Weird NewsREAL LAW OR INTERNET LAW?
England and Wales: It's illegal to be drunk in a pub
The Licensing Act of eighteen seventy-two penalises being drunk on licensed premises, and a later act covers sellers; the prawn cocktail crisp ban remains a myth.
On air: Gloria Vance and Dale Bearman on BBN NewsroomPublished
At a glance
- First reported by legislation.gov.uk: “England and Wales: It's illegal to be drunk in a pub.”, with reporting from Wikipedia.
- Covered on BBN on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 11:41 AM ET on BBN Newsroom, by Gloria Vance and Dale Bearman.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- legislation.gov.ukEngland and Wales: It's illegal to be drunk in a pub.
- legislation.gov.ukEngland and Wales: It's illegal to be drunk in a pub.
- WikipediaEngland and Wales: It's illegal to be drunk in a pub.
- WikipediaEngland and Wales: It's illegal to be drunk in a pub.
What BBN said about it
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorFirst up, England and Wales: you can face a penalty for being drunk on licensed premises.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorInternet. No country would outlaw the one thing a pub is for. It's the sort of nonsense that makes you wonder who writes these laws.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal. Under the Licensing Act of eighteen seventy-two, anyone found drunk on licensed premises is liable to a penalty, according to legislation.gov.uk.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorSince the Licensing Act of two thousand three, selling alcohol to a drunk person is an offence too.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorEighteen seventy-two. They saw it coming.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorSecond, from the European Union: Brussels banned prawn cocktail crisps.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. First the crisps, then the prawns, then the cocktail. Nobody will be left holding a snack.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorInternet. Per Wikipedia, stories about bans on prawn cocktail crisps are cited as Euromyths, the made-up or exaggerated kind of rule.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorMade up.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorYes. You grieved a snack that was never banned.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorWell, that's a snack unjustly maligned by my own imagination.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThird, from Hawaii: billboards are banned.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorInternet. Without billboards, how would we know when the end of the world is exit twelve?
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal, since nineteen twenty-seven. Per Wikipedia, Vermont, Alaska and Maine have banned billboards too.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorFour places. They're rationing the sky.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorDale, I have covered real collapses. You are merely upset about crisps.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThen I rule this entire court INTERNET. A courtroom this small cannot exist.
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Friday, October 16, 2026 · the Weird News archive · all months
More in Weird News
All Weird News →
Bumbershoot: a word meaning umbrella
The word is a noun for an umbrella, and Wiktionary says it is probably a jokey blend of umbrella and parachute.
How do cactuses live in the desert?
Many cactuses use a special kind of photosynthesis, opening their pores at night to save water; the stems do the rest of the heavy lifting.
Pettifogger: use it in a sentence
The noun describes someone who quibbles over trivia and raises petty, annoying objections; the word is built from petty plus fogger.
California dog mom's Boxer voter registration ends in plea deal
Prosecutors dropped four felony counts as part of the plea agreement; the dog, notably, was never asked to testify.