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Good news! Of the 24 British laws Buzzfeed can't believe exist... almost half don't actually exist: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sam_cleal/weird-british-laws-i-cant-believe-exist
1. This is true! The Queen generally declines all such kind offers. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw2cc1317/15/13/section/xiij
2. Also true! Though not pub-specific: it is an offence to be drunk in any public place. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/35-36/94/section/12
3. This is a persistent one, but I've never found any evidence that it exists, so I'm going to say false.
4. True - the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 is a reliable kill-joy. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/2-3/47/section/LIV/enacted
5. This is obviously false. The Easter Act 1928 has never been brought into force and so has no legal effect: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/18-19/35/section/2
6. Not quite... it's an offence to handle salmon in suspicious circumstances: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/62/section/32
7. True, within the City of London and/or six miles of Charing Cross. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/30-31/134/section/7
8. True! Doesn't seem that unreasonable tbh. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw2/7/0
9. True, at least in London (again, I'm not sure this is wholly unreasonable). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/2-3/47/section/LV/enacted
10. This is an offence, but only if done 'to the Annoyance of the Inhabitants or Passengers'. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/2-3/47/section/LIV/enacted
12. Based on the linked story, this doesn't seem to be a specific law so much as the general principle that people should be paid for doing their jobs. So I'm calling it false.
13. Nope - the library-specific offence in the Libraries Offences Act 1898 was repealed by the Gambling Act 2005.
15. True - if 'directed by a notice to queue or asked to queue by an authorised person', a person must 'join the rear of the queue'. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/railway-byelaws.pdf
16. False - the Seamen's and Soldiers' False Characters Act 1906 was repealed in 2008. The Police Act 1996 only applies if the costume is 'calculated to deceive', which I doubt is often the case with strippers/party-goers: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/16/section/90
17. Possibly true, though I'm not sure whether paying counts as 'using' a phone (cf DPP v Barreto [2020] 1 WLR 599): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/regulation/2/made
![17. Possibly true, though I'm not sure whether paying counts as 'using' a phone (cf DPP v Barreto [2020] 1 WLR 599): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/regulation/2/made](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjhHldsWkAMcIto.jpg "17. Possibly true, though I'm not sure whether paying counts as 'using' a phone (cf DPP v Barreto [2020] 1 WLR 599): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/regulation/2/made")
18. False. Alas, this charming provision was repealed by the Deregulation Act 2015.
19. False - Polish potatoes may be imported, but only if notice is given to an inspector. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/1452/made
20. True - the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 strikes again: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/2-3/47/section/LX/enacted
21. Again, I've found no evidence that this was ever the case.
23. Nope - again, this was repealed in 2015.
24. I'm not aware of any laws with this effect, so I'm going to call this one false too. More than happy to be corrected on any of these, if anyone has further information!
The moral of the story, for any law students out there, is that you should always check the actual legislation!
