Weird NewsREAL LAW OR INTERNET LAW?
Venice: Feeding the pigeons is banned.
Two of these three odd laws are real, including a 1938 US food rule on toys in sweets; the Scottish toilet law is not one.
On air: Gloria Vance and Dale Bearman on The Weekend ShiftPublished
Footage: the Dronalist · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
At a glance
- First reported by Wikipedia: “Venice: Feeding the pigeons is banned.”, with reporting from bbc.co.uk.
- Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 9:47 AM ET on The Weekend Shift, 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.
What BBN said about it
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe first claim, from Venice: feeding the pigeons is banned.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. When a city has to ban bread, the birds have already won. I've seen the films.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal. Feeding pigeons is banned in parts of Venice, per Wikipedia. Not feeding them is one of the best ways cities keep numbers down.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorStarve them. Sensible. A city's last resort when the birds have staged a coup.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe second claim, from Scotland: if a stranger knocks and needs the toilet, you must let them in.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. Once a nation hands out its bathrooms, the roads are next, then the sky. It's all very Scottish of them.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorInternet.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe Law Commission told the BBC it cannot find evidence it was ever on the statute book, and a Scottish justice spokesman called it an urban myth.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorA myth?
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorIt probably comes from Scottish hospitality. You are not a hospitable man, Dale, and you are not a serious one.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorI take that personally. I'll be stewing for years.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe third claim, from the United States: Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs are banned.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorInternet. A toy inside chocolate is the one thing humanity got right. I refuse to be wrong twice.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal. A 1938 food law bans sweets with a non-food object embedded inside, so the toy-filled egg can't be sold there, per Wikipedia.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorNineteen thirty-eight. They saw it coming and I didn't.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorTwo real, one myth. The court is adjourned.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThen I rule this court INTERNET. A wig, a gavel and a clerk who's been thrown out of embassies. Now, may I use your toilet?
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 17, 2026 · the Weird News archive · all months
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