and that was a lot of money back then!
Red Lion - When King James VI of Scotland become James I of England in 1603 he required all important buildings (and that obviously included pubs) to show the heraldic symbol of Scotland, the Red Lion. Hence the numerous pubs called the Red lion, even though the majority will not be 17th Century pubs.
Other popular names include the Ivy or the Bush. This comes from the time when each house in a village would brew beer and when the brew was ready they would put a bush or ivy outside the house so others could come and drink.
I always liked the pig and whistle as a pub name. This comes from the Anglo Saxon, Piggen. A piggen was a a large container that the beer was put in and you would dip your beer mug in it to get a drink. Whistle may have come from Wassail, (meaning good health) or from the Anglo Saxon for throat (hence wet your whistle).
That’s a great name, I love learning the history behind the names 👍🏻
One I've heard is a pregnant woman can use a policeman's helmet if caught short
Yes 😂🤣
Don't think so in that case lol
Yep that's true
@Red Pill Bachelor better have your picture from the scan on ye m8....
@Red Pill Bachelor no but since men don't have a vagina I doubt the policeman would believe you if you said you are a pregnant lady lolz
Can't believe you made me explain that! Hahaha
"Bags of mystery" is all about food adulteration. Stiff legal penalties were introduced first to combat adulteration of bread, and later adulteration of sausages, as most bread had very little bread in it, and most sausages had very little meat in them. In sausages it was common place at one time to for them to be up to 30% saw dust. Bread often had poisonous substances added to it make it look more white. Once they started hanging bakers for putting junk in the bread they made, food standards improved markedly across the whole country. During World War 2, they started bulking out sausages with water. When cooked the sausages would explode as a result, which is why they are now called "bangers"
I had no idea, thank you!
They also used to paint meat in red lead to make it look fresher.
The missing brollies are probably the number found on public transport and in taxis
The 'Red Lion' is probably the most common name for a pub and originates from the time of James I and VI of Scotland who came to the throne in 1603. James ordered that the heraldic red lion of Scotland be displayed on all buildings of importance - including pubs !
When you said it was illegal to walk down the street with a plank, I thought of my ex. My heart is still pounding, oh and the Welsh with loads of sheep, that's another story.
Love it 😂
Nice one
They don't mine been outnumbered by sheep one bit XD
The Welsh and the people of Aberdeen, they just can't control themselves when they see sheep😉
You should track down the 60s British comedy film "The Plank". Classic.
There are two pub names Red lion and The white Hart they are the inns the mail coach would stop at. Going from red lion to red lion or white Hart to white Hart. The pubs would be in a line ie London to Yorkshire or Southampton to Plymouth. Xx
Omg I'm British from South Wales and I'm watching this as I'm drinking pink gin 🍸😅 x
lol :)
@@LADYRAEUK Chin chin to the gin gin 🍻 love that I found your channel, new subscriber for sure! Wish you all the best to you & your family 🙏❤😊 x
I thought that was only drunk by Royal Navy occifers !
The ban on importing Polish potatoes is because they were found to contain a lot of Ring Rot which could infect our native potato farming.
you can also get a personalised message from the queen on you 60th wedding anniversary
There are a few very old laws that I have read about that were never changed as they no longer have any relevance. It is still illegal not to go to church on christmas day, and it is still legal to eat someone if they have given you permission.
That’s probably the most disturbing one I’ve heard lol
And this did happen in Germany a couple of years ago. It was not murder as the muderee gave written permission to his eater. I suppose that made him an eatee.
I would be interested to hear 50 facts about the usa
🙂👍
@@LADYRAEUK So would I.
There are a lot of not very nice facts about America so let's not upset Amanda.
I would be too!
I'm from Scotland and I had heard there was a law in York if you saw a Scotsman with a crossbow you kill him. I think it still exists. I was in York over the summer but I was only armed with a camera. Loved it.
The Queen is welcome to the swans,cos we had a bloody nightmare trying to get one in the oven....
"What a job title and what a job" - That seemed like a very English accent you have going on there Amanda :)
And your 'welease Woger' line was so funny. Love that you the thought to put that in there after 'wesidence' :D
😂thanks !
English Monarchs used to have a Groom of the Stool, a very prestigious role held by a nobleman to help the King with his visits to the privy chamber (toilet). It's not certain if they went as far as wiping the Royal bottom but due to the intimate nature of the role, the Groom of the Stool was a powerful and highly trusted member of the Royal household.
The early 1900s was known as the great binge, you could buy a kit that included cocaine, heroin and syringes from Harrods and send it to a soldier fighting WWI, which was called the great war before WWII.
Samhain is to commune with the ancestors not to ward off evil spirits. It is also the Celtic new year-the start of winter
My recollection of the phrase Bags of Mystery for sausages is simply nobody had a bloody clue what the ingredients were, could be horsemeat, dogs or God knows what. There was nobody overseeing what went in.
We Brits call 'em bangers because they used to explode when frying them.
My veggie friend always claimed they were made of "Earholes and Arseholes" - he was probably right but who cares?
Otto von Bismark said that sausages were like laws "it was better not to see them made". And Germans love sausages.
Traditionally they were made of "meat" that would not sell if it was on a slab. Same goes for pies.
This would make a great pub quiz. Maybe at the Ole Red Lion. Truth Myth or False. Most of those were myths, a lot not true some true and we're proud 😂, not sure which ones though.
Love the vids though, cross Atlantic ASMR.
We have the Magna Carta which is considered our constitution by some.
Which version? There are several
In England & Wales, you can be found 'drunk in charge of' many things other than cattle. Motor vehicles, carriages, bicycles and horses, shopping trollies, also babies and children under 7.
Also - look up how Ulster got its symbol of the 'Red Hand'.
Our local rag and bone man had a horse and cart. He used to tie the horse up outside our local pub which was called 'The Wagon and Horses'. He came out one day, unhitched the poor old nag and galloped off up the road. A police car came along and he was done for being drunk in charge of a horse. We thought it was a joke but he got a fine and was told not to do it again!
I don't think you can be charged with being drunk in charge of a horse (or waggon) because the horse will simply go back to its stable if not "under control". N.B. My grandfather was a "holster" Who used to run "six in hand" waggons and coaches along the East Kent coast. He also ran horses in the Royal Ordinance Corps during WW1
Unusual Fact : We once hung a chimpanzee which was found loose down on the south coast because we thought it was a French spy.
Wrong, it was in Hartlepool.
I can't remember if it was us or not but I read they once hung an elephant because it killed it's trainer..
Hartlepool, came off a French shipwreck and when questioned refused to answer
Hence: Hangus, the monkey mascot of Hartlepool United.
Hartlepool… and ‘hanged’, not ‘hung’.🦦
Dear Manda, Yes britain has no constitution which means that the government can introduce laws that change things without spending millions on constitution al lawyers to tell us we cannot do this. THINGS CHANGE, PEOPLE CHANGE!. THE WORLD CHANGES, ACCEPT CHANGE FOR THE GOOD if voted democratically, Hugs, Julian
Great Britain’s royals are still allowed to eat swan, as are the fellows of St. John’s College of Cambridge.
Bags of Mystery for sausages... in olden times anything could be put into a sausage by unscrupulous butchers, meat from any animal as well as things like sawdust or chalk to bulk them up. I seem to remember reading or hearing that the meat content could be as low as 8% and it was best not to ask where the meat came from!
Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
'Bags of mystery'. My guess is you never knew what was in them; not much in the way of actual meat, just 'butcher's scraps'. I remember when sausage was synonymous with poor quality food; not nearly so much these days.
Its still made with all the leftover shit, mainly fat.
@@Stevelives13 Sorry Steve but I have to disagree there. You can still get the diabolical ones but there's some proper gourmet ones out there now. Wild boar 95% meat and Ostrich! To name a few lol
@@DarrenHarrison7160 They account for about 0.001% of sausages sold.
@@Stevelives13 I don't believe that at all. Most of the sausages you see now are far better than the crap of days gone by. Just go in Tesco and you'll see the majority of sausages for sale have a minimum of 80% meat. Granted Wold boar, Venison and Ostrich etc are rare but the average banger, even butchers choice have high meat in them now. But to say 0.0001 is a stretch I can't reach to Steve.
@@DarrenHarrison7160 Lol you obviously dont know what the definition of meat is for these companies. Its basically any animal matter, that includes fat, skin etc.
Any decent meat is sold as steaks or fillets, chops.
Anything thats going to be wrapped in pastry or a sausage skin or minced is just the leftover crap.
I was being generous with the 0.001%, go to any average grocery shop, its highly unlikely they'll be selling your ostrich and wild boar sausages. But they will definitely have factory farmed intensively raised ones that are full of nitrates, additives and have a unhealthy level of salt and saturated fat.
Regarding pooper scoopers, if you take your dog for a walk and it poops you MUST clean it up - but if you ride a horse down the street and it poops you don’t have to clean it up because horses can LEGALLY poop in the street and there’s nothing anyone can do about it despite when a horse poops it’s absolutely massive compared to a dog. My neighbour complained to the local council about a woman’s horse pooping on our estate and got nowhere with because they said there was nothing that they could do despite being given the woman’s name and address.
that's so odd isn't it?
It’s very odd indeed , it’s probably because the Queen rides a horse and she can do whatever she wants - she doesn’t have to have a driving license either. ! Love your videos
@@Welderady It's because hrses are herbivores, dogs are carnivores & their faeces can have nasty parasites, horses on the other hand don't poop out parasites.
Omg! Walleece-a-wodger plus cute laughing snort. 10:30 Shes so great
She`s definately one of us. She`s even getting a slight British accent too.
Used to love going to Trafalga Square to feed the pigeons! Horrifying that it's stopped. Still upset about London Zoo and pets.
I think it was actually the tower of London that did that (it was where the royal families animal collection was kept)
I'd love to hear 50 crazy facts about the US. I want to know more about the US flag, voting and public holidays.
One crazy fact I heard about somewhere in America. I was against the law to hang men's and women's underwear together on the same drying line. I wonder what dirty mind thought that one up.
@@beccabbea2511 ha that's brilliant. Maybe it was the fashion police? I know my boxers would be definitely questionable.
We used to drink wine at Christmas as kids. And occasionally we'd have a shandy with Sunday dinner.
Scotland's national animal is a Unicorn xx
There were outbreaks of ring rot on Polish farms at the time so the ban was imposed to stop the spread of the bacteria to British farms
I saw this and got a quiver! LoL.
There’s no legal age limit on when you can smoke cigarettes. There is an age limit on when you can buy them though . Welease Wodderwick
No 51: when bridges in London are being worked on they have to hang bails of hay underneath. I have no idea why this is the case, but it’s true. As of today you can see them on Blackfriars Bridge.
Here’s on, it a legal requirement to practise archery on a Sunday..
Drunks in charge of cows are a real menace here in Glasgow. As many as 1 people are injured every decade
The Magna Carta from 1215 is the UKs Constitution
Not really - most of it has been repealed and\or replaced - more of it survives in American state constitutions than in UK law, whilst what remains is still recognised as a constitutional statue, it's far less important than eg. the 1688 bill of rights or eg. the 1998 human rights act amongst others, these days. Wikipedia actually has a really good page on the UK constitution: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom
The British have tight restrictions on other countries potatoes Poland being just one. This is because of the Colorado Beetle a potato pest that can wipe out vast amounts of the potato crop here in England, the eggs and sometimes the beetles can be introduced with imported potatoes.
Ah I didn’t know that !
Originally, Coke had cocaine in it - talk about a competitive advantage! Customers were actually addicted to Coke.
... it was an extremely low amount of cocaine though; less than an ounce in total per 100 million gallons of Coca Cola produced. ;)
Pepsi had Pepsin in it.
"First Footing" is a tradition in Scotland. As is feasting on Haggis on Burn's Night try to explain those !!
Lol 😊👍🏻
Halloween was celebrated all over the British isles by Celts
But it had died out in the British Isles. So the Irish get the credit as they kept the tradition and took it to America.
@@ajc5479 You mean it died out in the UK, Ireland is also in the British Isles.
@@cosimodemedici1530 Oh it is surprising some people still think that.
Ireland has been out of the British Isles for a long time now.
And no it is not a geological term that includes Ireland.
@@ajc5479 Yes it does, the British isles is the name of the region. It includes Ireland, UK, isle of man and the channel Islands. It's just a name of a European region
@@cosimodemedici1530
You blew away you own reasoning. The Channel Islands are off the coast of France, not quite in the same region, is it? lol
And you won't find Ireland being part of the British Isles in any Irish, British or EU legal documents.
Sausages as bags of mystery, dates back to the 2nd World War when meat was under strict rationing so Veg and grain were added to the mix.
The way you pronounced Brit'un at the end is proper English!
Sausages, burgers, etc, bags of mystery . I've never heard of that but it's a perfect summary,
I worked in an abattoir as a teen and all the crap all the waste ( well there is no waste) it all ends up in burgers and sausages, how much depends on price and quality, always buy the beef or whatever and make your own..
I can't eat anything like that unless home made after what I saw during that time . :)
Wales does indeed have a lot of castles. Partly because the princedoms of Dyfed and Gwynedd hated each other so built a whole load of castles against each other, and partly because when Edward II came a knocking, it turned out us Welsh were a belligerent lot and took every opportunity to stick it to the English (not much has changed! :-P )
And on the sausages, just think about it for a second, they're little bags of unidentifiable meat that could honestly be anything! We just trust what it says on the package ;-)
Yeah let's here some crazy USA facts. Great video Amanda.
I think you will find that many of those laws have been rescinded as there was was a clear out some years ago. One of those laws was all taxis need to carry a bundle of hay on the roof for the horses. 😁
They didn't have to carry hay but the taxi driver was only allowed to feed the horse with corn from a bag or hay from his hands.
@@phildavison319 get a life
@@cliveevans4654 Got one thanks.
The most interesting one for me was revealed by Professor Richard Werner where since 1688 after a Dutch invasion, the royal monarch has to ask permission to enter the Corporation of the City of London area, which has its own police force and own mayor among other things. Oh! It's also not part of the U.K. nor part of the E.U. You can find this in RUclips by searching on "Richard Werner City of London". I'm sure the Queen only pays lip service to the permission law but it'd be great to have a surly police officer holding them up sometimes and asking for identity.