10 Wildest News Stories Events That Could Have Only Happened In Britain

10 Wildest News Stories and Events That Could Have Only Happened in Britain

Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today we’re looking at various news stories or newsworthy events that couldn’t possibly happen anywhere outside of the UK’s borders. Some are considerably unique moments in UK history… but some, for us Brits, are just Tuesdays

#10: Barnstaple "Poundworld" Scam

2017

Ah, Poundworld, how we miss thee. Ok, Poundland, and One Below still exist, keeping prices at a quid despite inflation. Whilst America has dollar stores, there was something quintessentially British about our Poundworld; often populated with older generations, people “nipping in”, and those who “don’t do online.” But Barnstaple’s former store was, in 2017, caught up in what was possibly the weirdest, most elaborate prank to hit the South West– a certain latex-clad rouge notwithstanding. A mother and daughter were promised £3k by a charity cold-caller if they… were ridden like horses around the closed store’s aisles. Where were Poundworld’s staff? There, on the duo’s backs, having also been duped by the anonymous caller from (quote) “head office,” into conducting this bizarre “team building” exercise.

#9: London's “Great Stink”

1858

London, Summer 1858: the sun shined, the heat burned and the air… stank. The increasing use of flushing toilets, coupled with outmoding cesspools, meant the Thames notoriously became a dumping ground, (pun not intended) for the city’s waste… Yes, that type. Victorian Londoners were nauseated, and Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” depiction of the river being "a deadly sewer” wasn’t hyperbole. Breathing in the fast-evaporating river water vapours was blamed for spreading Cholera; until old and overused sewer pipes were found leaking into the freshwater’s changed mentalities. Thankfully, the smell galvanised funding for Joseph Bazalgette’s costly, but complete, sewer system overhaul.

#8: Spaghetti Harvest Hoax

1957

As kids, we all heard that British idiom when denied yet another expensive toy… “put it back, money doesn’t grow on trees!” “But paper–” “Back!” Sadly, money isn’t grown–unlike apples, pears, bananas, or spaghetti. Yes, you heard–spaghetti comes from the branches of Switzerland’s spaghetti tree. Ok, we know the Italian wheat-based pasta isn’t Swiss fruit, but few might still argue. After all, they heard otherwise on the news. In 1957, long before spagbol was popular here, BBC’s “Panorama” aired an impeccable exploration of Ticino’s spaghetti cultivation. Of course, excited viewers were left red-faced when they realised the date: April 1st. But surely some didn’t? Poor Gran’s convinced hers’ll sprout “any day now…”

#7: Greggs Nativity Blunder

2017

Americans can have McDonalds and Wendy’s… we Brits have Greggs. The Geordie bakery grew to a British institution, and expansion encouraged creativity. Their advent calendar replaced the typical chocolates with vouchers, and each door revealed a classic image with a Greggs twist–replacing the photos’ subjects with images of bakes. Ok… But, those inexplicably skipping to door 24 discovered the Nativity Scene… except, Wise Men were gathered around a sausage roll, not Baby Jesus, this time. Ah. People from multiple faiths complained about this apparent disregard for their religious beliefs, but all Greggs could do was apologise: the calendar was already out. Bizarrely, some international news outlets were more offended… even though they’d never seen a pastie, or (cough– “Breitbart,”) thought Newcastle was in Yorkshire…

#6: Scotland's Monster Shark

1886

Scotland truly is eclectic in nature and culture. It has volcanoes, purple hills, tropical trees and sharks. But before you cancel the fishing trip–these sharks stay within the warm gulf waters of the Atlantic, around the Hebrides. Oh, and just in case your mind jumped to that Great White variety from that Spielberg film – relax, these prehistoric throwbacks are much… bigger. For Scottish fishermen, Basking Sharks aren’t new – and, not exactly dangerous… Well, except for the giant one found off the Angus coast, which had eight rows of teeth. In 1886, it was the subject of an exhibition. People who know their geography, will quickly point out that this 31 feet behemoth must have been lost… Dundee is on the East coast.

#5: KFC Loses The F & C, and it's N-O…”K”

2018

Ok, backtrack– we actually love American fast food. Let’s be completely honest, in the grand scheme of the culinary world–we don’t offer a huge amount. Hey, it’s quality over quantity; we defy any non-Brit not to love Fish and Chips, or a Toad in the Hole. But we also do love our imports too… which probably explains why, in 2018, the UK practically invaded the United States when KFC–and you may need to sit down for this–ran out of chicken. Yes, despite being in the acronym, there was not a fried wing or drumstick to see. Supply issues seemed to affect most of the hundreds of stores nationwide, as hangry customers nearly ate each other. The crisis lasted a week, or for chicken-lovers… 40 years.

#4: The Beer Flood of 1814

1814

We’re not going to incite a transatlantic war of words on ales. So what if British beer is better or if American beer even exists? Alas, we jest–but it’s no joke that we in the UK do love our beer. And for years, there were breweries up and down the country–their distinctive yeast smell lingering in the air. But like many industries of the 19th century, brewing wasn’t without peril–and in 1814, a tragic accident befell a London Meux & Co’s brewery, claiming the lives of, at least, eight people. A 23 feet vat, holding one million pints of beer broke down, creating an unstoppable, devastating tsunami that raged outside into Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. Sadly, as news spread–impoverished residents looted the flooding.

#3: Ghostwatch Spooks Nation

1992

We’ve already shown how far the BBC can go with its April Fools pranks. Plus, the mockumentary style is something the UK does very well–look at “The Office…” our version, obviously. Clearly, comedy-disguised as real life works well. However, the 1992 one-off “Ghostwatch,” billed as an event wasn’t funny. In fact, for some, it was downright traumatic. The show, whilst filmed, presented a live ghost hunt–complete with special effects that falls between “Paranormal Activity” and “Most Haunted.” But the opaque nature of its promotion, with the BBC deliberately blurring the lines between fiction and reality, led to instances of very real trauma for some young viewers… with one so disturbed that they ended their own life.

#2: Pretty Much Every Local News Story

Various

If we had a quid for every sensationalist story we saw in a local paper… they’d probably put it on the front page. Forget about big news exclusives in the national press, our local rags are wild. Yes, they cover… lots of smaller, less-stakes stories, anything to justify people buying it. But we want to read what is essentially a mountain made of a molehill, thanks to some banging sensationalism. “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster?” So what, Sun? Croydon Advertiser broke how the “Toilet Curse Strikes Again.” “Early Customers [found] Boots Closed?” Crazy! And how many can say they were there when Johnny Depp bought that Bath… get this, in Norwich?! Hey, when Brighton and Hove Argus reported "Moth Dies in Shed Inferno,” we wept.

#1: Big Ben is Late to the New Year

1962, (and, for everyone else) 1963

We know… Big Ben isn’t the clock... The Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster’s iconic chime rings out over London, signifying time, extra special occasions, and, arguably most famously, the new year. Ultimately, it is a machine, though–prone to faults… Mass panic ensued when it got stuck for THIRTY WHOLE MINUTES in 2023–forcing people to rely on tiny clocks wrapped around their wrists. Restoration work aside, pre-recorded chimes are only used when Big Ben has planned silences… Our favourite newsworthy mishap was the literally badly-timed 1963 New Year. Britain’s “Big Freeze,” meant heavy snow slowed the mechanism, and poor Westminster revellers, and wireless listeners were stuck in 1962 for another nine minutes. “Happy New Year? That was ages ago!”

Are there any local news stories that caught your eye, but when you read you realised were definitely not as scandalous as you secretly hoped? Sound off in the comments below.