I read this many years ago in a “Horrible History” book.
Googleing for more info/a citation doesn’t seem to have shown up anything but proof I’m not misremembering.
I read this many years ago in a “Horrible History” book.
Googleing for more info/a citation doesn’t seem to have shown up anything but proof I’m not misremembering.
I can’t help making the connection with the Chelsea football fan chant ‘Celery’, although I have no idea if it dates back that far (CFC does, but it seems unlikely that the chant does)
http://fanchants.co.uk/football-songs/chelsea-chants/celery/
Keep in mind, when you read something stupid like ‘It’s illegal to keep black labs tied to fire hydrants on Tuesday’s in Topeka’, it’s probably illegal to keep any animal (or anything at all) tied to a fire hydrant in Topeka (made up example). So maybe someone just took a regular law and made a super specific example out of it for a “Wacky Blue Laws” book or maybe that was the official complain on the ticket.
So, going back to the OP, maybe a kid got a ticket for shouting celery, but maybe the actual law broken was disturbing the peace or selling (produce/celery) without a seller’s permit.
I’ll bet if you starting walking up and down block yelling ‘CELERY’ over and over you’d probably get arrested sooner or later too. Probably for disturbing the peace.
According to this website:
So, assuming the information is credible, Joey P’s explanation is probably the most accurate – that is, it’s not necessarily that shouting celery is illegal; instead, the illegality is disturbance of the peace (by calling or shouting continuously in the street as to cause annoyance).
That would fit, but the book suggested it was the case in the 1910’s and specifically mentions that it was a “kid’s crime”, and that site mentions 1903 as the year. Is it possible that it set some sort of precedent, or did Terry Deary let me down?
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19100228.2.26
London juveniles
The inauguration of “children’s courts” this year has given more newspaper prominence than usual to the criminal child … Other precocious young persons came up to account for such sins as dicing, gambling and the somewhat mysterious offence of “shouting celery,” while street football has many martyrs.
28 February 1910
So it really was a thing. O_o
…any idea on why it was an offence?
I’m not sure what is stranger to this Yank—that there is a website dedicated solely to football chants (which I never knew were so diverse), or that there is a specific bawdy chant dedicated to celery, meant to be chanted by Chelsea fans while tossing celery onto the pitch.
What if you start ranting about celery at airport security?
This is apparently so shocking that the clip is not on YouTube.
Its organized crime , right under the noses of gov
Celery goes off quicky, so it has to be sold…
Looks like Hillary is married to a criminal.
Celery for the peppy snappy? If I’m to believe High Anxiety they will let you through even if you beep.