5 Unbelievable Facts You Didn’t Know About The UK And Their Food
The United Kingdom has long been a major powerhouse of the world, and deservedly so. The accomplishments that were born from those island countries can rival most other countries in terms of accolades. With that same thought in mind, the “embarrassingly true but untrue-sounding” facts that come out of that same area are not as pride-worthy, but equally as entertaining for the rest of us.
With the entire world still looking at the UK and pondering the aftereffects of the Brexit, we decided to show you five of the strangest and most interesting facts we could find about this island nation.
1. London was once flooded by beer
On October 17, 1814, an enormous vat filled with beer at the Meux and Company Brewery ruptured, spilling over 120,000 gallons of beer. A domino effect occurred immediately after the destruction ensued, destroying several other vats and totaling 338,000 gallons of beer now flooding the streets. The aftermath left 8 dead and an unknown number of people injured.
2. Kids 5 and older are allowed to drink alcohol
Granted, they’re only allowed to drink at their homes and under the supervision of an adult, but this law extends to other private residences as well. Alcohol And The Law, the UK’s alcohol education website, outlines the suggestive dos and don’ts for parents, however how they ultimately approach their children on the topic of alcohol rests in their hands.
3. US eggs are illegal in the UK, and vice versa
The US does not allow the import of eggs from the United Kingdom because they have dirty eggs, or rather have eggs that are unwashed and/or sanitized. On the other side, the UK prohibits the sale of US eggs because of the chemicals and detergents used to clean them. This seemingly strange law is actually in effect for a good reason. “In Europe, the understanding is that this mandate actually encourages good husbandry on farms. It’s in the farmers’ best interests then to produce the cleanest eggs possible, as no one is going to buy their eggs if they’re dirty.”
4. The Kit Kats made in one year can stretch around London’s Tube system 350 times
Kit Kats are and have been the most sold confectionary in the UK. Back in 2004, Kit Kat sales reached £170 million that year, and that number is very likely much higher today. Even the Guinness Book of World Records states that roughly 418 Kit Kat fingers are eaten every second. In order to understand the gravity of this fact, you need to know that the total length of the London Underground is 249 miles. If you line up every Kit Kat made in one year, fingertip to fingertip, they will cover more than 87,150 miles, or go around the world at least thrice.
5. Only one man is allowed to drink in British Parliament
And that man is the Chancellor, less commonly known as the Chancellor and Under Treasurer of Her Majesty’s Exchequer. Robert Lowe, the Chancellor of Britain in 1823, once described the Chancellor’s duties in layman’s terms: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a man whose duties make him more or less of a taxing machine. He is entrusted with a certain amount of misery which it is his duty to distribute as fairly as he can.” Due to this high-stress occupation, the Chancellor is allowed to have an alcoholic drink during the annual Budget Speech, but only one. I’m sure the British Parliament doesn’t need the second most powerful position after Prime Minister being a drunk ass during an extremely important presentation.
Photo Credit: Miss Open, Amusing Time, YouTube, LA Times, AFN, The Guardian
