Weird NewsREAL LAW OR INTERNET LAW?

United Kingdom: A stranded whale's head goes to the King and its…

A 1324 statute gave the Crown whales and sturgeon, but the head-and-tail split comes from a legal writer; the cow and haggis rules are real.

On air: Gloria Vance and Dale Bearman on BBN This Morning
Published 6:51 AM ET, Friday, October 16, 2026

Photo: Michaël CATANZARITI · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Whale — Photo: Michaël CATANZARITI · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

First reported by Wikipedia: “United Kingdom: A stranded whale's head goes to the King and its tail to the Queen.”, with reporting from legislation.gov.uk.
Covered on BBN on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 6:51 AM ET on BBN This Morning, by Gloria Vance and Dale Bearman.
Topics: Queen, Kingdom, Man United.
BBN covered this story before: Thailand's Queen Suthida pilots royal aircraft to Japan after solo… (October 16).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

WikipediaUnited Kingdom: A stranded whale's head goes to the King and its tail to the Queen.
legislation.gov.ukUnited Kingdom: A stranded whale's head goes to the King and its tail to the Queen.
WikipediaUnited Kingdom: A stranded whale's head goes to the King and its tail to the Queen.

What BBN said about it

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. Obviously real. Somewhere a monarch is waiting by a beach with a very large bag, and that is how it starts.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorInternet. According to Wikipedia, a statute from thirteen twenty-four gives the Crown whales and sturgeon.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe head and tail split comes from a legal writer, Henry de Bracton.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorA writer. So the whole thing is a rumour with a wig on.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorNext, from England and Wales: it is illegal to be drunk while in charge of a cow.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorInternet. Nobody was ever that drunk near that many cows, and if they were, it was two thousand nine.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe Licensing Act of eighteen seventy-two penalises being drunk in charge of a carriage, horse, cattle or steam engine in a public place, per legislation.gov.uk.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorSteam engine. They saw it coming, Gloria.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorYou are not a serious man, Dale.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorI am a very serious man in a wig.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorLast claim, from the United States: traditional Scottish haggis cannot be imported.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorInternet. No government fears a pudding. Then again, I have seen a pudding rise.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal. Since nineteen seventy-one, the US has banned food containing sheep lung.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThat ban stayed in force when the lamb ban was lifted in twenty twenty-two.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorLung.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorA drunk cow, a royal whale and a banned lung. This court is the omen, so I rule the Court of Internet Appeals itself INTERNET.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal. I have been thrown out of better ones.